00:00It was on a Friday morning when I got the news that my mom's plane got shot down.
00:10So at that point I was in denial, in shock, because the last telephone conversation I had,
00:18the last correspondence I ever had with her was about a few days ago before her flight.
00:23I called her confirming if she'll be picking me up that Saturday.
00:30Diana Yazeera is the daughter of the late Dora Shahila Qasim,
00:34the chief stewardess aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17,
00:38which was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down 12 years ago on July 17, 2014.
00:46Just 15, and studying at a boarding school in Seremban,
00:50Diana received the devastating news during Ramadan.
00:53Her life would never be the same again.
00:56From three until I'd say 18, so 15 to 18, about three years, I completely neglected my studies.
01:04I was in a really, really dark place.
01:07I didn't want to study.
01:10Everything or nothing or no one could have made me study anyway.
01:16I'd received the exam paper and I'd push it to the side and just sleep.
01:20Because at that point, I felt like, what's the point?
01:24She's a single mom.
01:26She's my best friend.
01:27She's the reason why I live.
01:29She's no longer here.
01:30What's the point of me having to go on with life?
01:34Despite poor SPM results,
01:36Diana gradually rebuilt her life,
01:38going on to become one of the top 10 scorers in her foundation program.
01:42She earned a scholarship to study law in the UK.
01:45Last year, she was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.
01:51I'd like to think that she's proud.
01:57Because I devote my life every day to wanting to see her in heaven.
02:05I feel like that's my aim now in life.
02:07And when I want to see her in heaven at that point,
02:13I don't want her to look at me with any sort of disappointment.
02:16So I try to be better than I was yesterday.
02:20In July 2025, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of MH17.
02:28But for Diana, forgiveness had come long before the judgment.
02:32It was a no-brainer for me.
02:34It was a given.
02:36With all the next of kin who have been saying it for years,
02:40and I guess having the court to rule that out,
02:43to me, was sort of a relief.
02:46But at the back end of it,
02:48they didn't take accountability as well.
02:50So, knowing what I knew then,
02:55I decided to let go of the grudge that I had
03:02towards the people that shot the plane down.
03:07Justice is only made fair
03:12for those who don't hold significant power in the world.
03:17And that's sad.
03:19So, I feel for future generation,
03:23that's something that we need to change.
03:26By sharing her story,
03:28Diana hopes the victims of MH17 will never be forgotten,
03:32and that one day,
03:33their families will finally find the closure they deserve.
03:36TVRagu, FMT.
Comments