Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CNN, March 19, 2014) — A woman wailed as security guards dragged her out of the briefing room used to provide updates on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
She is the mother of one of the passengers, and her protest is but one sign that patience is fraying among the relatives of the missing.
The families of the passengers have been mostly out of the spotlight as Malaysian authorities spearhead a mission to find the plane. But as day 12 rolled around with no answers, the frustration became evident.
Not knowing the fate of their loved ones weighs heavily on the family members, who are desperate for answers.
Three women, relatives of the passengers, staged a protest at the Kuala Lumpur hotel where the world’s press is staying. Their efforts were cut short by security guards who removed them through a crush of reporters, dragging one as she screamed.
“I don’t care what your government does,” one woman shouted, referring to the Malaysians. “I just want my son back.”
The flashes from dozens of cameras lit up her face as she spoke.
The woman identified herself as the mother of Li Le, a 36-year-old Chinese national aboard the missing plane.
“My son,” she said, weeping. “I just want my son back.”
Another woman, wearing a blue shirt, white baseball cap, sunglasses and a face mask, raised her right arm as she demanded more information from the Malaysian government.
“We need media from the entire world (to) help us find our lost families and find the MH370 plane,” the woman said. “We have no information at all. … They only say ‘keep searching’ — from South China Sea to Malacca Strait to Andaman Sea.”
She and the other families waiting in Kuala Lumpur said they aren’t satisfied with “the Malaysian government’s inaction.”
“What we need is to know the truth, to know where the plane is,” she shouted. “We have had enough. Malaysian government are liars.”
Guards then escorted the women out, apparently against their will.
The screams of Li Le’s mother were piercing as she was dragged through a sea of reporters.
The other two women were led out by guards. All three were taken to a room in the hotel, and Malaysian authorities blocked the door.
