The Anguish Of Chinese Families Of MH370: Hunger Strikes, Protests And Lawsuits
The long wait and fruitless search and rescue operations is becoming too much to bear for the Chinese families of those onboard missing MAS flight MH370.
By Mei Mei Chu — 21 Mar 2014, 03:37 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
It has been 2 weeks since flight MH370 disappeared and tensions are rising as the arduous investigations remain inconclusive
Families of those onboard flight MH370, especially the Chinese families, are growing increasingly frustrated at Malaysia's management of the search and rescue operation. There are 152 Chinese passengers on the plane.
Chinese relatives of passengers onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 embrace while they await information at the Lido Hotel in Beijing on March 20, 2014.
Image via abc.net.auContradicting statements
The inconsistent updates issued by Malaysian authorities are taking a toll on the worried families. "They give you hope, and take it away. And then they give you hope again. This is so cruel."
The inconsistent updates issued by Malaysian authorities are taking a toll on the worried families.
Image via timesofisrael.com"They give you hope, and take it away. And then they give you hope again. This is so cruel. It is worse than killing us. Many older people were already taken to the hospital." said a passenger’s family member.
"All I wish is that he will come home." said a passenger’s family member.
"They give different messages every day. Where's the flight now? We can't stand it anymore," one woman wailed.
abc.net.auSecretive
The lack of information from the Malaysian government while the media spews countless theories and reports comes off as if the authorities are hiding the truth
Malaysia officials at a press conference regarding missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner MH370
Image via independent.ie“Malaysia knew that the plane changed direction, yet concealed it, knew that it was not in South China Sea, yet let everyone look there for several days, and they are still hiding all kinds of information,” one user wrote on microblogging site Sina Weibo. “This rogue state really should be sanctioned.”
"I find it incomprehensible the way your country conducts search and rescue," one woman said calmly and eloquently. "If the media can have information, how can the Malaysians not?"
Lack of engagement
"The Chinese embassy has been sending its officers to talk to us and make sure we're fine every day, but not one Malaysian official has appeared."
The victims' families also feel that they are not being given due attention by the Malaysian government. "Why there are still no Malaysian government representatives willing to meet with us family members? Why?" another man at a briefing Wednesday asked. "Does the Malaysian ambassador really care about the feelings of the family members here? We are very disappointed."
cnn.com"The Chinese embassy has been sending its officers to talk to us and make sure we're fine every day, but not one Malaysian official has appeared," she said.
Representatives sent to Beijing by Malaysian Airlines are very low-ranking and "lack basic respect for the families,” one of the China relatives told NBC News.
Medical Support
"Do you know how many family members got sick already here while waiting for the updates on the plane? How exactly are you going to take care of these sick people?"
"Do you know how many family members got sick already here while waiting for the updates on the plane? How exactly are you going to take care of these sick people?"
Image via todayonline.comA day earlier, tensions had been rising at the hotel in a room where briefings to update the relatives were held. Stress, a lack of sleep and -- in some cases -- old age are conspiring against those camped out in Beijing hotels, and health levels are wearing as thin as tempers.
cnn.comSeveral family members CNN talked to said they cannot sleep due to the anxious wait, and are getting sick. They bemoan the limited medical support that the airline is offering. "Do you know how many family members got sick already here while waiting for the updates on the plane?" a relative asked angrily at Wednesday's briefing. "How exactly are you going to take care of these sick people?"
cnn.comThe Chinese government has repeatedly demanded Malaysia to provide better care, support, and more frequent updates for the families
Guo Shaochun, head of a joint working group sent by Chinese government to Malaysia
Image via themalaymailonline.comInformation has been scant and sometimes contradictory, prompting Chinese Ambassador Huang Huikang on Tuesday to say the Malaysians were “inexperienced and lacking the capacity” to carry out the investigation properly.
washingtonpost.comChina has repeatedly called on the Malaysian side to do a better job at looking after the relatives of the Chinese passengers, and to provide them with updated information. “China has all along demanded that the Malaysian side and Malaysia Airlines earnestly respond to the reasonable requests of the Chinese families,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily news briefing.
3 days after the plane disappeared, 11 March, Malaysia Airlines flew the Chinese families from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur
Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 watch a TV news program about searching of the missing flight.
