“A sense of disbelief” as losses are counted in Edmonton’s Iranian community,
Mourners gather at a vigil outside the Alberta legislature.
A newlywed couple. A family of four. Students returning from their winter break.
Edmonton’s small Iranian community was counting its losses Wednesday after a plane crash in Iran that left176 people dead — including 63 Canadians, many of whom had been travelling home to Alberta.
“More than anything, people are mourning,” said Pegah Salari, a member of the city’s Iranian community. “We are still at that initial state of grief when everyone’s so shocked.”
While a list compiled by the community pegged the city’s losses at 25 people, the Star has so far been able to independently confirm that 13 members of the local Iranian community died in the crash.
“The impact is so big, because of the large number of individuals involved, that it’s going to take some time for us to actually comprehend what actually happened,” Salari said.
“More than anything, it’s a sense of disbelief right now.”
Edmonton has about 4,300 people of Iranian origin, according to the 2016 census, compared with about 95,000 in the Greater Toronto Area and 45,000 in Vancouver.
Reza Akbari, president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton, estimated Edmonton’s Iranian community is closer to 6,000 when students are included.
He said the University of Alberta has been a popular destination for Iranian students because it’s perceived as one of the top research universities in the country, specifically citing its engineering, energy and environment programs.
Masoud Ardakani, the University of Alberta’s associate chair of electrical and computer engineering, confirmed in an email that professors Mojgan Daneshman d and Pedra m Mousavi were on the flight, along with their daughters, Daria, 14, and Dorina, 9.
Daneshmand is an associate professor in the engineering department at U of A, as well as Canada Research Chair Tier II in radio frequency microsystems for communication and sensing. Mousavi worked in the same department as a professor in mechanical engineering.
Nooran Ostadeian, a friend, remembered Daneshmand and Mousavi as the “happiest couple” she had known. “I want them to be remembered as a symbol of love, community members who did a lot … Great teachers for their students.”
Maryam Hajazi, who coached Dorina in a soccer program, remembers the girl as being intelligent and curious. She would frequently ask questions about techniques and how she could be the best player she could be.
“She most probably got the gene from her parents,” Hajazi said. “She was so smart, everyone liked her.”
The Calgary Board of Education confirmed that Arshia Arbabbahrami was an international student in Grade 12 at Western Canada School who was returning to Canada after spending the holidays with his family in Iran.
“He dreamt of being a doctor and was a leader in our community who many students looked up to,” principal Carma Cornea wrote in an email to students and families.
Arbabbahrami, Cornea wrote, was active in track, as well as the swim and dive teams.
Ramin Fathian worked in the same office as Nasim Rahmanifar, who was working on her master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the U of A and was considering a second master’s or doctorate.
She had started the program in May 2019, and Fathian remembers how anxious and scared she was of Edmonton’s winter, having lived most of her life in Iran. He said their group of friends spent time together every weekend, frequently playing volleyball. Rahmanifar was always eager to go back to Iran.
“She was super excited to get back home to visit her family … She missed them a lot,” he said. Also on board were Arash Pourzarabi and Pouneh Gorji, of Edmonton who’d married days before boarding the plane.
“I’m in big denial right now. I can’t understand what’s going through my mind,” said Amir Samani, a graduate student in the same computer science department Gorji and Pourzarabi belonged to. “I even check my phone to see, is he going back online again? Are we going to talk again?”