Air crash relatives hold 'emotional' Lockerbie meeting

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30897842

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The families of two air tragedies have been brought together in Scotland, in a "deeply moving" experience.

Some relatives of victims of the MH17 Malaysia Airlines crash met families of those who died in the Lockerbie bombing.

The meeting was arranged for a BBC Alba Eòrpa programme being broadcast tonight.

The Lockerbie relatives were able to explain how they had each personally coped with their loss.

A Dutch victim's mother described how the "emotional" experience helped her try come to terms with a future without her son.

Forgiveness

All 298 people on board the Malaysia Airlines plane MH17 died after it crashed in eastern Ukraine, close to the border with Russia, on 17 July 2014.

The bombing of Pan American flight 103 over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988 claimed 270 lives.

Silene Fredriksz lost her son Bryce and his girlfriend Daisy in the MH17 incident.

The young couple were travelling to Bali for a holiday.

Daisy's mother had died a couple of months earlier and Ms Fredriksz arranged the trip for the couple saying she wanted them to "leave all their worries in the Netherlands".

She explained: "What happened is like a movie in your head. It's a nightmare. Every time you close your eyes you see how that airplane exploded with them in it. That is a nightmare that won't go.

"And of course I have to learn to live with it and that they will never return home and that is very hard."

The Fredriksz family travelled to Scotland and met John and Lisa Mosey who lost their daughter Helga in the Lockerbie bombing.

Mr and Mrs Mosey spoke about the importance of forgiveness in helping them to come to terms with what happened.

The Dutch family also met Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the disaster.

'Very emotional'

Mr Swire said: "Seeking truth and justice was my way of coping with the loss of that lovely girl of ours - our eldest daughter Flora - and to a great extent, I'd felt that I had been doing that for her.

"Flora was a very direct seeker after truth herself and I know that her awareness of what I had been doing was exactly what she would have done if she'd been in my shoes."

Of the experience, Silene Fredriksz said: "It was very emotional. But very good that we did it. I think we can learn a lot from this.

"That they have a positive outlook on life. And can still enjoy life. But also that they didn't forget. Well, you can never forget your children. But that they are still fighting for their children. I really admire that."

This special half-hour Eòrpa programme will be broadcast at 20.30 on BBC ALBA .

It will be repeated at 18:00 on 24 January on BBC 2 Scotland and 20:00 on 25 January.