The day one woman sought the US President’s attention over MH370

It has been more than 10 weeks since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished with 239 people on board and with each passing day, their families' hopes are diminishing. The Malaysian Insider is running a series of interviews with the grieving families in the hope that Malaysians will never forget those on board the flight.

Last month, when US President Barack Obama was on his way to Universiti Malaya to meet Asean youth leaders, a lone woman stood near the entrance to the university, holding a huge manila card with the words: "Barack Obama, the most powerful man in the world. Please help me find my husband, Patrick Gomes on MH370".
It is not known if Obama even noticed her, but that was the first time Jacquita Gonzales came out in the open after MH370 vanished to become an unprecedented aviation mystery.
The second time she appeared in public was on Sunday, where along with several other families members of the flight's crew, she announced that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had "abandoned" them.
Gonzales and other family members of the crew said MAS had pulled back their caregivers after the flag carrier learnt that the families had sought international legal help to look into the plane's mysterious disappearance on March 8. It has yet to be found.
Speaking to The Malaysian Insider later, the 52-year-old woman said the saga of the missing flight, with her husband on board, was the second major traumatic event in her life.
The first was when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.
"I had my husband with me then. He was my pillar of strength," Gonzales said.
Now she said, she is is fighting a bigger battle –  trying to obtain information on her husband, any news, she said, good or bad.
Gomes was the inflight supervisor on the routine Malaysia Airlines flight which vanished while en route to Beijing.
Gonzales is also trying to keep the family together. She has three daughters and a son. She is also a grandmother.
She said the endless wait for information on her husband took a toll on her. She felt she needed to do something.
And despite the advice of her children, she decided to get the attention of the US president to her plight.
“When I heard the news that Obama will be here, I told my children what I wanted to do. They did not agree. They told me to stay home, but I ignored them," Gonzales said.
On April 27, at 11am, she drove to UM. She stood under the blazing sun for a few hours holding the card up high hoping that the president would notice her when his motorcade passed by.
“After hours of waiting, more people came, I was pushed to the back but still held on to the card and when his car did  pass, I held up the card high. I don't know if he saw it."
She did not stop there. After that she drove to the hotel in the city where Obama was staying, hoping again to get his attention.
“I was alone. I parked my car nearby and waited for him. The police asked why I was there. I said I just wanted to show the US president my card,” said Gonzales.
She said the police, however, told her that this was not allowed and they took her card away.
“I asked them back for the card and told them I would stand far away but they refused.
"What harm could I do? I was alone with a card. Even that they said no,” said Gonzales.
So when Obama finally arrived at the hotel, she could only watch in dismay from afar.
"I left after that,” she said.
Gonzales said although the entire family is still upset that Gomes is missing, no one is taking this harder than their 15-year-old son.
"Until today, he sends text messages to his father's handphone."
“He asked how long does his father want him to cry. He is only 15. It's the father and son bond and now he does not talk much and prefers to stay in his room. He only comes out when I ask him to," she said.
She said throughout the time, she been getting emotional support from the caregivers provided by MAS.
“MAS took good care of the crew’s families. Sometimes up to three caregivers are assigned to a family," Gonzales said.
Things, however, changed last week when MAS decided to pull out the support system as well as other assistance for the families of the seven crew members, including Gomes’s, because they had sought legal help to protect their interests.
“I need it. We do not have to talk about the compensation. It's the compassion part that I missed,” she said.
In a statement yesterday, MAS denied abandoning the families of MH370 crew who have sought legal help, saying it was only following directives from lawyers who insist communication must be done officially.
"MAS clarifies that certain crew member families have retained foreign lawyers to represent their interests, and these foreign lawyers have directed that MAS cease from any further direct communication with their clients, and that MAS direct all further communications regarding these crew member families to them," the flag carrier said in a statement.
"As for family members without legal representation, the airline has been in contact with them via the Family Support Centre (FSC) and have been providing these family members updates from the JACC (Joint Agency Coordination Centre) and the Malaysian government," it added.
Gonzales said she was finding it hard to cope as days go by.
“Our grandson's birthday is coming up at the end of this month. Our 30th wedding anniversary is also coming up around the same time and it will be my husband's birthday in July.
"I still tell my two-year-old grandson that grandpa is away working."
Gomes is one of the longest-serving MAS cabin crew member. He has been working with the airlines for more than 30 years.
The Boeing 777-200ER plane carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members vanished on March 8. The plane has yet to be found despite an extensive search in the South China Sea and southern Indian Ocean.
Putrajaya had been heavily criticised by the international media and the kin of the passengers and crew over its handling of the search efforts. – May 20, 2014.