‘My life is destroyed'

Winnipeg Free Press

21 hours ago

Loved ones let their tears fall freely on Saturday morning during the unveiling of the first permanent memorial in Canada dedicated to the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752.
The catastrophe that claimed the lives of 176 people (including nine from Winnipeg) and an unborn child on Jan. 8, 2020, began when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — whom the Canadian government named a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code as of last year — shot down the aircraft near Tehran, Iran, shortly after takeoff.
Saturday's commemoration at Scurfield Park in south Winnipeg marked day 2,000 since the lives of those connected to the victims were forever changed, including that of Azadeh Heydaripour, whose son was on Flight PS752.
'I cannot see any future in my life, because I've lost everything,' said Heydaripour. 'When you lose your only child, and you work so hard to grow him up to be a good human in this world, and lose him in just two minutes… My life is destroyed.'
Heydaripour's son, Amir, was 21, studying at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., when his life was unexpectedly taken. She couldn't help but break into tears once she saw his name etched in stone with the other 175 victims.
'These are not just names. This means my son is here forever,' she said. 'Moms need a place to go to see, to cry, to love, and to remember them. Now, my home is the only place I can come to see him. He is here forever, and this will stick with me forever.'
'Justice is a common cause' was the phrase commonly used while members of the Iranian community shared their thoughts during the memoriam. Heydaripour said not a day has passed when justice hasn't been on her mind.
'Since the first day this happened, the only thing that has led me to continue this life is justice,' she said. 'We are fighting for it, and we are not going to step back until we get it for everyone.'
Canada has been one of many nations — along with the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Ukraine — that have vowed to seek answers about the crash, holding the Iranian military accountable for their actions, which they are yet to claim accountability for.
Maral Groginpour believes part of achieving justice is remembering those who were killed.
'They deserve to be remembered for who they were,' Groginpour said. 'As you can see on the stone, it's written that it's an open wound in the sky. That open wound means it is bleeding every day in our hearts for the loved ones we have lost.'
Groginpour lost her husband, Fared Arasteh, just days after they had gotten married. Arasteh, 32, was a PhD student in biology at Ottawa's Carleton University.
She felt mixed emotions as she gently tucked a bright rose under his name on the headstone.
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'I felt the anger of the injustice, the anger of how our lives were ruined, but at the same time, a closure that I can finally see him be remembered and have his name honoured,' Groginpour said.
Building the memorial took around three and a half years, according to Kourosh Doustshenas, the co-project manager and spokesman of the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims.
City councillors and legislative members, including Terry Duguid, David Pankratz, Obby Khan, and Janice Lukes, also came to show their support for the lives lost nearly six years ago.
'Their memories will live on, but it's not enough to have just the memories. The fight for justice must continue,' said Khan, leader of the official opposition.
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