Image via globalnews.caThe company is deploying an aircraft to bring the families from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur on March 11, but will reveal nothing of the flight or the families' movements to protect their privacy. Malaysia Airlines is working with the Chinese government to speed up passport formalities for the families, and with Malaysian immigration on visas, the statement said.
cntv.cnOther families chose to stay back in Beijing to receive official airline briefings from the Lido Hotel
Other families chose to stay back in Beijing and receive official airline briefings from the Lido Hotel
Image via themalaymailonline.comThose who have congregated in the Lido Hotel in Beijing, wearily trudging back time and again to official airline briefings where news trickles out, if at all, feel that not enough is being done to support relatives.
cnn.comFamilies from across China have come to the capital to be close at hand for any news of their loved ones, but have been placed in hotels far from the city center. An elderly man said at the briefing that he doesn't know where to find hospitals from his hotel and he feels dizzy.
cnn.comBut anger erupted on that day itself when frustrated Chinese families threw water bottles at four MAS employees
Four Malaysia Airlines (MAS) employees bore the brunt of anger from frustrated families in China as yet another day dawned without new leads on the missing flight MH370.
themalaymailonline.com
The MAS officials could only dodge the onslaught as family members of the 138 Chinese passengers lobbed water bottles in their direction, unable to deliver any news on the fate of the Beijng-bound jumbo jet that carried their loved ones among its 239-people load, the New York Times (NYT) reported last night.
themalaymailonline.com
Throughout the day, MAS staff — many whom were volunteers — but identifiable by their bright blue vests had offered bottled water and helped the families of the Chinese passengers clear the necessary red tape brought on by the disaster: passport, visa and hotel forms in a hotel room in Beijing. The first water bottle flew towards MAS staff after Ong asked who wished to fly to Kuala Lumpur and who wished to stay behind in Beijing, NYT reported.
themalaymailonline.com
‘We, the relatives, have not come here to be fed and lodged,” said Mr. Wen, father of a passenger on the missing jet. “We have come to ask the government and Malaysian Airlines to give us information on the whereabouts of our relatives. We need to get this information urgently.”
globalnews.ca
On 18 March, relatives in China threatened to go on a hunger strike unless they are given the truth
On 18 March, relatives in China threatened to go on a hunger strike unless they are given the truth
Image via todayonline.comFurious Chinese families threatened today (March 18) to go on hunger strike until the Malaysian government tells them the truth about the fate of their relatives aboard a Malaysia Airlines flight which went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
“What we want is the truth. Don’t let them become victims of politics. No matter what political party you are, no matter how much power you have, if there isn’t life, what’s the point? Where is compassion?” asked one middle-aged woman angrily. “You’re always going back and forth. I think your government knows in their heart why we want you to answer us. Because you’re always tricking us, telling us lies,” added one man.
On 19 March, Chinese family members in KL protested against the withholding of information during the daily press conference. A distraught mother was seen crying and shouting as security dragged her away.
A Chinese relative of a passenger aboard the missing MH370 is carried out of a press conference by security officials.
Image via scmp.comDistraught family members of Chinese passengers who were on flight MH370 stormed a meeting room in Kuala Lumpur ahead of a Malaysian government press conference, as investigations into the missing airliner entered a 13th day but yielded few conclusive answers.
"Where are my sons, I need to know where they are," said one woman from Beijing.
A handful of relatives evaded heavy security at the Sama Sama Hotel near Kuala Lumpur International Airport and unfurled a banner saying: "We protest against the Malaysian government withholding information and holding up search efforts." The relatives burst into the hall as reporters were preparing for the latest update on search efforts to find the missing aircraft.
"It's been 12 days. How can the Malaysian government not let us know of our son's whereabouts?" one woman demanded.
"Not one Malaysian official has said one comforting word to us," she said.
A Chinese relative of passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane cries as she speaks to journalists at a hotel in Sepang, Malaysia
Image via smh.com.auActing Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who has been the face of investigation, assures that they are doing all they can to help and inform the families
The investigation into the pilots continues ... Malaysia's Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein speaks during a news conference about the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
Image via smh.com.auMalaysian officials have been giving separate daily briefings to the families in Kuala Lumpur about the latest developments, including the scope of the search and points of interest in the investigation.
