"The violence will never stop; that's all they know." Those are the words of my late grandmother who often talked about the constant fighting in various countries.

She said for boys in other countries, fighting is a way of life. This was all they knew.

My grandmother was also always concerned when boys were born because, in her time, it was an old wives' tale there would be a war when the boys were old enough to be drafted.

She was very concerned when my two sons were born.

We saw evidence of my grandmother's belief July 17 when 298 people were killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight Number MH17, which took off from Amsterdam, was shot down over Ukraine near the Russian border.

In a press conference July 18, President Barrack Obama said, "Their deaths are an outrage of unspeakable proportions.

"We know at least one American citizen, Quinn Lucas Schansman, was killed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family for this terrible loss."

Obama said the Netherlands lost the most citizens.

"Here's what we know so far," Obama said. "Evidence indicates the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile launched from an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists inside of Ukraine.

"We also know this is not the first time a plane has been shot down in eastern Ukraine. Over the last several weeks, Russian-backed separatists have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane and a Ukrainian helicopter, and they claimed responsibility for shooting down a Ukrainian fighter jet.

"Moreover, we know these separatists have received a steady flow of support from Russia. This includes arms and training. It includes heavy weapons and it includes anti-aircraft weapons."

And what of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 which vanished March 8, carrying 239 passengers and crew from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing?

The Associated Press reported while over the sea east of Malaysia, the plane made a sharp turn, crossed the Malaysian Peninsula and turned south over the Indian Ocean.

Where is the plane? Did it crash in the ocean after running on autopilot until running out of gas as some suspect or is the theory the plane was taken correct?

News reports show one of the plane's communications systems had been deliberately shut off and the final communication with air traffic controllers was "all right, good night."

Recent intelligence showed a potential threat of uncharged cellphones by travelers from other countries traveling to the United States. TSA agents now require those cellphone users to prove cellphones are charged.

I wonder if that was a factor in any recent strikes.

Can you imagine being a family member or friend of someone on either of these planes?

To not know where passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 are or whether they are dead or alive is unthinkable.

For relatives of Malaysia Airlines Flight Number MH17, personal belongings, decks of cards, children's drawings and bodies are spread across the television for all to see.

In both situations, the grief has to be incredible with closure hard to come by.

And for those passengers, they never dreamed they would be in harm's way.

For Schansman, it was a matter of meeting his family for a vacation. Others were leading HIV/AIDS experts attending a conference.

On Flight 370, was a mechanical engineer from New Zealand, Paul Weeks. Reports are before he left home, he took off his wedding ring and his watch and gave them to his wife.

He reportedly told his wife if anything happened to him, the wedding ring was to go to the son who got married first and the watch to the other son.

The youngest passenger on that flight was 23 months old. Approximately 80 children, some infants, were on Flight MH 17.

The people responsible for these despicable acts must realize the gravity of what they are doing and how they affect those left behind.

Murdered were children, fathers, mothers, grandparents and contributing members of society.

The mind shift has to be taught peace outweighs war and no act of violence is more important than human life.

There are other ways to solve problems and taking the lives of innocent people is not one of them.

Debbie Galbraith

editor

East Penn Press

Salisbury Press