Thursday, April 3, 2025

July 22, 2014

Bereaved Father Sends Open Letter To Putin

Social media is proving to be one of the few platforms to which bereaved families can turn for solidarity, following the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 last week. This seething father pours out his broken heart on Facebook.

Social media is proving to be one of the few platforms to which bereaved families can turn for solidarity and any kind of outlet for their grief and anger, following the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 last week. This seething father pours out his broken heart on Facebook.

A Dutch man who lost his only child on MH17 has written a letter to “Mr Putin” and outlined the life that his 17-year-old daughter planned to lead.

Hans de Borst, whose daughter Elsemiek de Borst was killed along with her mother, said the 17-year-old planned to finish high school and become an engineer.

In a grief-stricken open letter that went viral after being posted on social media sites, he signed off as “Hans de Borst – whose life is ruined”.

“Mr. Putin, Many thanks to the Separatist leaders of Ukrainian government for the murder of my dear and only child, Elsemiek,” he wrote.

 The pain of bereaved parents who lost children in the crash is overwhelming at this time. Hans is not alone in sharing the future his daughter was planning to have and will, now, never get to see with bitterness and sorrow.

Read the original translation of the letter on his Facebook page  here and find more on this story at The Telegraph.