Memorials to Iran plane crash victims draw Metro Vancouver mourners
Credit to Author: Jennifer Saltman| Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2020 00:21:22 +0000
She didn’t personally know anyone who died in Wednesday’s plane crash in Iran, but Tareh Mousavi felt it was important to take the time to add a bouquet of flowers to a growing memorial outside of a North Vancouver bakery.
The bakery is owned by Amir Pasavand, whose wife, 36-year-old Ayeshe Pourghaderi, and 17-year-old daughter Fatemeh Pasavand were killed when a Ukraine International Airlines flight crashed shortly after taking off from an airport near Tehran.
“It’s a big disaster. It breaks our hearts,” Mousavi said on Thursday. “All of these people that we don’t know, they are part of our life. All of us are part of our community, and Iranian Canadian people. Whether we know them or not, they are our family and it’s so sad.”
Mousavi wasn’t alone in her grief over the lives lost. A steady stream of people, mostly members of the Iranian community, visited the memorial, one of many that have popped up across the region and country since the plane went down.
Maryam Noori and a friend lit candles and laid flowers, and her voice cracked as she spoke about Pourghaderi, Pasavand and two other friends who died on the plane, North Shore couple Mohammadhosse (Daniel) Saket and Fatemah (Faye) Kazeranim.
“I’ve been in the community for a long time, so I know a lot of people. It’s so devastating,” Noori said.
Mahin Khinroudi stood in front of the bakery, tears rolling down her cheeks. She frequented the business to buy bread.
“I know they are hard-working people,” she said. “It’s a pity. I’m very, very sad.”
Flowers at a memorial for the victims of Tehran crash set up by the City of North Vancouver.
All 176 people aboard the flight died, and the passenger list included at least 63 Canadians, and more than a dozen people who lived in B.C. On Thursday, two new names were added to the list of B.C. residents.
Mehran Abtahi, 37, joined the University of B.C. in October 2019 as a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of civil engineering. Soheila Massoumeh Moshref Razavi Moghaddam, 55, lived in West Vancouver and was a mother of three. She worked at the North Vancouver Travelodge
The local dead also include Firouzeh Madani, Naser Pourshabanoshibi, Ardalan Ebnoddin-Hamidi, Niloofar Razzaghi, Kamyar Ebnoddin-Hamidi, Delaram Dadashnejad, Roja Omidbakhsh, Zeynab Asadi Lari and Mohammadhossein Asadi Lari.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said intelligence information from multiple sources indicates that an Iranian surface-to-air missile took down the plane, and that the strike might have been unintentional. Ukrainian officials have said a missile is on their list of potential causes for the crash. Trudeau stressed that there needs to be a complete and thorough investigation.
“We don’t know why this happened for all this bunch of people,” said Mousavi. “It’s a big question for myself and I wish we can have answers for all those questions.”
Also in North Vancouver, next to a fountain in the public plaza between city hall and the library, the city placed flowers, candles and a note of condolence “for all those in our community and across the country who are mourning the loss of their loved ones.”
Some people added to the bouquets, while most stopped just long enough to read the note and perhaps snap a photo.
At the University of B.C., which lost three alumni and a postdoctoral research fellow in the crash, flags were lowered on both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, and support services were in place for those affected by the tragedy.
Denna Homes will hold a celebration of life for Saket and Kazeranim on Saturday at the Denna Club from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saket, a civil engineer, worked for the company.
A gathering in support of the Iranian community is scheduled to take place outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday, starting at 12:30 p.m.
— With files from The Canadian Press