The elements may have conspired against them but yesterday the relatives of the 329 people who perished on Air India flight 182 gathered together to remember their loved ones with the people of west Cork on the 20th anniversary of the atrocity.
A steady drizzle fell and a thick shroud of fog blanketed Barraun mountain and the Mizen Peninsula as the first of the 200 or so relatives began arriving shortly after 6am at the specially designed memorial garden to the Air India victims at Ahakista, outside Bantry. Women dressed in saris, men in suits and children who never knew those lost, came from Canada and India to remember loved ones. They were joined by over 500 local people who were touched by their plight 20 years ago and became their friends.
Families made their way to the sundial memorial designed by Capt Owen Deignan and carved by sculptor Ken Thompson, before going to the plaque on the curved stone wall which bears the names of those who died.
For some, like 27-year-old Ambika Jain from Toronto - who lost her 16-year-old sister, Annupama - it was a first visit to Ireland and the marking place for so many families who never recovered the bodies of their loved ones.
Annupama was travelling on her own to India but never made it, said Ambika, accompanied by her mother, Usha. They arrived in Ahakista on Wednesday and had some quiet moments at the memorial. "It was great to be able to come here yesterday on our own and say a few prayers and pay our respects. It was very tough but I'm glad we came," said Ambika, who lost her father, Raj, some 10 months before the Air India tragedy.
The actual commemoration began with a welcome by the mayor of Cork county, Cllr Paddy Sheehan, followed by prayers for those who died, read by members of the Hindi, Muslim, Sikh, Bahai, Zoroastrian, Catholic and Church of Ireland faiths. President Mary McAleese told those gathered beneath the flag of Canada, flanked by the flags of India and Ireland, that the commemoration united in sadness and solidarity the people of the three countries. She hoped in the memorial the families find comfort and solace.
"It is a reminder, not simply of those lost lives but of continuing care and concern for those who grieve."
Canadian prime minister Paul Martin said the gathering of people from different countries marked a coming together "united in the bond of our shared humanity, to bear witness at this eternal monument, to declare our outrage and to celebrate a communion of compassion."
The minister of state at the office of the prime minister of India, Prithdiraj Chavan, thanked the Irish people for their support.
Some 331 white balloons - representing those who died on the plane, Kanishka, and two baggage-handlers killed in another explosion at Toyko's Narita Airport - were released before relatives went to the shoreside to float candle lanterns out to where their loved ones lie.
The relatives did not leave without paying tribute to the many friendships and kindnesses encountered over the years from the people of Ireland - a generosity best caught by Nisha Thampi (26), who lost her mother, Vijaya, in the bombing.
"While we appreciated the support and faith from our families and friends, an unexpected source of healing came from the other side of the Atlantic and what we will not forget is the care, kindness compassion, generosity of the people of Ireland," said Nisha.
"They have shared our pain, anguish and sorrow. When we were too exhausted to cry, when there were no tears left in us, it was their eyes that shed tears for us. We will never forget their gestures of humanity ..."
