We, the comrades of Unit 1012, will
remember the 283 people killed on the plane, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, 2014. Today, we remember two
Western Australians, Arjen and Yvonne Ryder who were among the victims. Let us
remember them, we offer our sincere condolences to the family members of the
couple.
"So long as we live, they too shall live and love for they are a part of us as we remember them."- Gates of Prayer
Agriculture
expert Arjen Ryder and wife Yvonne among seven Western Australian victims of
MH17 disaster
·
Trevor
Paddenberg
·
PerthNow
·
July 18, 2014
 |
| Arjen Ryder, one of the victims on board flight MH17. |
A TOP agriculture department
researcher who fought salinity for 30 years and helped rehabilitate thousands
of hectares of land is among the seven WA victims on flight MH17.
Arjen Ryder and his wife Yvonne have
this afternoon been confirmed among the dead on the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines
flight.
It is understood the Albany couple
were returning from a visit to the Netherlands, where Mr Ryder had family.
Mrs Ryder’s sister Anne Trudgeon told PerthNow
she had a lost a “beautiful” sister and brother-in-law.
“I have lost my beautiful
sister and brother-in-law last night on flight MH17. Words cannot express the
grief we are going through,”
she said.
“We love them very much. I
will miss them. May God give us strength to get through this.”
One of his closest colleagues, Ruhi
Ferdowsian, who worked alongside Mr Ryder at the Department of Agriculture and
Food WA (DAFWA) for almost 40 years and co-authored several books and research
papers on salinity, said the news was “devastating”.
Mr Ryder, 54, was due to return to
work at the department on Monday when he was to receive a special award for 30
years of service as a senior technical officer.
The couple leave behind three
children.
“I’m shocked. I loved ‘Arj’.
He was loved by everyone in the department,” Mr Ferdowsian said.
“The crime that some people
do and the result of that — taking the lives of innocent people — is just
unbelievable.
“He was healthy, very
active, sporty. He loved canoeing, he loved sailing. He was such a gem — a
beautiful person. I miss him dearly.
“He made a lot of difference
because salinity is a big issue. I was a senior resource officer and Arj was a
senior technical officer working with me all these years since 1985. He was
such a beautiful person. A lovely smile comes to mind. He was very approachable.
“He was a very close friend
and a close mate. We loved working with each other. Farmers loved him and
thousands of farmers in WA know him. He was very dedicated to his work.
“On field trips, we would
stand by the lights of the truck and continue working hours after sunset. He
was the kind of person who would put a lot of hours into his work without
expecting anything in return. He was dedicated. He was cheerful. He was
knowledgeable. He was just a beautiful person.”
 |
| Arjen and Yvonne Ryder from Kalgan, near Albany in Western Australia. Both Arjen and Yvonne were on flight MH17 that was shot down over the Ukraine. |
Mr Ferdowsian said he saw his best
mate just over a fortnight ago.
“He was supposed to get back to Perth
and receive his 30 years of service award on Monday. Now that won’t happen,” he
said.
“It’s a very sad day. More than 1000
people in Albany know Arjen, especially farmers. He has been writing, doing
talks about his field work, and he did significant work on perennial pulses and
the impact of them in reducing the extent of salinity. It was a joy to work
with him.”
Mr Ferdowsian said he and Mr Ryder
worked closely with farmers to rehabilitate saline land across vast tracks of
WA’s south coast.
“They did the work and we did research
and advised what to do and analysed results and came up with management
procedures to reduce salinity,” he said.
He said Mrs Ryder was also a
“beautiful person” and a wonderful mother.
“Their children were always very
courteous, decent people. We have lost the core of a decent family in Albany.
The community will be mourning,” Mr Ferdowsian said.
“The children, definitely, will be
missing their father and mother. They have a very close relationship. It was a
very close, loving family. They will miss their dad and their mum. If you want
to find a symbol of a good family, Arj and Yvonne and their children were it.”
DAFWA this afternoon confirmed one of
its employees was aboard the flight.
“We have been advised a DAFWA staff
member was on the Malaysian airline plane that crashed overnight in east
Ukraine,” a spokeswoman said.
“Out of respect for the family’s
wishes, we cannot comment further at this stage. We will provide further
details as soon as appropriate.”
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