When Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua applauded the bravery shown by staff of Fiji Airways’ repatriation flight to Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel yesterday morning to bring home Fijians, not many people would have picked on this.
It is difficult to comprehend the gravity of the situation in Israel while sitting back here in Fiji. The team flew in and flew out with pilgrims from Fiji who were there for the Feast of Tabernacles.
The group left Fiji on a chartered flight from Nadi to Tel Aviv on September 28 and were in Jerusalem when members of Hamas breached Israel’s boundaries in a surprise attack on Sunday, October 8.
As airlines cancelled flights into Tel Aviv because of the severity of situation, and the declaration of war by Israel, the Fiji Airways crew flew in and brought back more than 200 passengers.
According to Mr Tikoduadua, the flight had 198 Fijians and 13 Fijians who were pursuing studies in agriculture in Israel, and a diverse group of international travellers from Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, the Philippines, and the US.
“The audacious commitment of Fiji Airways, especially the valiant crew members who chose to fly into a nation at war, cannot be overstated. Their unyielding courage reflects the Fijian spirit of resilience and commitment, proving that the safety of our people is paramount. Their bravery stands as a testament to Fiji’s dedication and the lengths we are willing to go to, to protect and care for our own,” Mr Tikoduadua said.
Government, he said, acknowledged the bravery shown by the crew, “and every individual and entity that contributed to its mission”.
While there will be questions hovering around the safety aspects of flying into a war zone, it is difficult not to be moved by the decision of Fijian pilots and crew members to do so.
With that in mind, we reflect on a bid by Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and Britain asking the International Court of Justice in July this year to open proceedings against Iran over the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane in 2020 that killed all 176 people on board.
On July 5, Reuters reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight on January 8, 2020 shortly after it took off from Tehran Airport in what Iranian officials said at the time was a “disastrous mistake”.
The countries said Iran had failed to take all practicable measures to prevent the downing of Flight PS752 and had failed to conduct an impartial, transparent and fair criminal investigation and prosecution. “Iran says its forces accidentally shot down the Boeing 737 jet at a time when tensions were high between Tehran and Washington, and a final report issued in 2021 blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air defence operator.”
Tehran later convicted as many as 10 Iranian military personnel according to Iran’s Mehr News, which was dismissed as a “sham ruling” by families of the victims. CNN reported that the Boeing 737 aircraft, according to Iranian authorities, was mistaken for a cruise missile by an air defence operator.
The scenarios may or may not be different. But the underlying story here is one of great courage and bravery. We can only imagine the emotional responses of all those involved. Anything could have happened.
There will be questions asked, and obviously there will be many happy families very grateful their loved ones are out of the war zone.
