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My Friends Were Murdered in the MH17 Bombing, but I Feel Like They've Been Avenged

The Dutch Foreign Minister's UN address reminded me to fight violence with humanity. Now there's just the question of whether a Russian dictator will manage to show some empathy and human decency.

My friend Tim with his girlfriend, Sascha

My close friend Tim Nieburg and his girlfriend, Sascha Meijer, were murdered last week.

Shot down from the sky.

It’s so incredibly surreal to not only be dealing with the death of two people you love, but to have to face the fact that they died due to political tensions that they personally have so little to do with.

When I heard the news last Thursday night, I felt a surge of violent and resentful emotions towards those responsible for their deaths. Emotions that may be vaguely akin to those that thousands in the Middle East and Africa have to face every day, confronted with the murder of their loved ones as a result of pointless political conflicts.

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The feelings I felt were understandable but still slightly depraved; an instinctive urge for vendetta. Luckily, not so long after, I realized this barbarian impulse for revenge is something a reasonable human should never convert into action.

Now, more than ever, I find it impossible to understand the situation in Israel and Gaza. How can you tear people's lives apart every day by indiscriminately killing their loved ones? This is just as much a question for Israel as it is for Hamas and its affiliates.

A few days ago, I heard the Dutch Foreign Minister was on his way towards New York, to meet with the UN. Coming from a country known for its culture of consideration, which—over recent years—has given us leaders with weak characters, I expected this meeting would be more of a chitchat over a cup of tea than a chance to really influence international relations.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans' speech at the UN

But I was wrong. Yesterday, someone stood up. Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans' powerful speech, in which he called upon Russia to take action, seemed to make a real emotional impact upon his peers. Obviously, the true legacy of his speech remains to be seen, just like the question of whether a Russian dictator will manage to show some empathy and human decency.

But if there’s one thing Timmermans' speech proved already, it’s that you can also fight violence with humanity. And for me, that’s the best revenge I can possibly imagine for Tim, Sascha and all the other victims of MH17.