Loss of a mother becomes a long-lasting trauma for MH17 heir

SHAH ALAM - There is nothing that hurts more than losing the most important person in his life and he is forced to endure the longing for the person for the rest of his life.

Muhammad Muhriz Marzaidi, 18, was lamenting on the death of his mother, Malaysia Airlines stewardess Mastura Mustafa who was sacrificed in the MH17 tragedy when the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.

Even though he was only 10 years old at the time of the incident, it was still fresh in his mind when he received the news about the death of the person whom he loved the most.

"Where is my mother? Is she going to come home?," that was what Muhriz had asked to all his family members when the news broke.

Fortunately, he said his father was always by his side to calm him down and explained what had happened when he was sad and confused.

As an only child, Muhriz was very close to Mastura and had spent a lot of his time with his mother although the latter was busy working and rarely at home.

On the night of the incident, Muhriz said he dreamt that his mother said goodbye to him and that she will be gone forever.

"The MH17 incident happened in the middle of the night while I was asleep. At the time I had a strange dream about my mother who was clad in white and it was as if she was saying goodbye for the last time.

"After I had the dream, I woke up and felt tears running down my cheeks. It was hard to picture my feelings. I was shocked because I had never had such dreams in my life," he told Sinar Premium.

Muhriz also shared about the last time he looked at his mother's face before she left.

"On the day of the incident, at the departure hall at the airport, I felt like she was acting weird. She asked forgiveness from my late grandfather and hugged me tightly as if she knew it was the last time we will be seeing each other.

"I could still feel her warm hug and when I remember those moments, I kept asking myself was it a sign that she would be leaving us?," he said.

When asked about what was the saddest memory after his mother's passing, Mukhriz said it was during the first Hari Raya without her.

"The tragedy happened on the last 10 days of Ramadhan. Thus, 2014 was the first Hari Raya I spent without my mother and it was the saddest moment in my life.

The tragedy eight years ago was a dark moment for the families of the victims of MH17.

The trauma Muhriz had to endure was to the point that he could no longer look at planes the same again.