"One of our main priorities is how to manage emotions and how to appease families. We are sending a high-level team to Beijing to explain what we are doing," Hishammuddin Hussein, the acting transport minister, told the press briefing. "We do understand their concerns and are trying our very best. It's heart wrenching."
theguardian.com
On 21 March, Malaysia sent a high level team to China to assist and take care of the families there
Malaysia’s defense minster Hishammuddin Hussein said they’re sending a high level team to Beijing and assist and take care of the family members of the missing Chinese passengers. But it’s doubtful that will bring any comfort to the families.
cntv.cnThe Malaysian delegation, which included representatives from its defence ministry, civil aviation authority and a Boeing 777 pilot, was despatched by Prime Minister Najib Razak on the weekend after it became apparent that the plane had been deliberately diverted and had likely flown on for hours after it first went missing.
When Malaysian officials finally arrived Friday morning, they greeted the families with a presentation on the flight route. Around 400 to 500 relatives attended, but this contact comes a full two weeks after plane went missing. Perhaps surprisingly, the assembled relatives listened to the already-known news calmly and quietly.
cnn.comThe questions came thick and fast from the Chinese families, in a tense briefing from a senior Malaysian delegation, flown in from Kuala Lumpur just the night before.
There were questions on the likelihood of survivors, the latest on the Australian-led search in the Indian Ocean, and numerous red herrings and conspiracy theories. But mostly, families were here to vent, frustrated at what they perceive as a botched investigation into the missing Malaysia Airlines flight that has left 153 Chinese nationals unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, MAS have assigned trained caregivers, financial assistance, SMS updates, flight arrangements and such to the families
Malaysia Airlines said in a statement that it would now send out SMS alerts with brief updates to the families, in addition to phone calls.
A "special consolation payment" of 31,000 yuan -- around $5,000 -- has been paid out to relatives of passengers and crew, China's official state media reported. The airline's CEO said Sunday that only "immediate financial assistance" was so far being given to the families.
cnn.comMalaysia Airlines has said it has sent trained caregivers, including psychologists, to support them. But confusing and contradictory briefings from the authorities, and the lack of progress in the search, have angered and disheartened many family members. "There is no information. They can't answer anything," complained one man in his 50s as he left a meeting at the Beijing hotel where families are waiting.
theguardian.com
Beleaguered airline reps have pledged to make an effort to improve the situation. "We might have flaws in our action here (accommodating the families), but our intention is definitely to take good care of them," a manager of Malaysia Airline's Asia Pacific Region told the briefing.
cnn.comThe disappointed families are now forming a "Passenger's Relatives Self-help Committee" to unify their voices against MAS and the Malaysian government
Family members talk to government representatives at the Lido Hotel in Beijing on Monday.
Image via ReutersDeeply disappointed by the lack of support and information, and frustrated by a lack of Malaysian government presence in Beijing, some family members are setting up a "Passengers' Relatives Self-help Committee," and are inviting each family to bring one representative forward and will then vote on what to do next.
cnn.comAnxious families of missing passengers on board Flight 370 are forming a committee to liaise with Malaysia Airlines amid growing anger over a lack of information. The committee will also pass on important news and information to the rest of the families.
A group of up to 30 would be chosen to represent them in facing the media and Malaysian officials. “By forming a committee, we can unify our voices and only then will the [Malaysian] government attach importance to what we say," said the man, who declined to give his name.
MAS' handling of the situation is so "unpopular" that they could be facing potential lawsuits from the families in Beijing
Wen Wancheng, spokesman for the Chinese relatives of the MH370 passengers, clings to hope despite Australia's announcement of possible aircraft debris. He insists: "My son is still alive" Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/flight-mh370-malaysian-officials-face-frustrated-chinese-families-20140321-hvlcz.html#ixzz2waCKjWSK
Image via theage.com.auThe airline's handling of the situation is so unpopular that the families in Beijing are talking about potential lawsuits. Ye asked for an envoy from the airline to confer with the families to explain the details of the situation.
"The longer the wait, the bigger the mental shadow we have," he said.
The limbo the families find themselves in is creating uncertainty about their rights and eligibility for compensation, with relatives taking the desperate step of asking the airline for advice on their legal standing.
cnn.com"Right now, there are just two options, one is the passengers are alive, the other is that they are dead," one woman said at a briefing Tuesday. "As an airline, you need to explain to all of us here what rules and conditions apply in either of these cases for us family members here, and what rights do we have in either cases. You have the responsibility to inform us that."
cnn.com"We reserve our legal rights to sue," one relative told CNN. "What they've done so far is so unpopular. At least no one in China is saying anything good about them. We have to definitely practice our own rights."
cnn.com