BY KARYL WALKER, Crime/Court Desk Co-ordinator walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, August 24, 2009

Last Thursday's release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the siblings of Olive Gordon, a Jamaican who died in the incident.

Gordon was one of 259 passengers aboard Pan Am Flight 103 which exploded over Scotland.

All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when the plane crashed into the town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988.

Al-Megrahi, who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is expected to die in another three months, was released by the Scottish Government - which held him prisoner for eight years - on compassionate grounds.

But to Olive Gordon's brother, Conroy Gordon, the convicted terrorist has done irreparable damage to his sister's loved ones.

The woman's siblings and mother lived on Gold Street in Kingston at the time of the bombing and, according to Gordon, their lives have never been the same since.

"We had a good life in Jamaica and this man destroyed our lives," Gordon told the Observer in a phone interview last Friday. "We had to move from Jamaica and go to England to deal with this horrendous trial.
We had to travel to Holland back and forth."
Olive's death, he said, had a devastating effect on the family.

Libyan Abdel Baset al-Megrahi (top, left) using stick, who was found guilty of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, is accompanied by Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of Libyan leader Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi upon his arrival at Tripoli airport, Libya on Thursday, August 20 to a hero's welcome. (Photos: AP)

"My mother never recovered from it and died a year later," said Gordon. "My mother was not the same; she was just a different woman. She died of a broken heart. For some reason my younger brother attempted suicide and subsequently died. It just ruined our lives."

On Thursday, al-Megrahi was given a hero's welcome when he got off the plane at Tripoli Airport in his native Libya.

Al-Megrahi was accompanied by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who had earlier promised the Libyans that he would bring the convicted terrorist home.

Upon al-Megrahi's arrival, the junior Gadhafi raised his hand in triumph.

His release drew harsh criticism from the victims' relatives. US President Barack Obama called his release "highly objectionable" and urged the Libyans to confine the convicted bomber to house arrest.

On Thursday, Conroy Gordon said al-Megrahi's release has further driven pegs of hurt into the hearts of the victims' relatives.

"To see him just walk away and get a hero's welcome in Libya is just destroying for us," said Gordon, his voice suggesting that he was close to tears. "He should not have been allowed to leave the Scottish prison. Justice should be allowed to take its course and he should have died in prison. You have 270 people whose lives were taken unceremoniously and this man is allowed to walk away to die the way he wants to die? Is that fair? It was like they were just laughing at us."

Al-Megrahi was the only person to be convicted for the bombing and his sentencing depended on the testimony of a storekeeper who recognised him as the man who bought a shirt in Libya. Scraps of the shirt were later found among the plane wreckage.

Olive Gordon was born in England but spent her formative years in Jamaica. She acquired hairdressing skills and was widely successful plying her trade in the United Kingdom.

After the terrorist attack, Gordon said he was the one assigned by his relatives to identify his sister's body.

The sight, he said, was one that he will never be able to overcome.

"I personally identified it. Sometimes there are things you don't wish on your worst enemies. It was a horrendous experience. The lower part of her body was covered so we didnt see the extent of the damage. She had a huge hole in her head," Gordon told the Observer.

After 21 years, the pain of the tragedy has not eased and Gordon, now in tears, wondered why the Scottish authorities released al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds.

"They welcomed him as a hero, but who is looking after my hero?" he asked.