JOIN USTo fly or not to fly?
On the one hand, they have lost their confidence to fly again, and on the other the question of sustaining their family and making both ends meet has been propelling their thought to go back to Dubai boarding a plane, which has now become a nightmare for them.
Krishnan, a survivor, might have got a new lease of life but his worries have only doubled. Despite having worked in a manpower company in Dubai for nine long years, Krishnan has not yet managed to build a house of his own and he knows it well that if he stays back in India, his dream will never be realised.
“When I close my eyes, the only thing that flashes in my inward eye is the horrible episode of the crash. I do not want to fly again but I do not have any other option because there are lots of things left for me to do. Over the last two days, I had thought of staying back but when I see my daughters, I muster courage and tell myself that I have to go,” Krishnan says with worry peeping over his forced smile.
Another survivor Mayan Kutty has made a decision and he does not want to spare a second thought. “I have decided not to step on any flight ever again. When I am asleep, I feel as though I am falling into a bottomless well from where there is no escape. I think I can never overcome this feeling,” Kutty said and added that there were days when he used to look forward to board a flight and watch cotton heap like clouds pass by. But, henceforth, he says that he can never enjoy the company of clouds.
Pradeep G K, an A/C technician, says that he wants to go back but it is his mother’s fear of losing him that is holding him back. “The incident has undoubtedly made an impact on my mind but I want to move on. Unfortunately, this incident has affected my 65-year-old mother and she says that she can never let me go again. I don’t know what to do,” he said.
Abdulla Puthur Ismail says that he has to overcome the trauma and go ahead, failing which he and his family will have to starve. However, amidst pain, pangs and worries, Minister Muniyappa’s statement of providing suitable employment to the survivors in India itself in case they do not wish to fly back, has brought a ray of hope.