Image on the cover of the video, a photograph I took of Laura at our home on New Year’s Eve.
I received and replied to messages underneath one of the YouTube videos I created for Laura. Thank you Scott.
“My heartfelt condolences for your loss, Leona, and for the terrible experience you had getting answers from the building staff and police. I was just looking at the Wikipedia page for the Burj Khalifa, saw the mention of your daughter’s death, and then found your website. I had a natural curiosity, and you answered the questions that any of us would have. You write beautifully, and I was very moved, even sharing your loss a bit. I’m even tearing up now. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. I don’t know what else to say, but that I send a virtual hug, and I hope that you feel less alone knowing that your story and tribute to your daughter has touched others and caused them to share just a bit of your grief.”
“In persevering to get answers about your daughter’s death, you have also done a public service by shining a light on the corruption of the Dubai government, a government of lies. If they lie about something so benign as what building your daughter fell from, I can just imagine what else they lie about. I never want to go there, where the government is the enemy of truth, justice, and individual rights.”
“If only the police and the building staff had not lied and had treated you humanely, there would be no justice to seek, only grief, but they had to compound the loss by treating a grieving mother as a pest, and forcing you to go to Dubai just to get basic answers, and still wondering about whether the Blackberry card was stolen. It’s unconscionable. And your story implies that you handled this alone, without other family or friends who cared about Laura. Just thinking of you being alone in this quest to find out what happened to your child in a foreign land made me so sad and upset, so I just wanted you to feel not alone. Frankly, I was even more moved by your story. Laura was so troubled and not thinking so much of those she left behind when she chose to fall off the building, but in her right mind, she would be so comforted knowing how much of your life you have devoted to her memory. We should all be so lucky to have someone care about us so much. Your love for your daughter is beautiful, but I do hope that the grief doesn’t overwhelm you, and that you are living your life and seeking happiness as well. You deserve it. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has read this story, who feels empathy and care for you, the beautiful soul who has gone to so much trouble to keep her daughter’s memory alive, and to shine a light on the circumstances of her tragic death.”
Laura Vanessa Nunes 