KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Mohammad Afif and his family were about to start a new chapter in their lives. Afif was getting set to begin his university studies in architecture, and his father was preparing to move back to Malaysia with his wife and three of their children after working overseas for several years.
But what was supposed to be a joyous return home turned into a tragedy when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 went down over Ukraine last week en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people onboard, including 19-year-old Afif and his entire family.
Afif had left Kuala Lumpur in late June to meet with his parents and three siblings, who had been living in Kazakhstan for the past three years. Afif spent the last year on his own back home in Malaysia, completing his foundation year at Taylor’s University.
“The way Afif was packing up his things, it felt like he was going away forever,” Afif’s friend and housemate Khairil Azwan said Monday, describing Afif’s packing for his trip to meet with his family.
Khairil was among 70 Taylor’s students and faculty members who gathered at the university’s mosque for a special prayer session organized by the school.