“An international response is being formulated.”
Students, University of Guelph faculty, and members of the wider community gathered on Friday night to remember Milad Ghasemi Ariani and Ghanimat Azhdari, who died Jan. 8, when Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down near Tehran.
The vigil was held in War Memorial Hall and was largely organized by the Guelph Iranian Student Association.
Sonya Wu-Winter, coordinator of Multi-Faith Programs spoke and expressed a sentiment that was echoed many times by the various speakers who addressed the hall that night and shared their thoughts on the loss and their memories of the two students, that in mourning we are brought together: “Here in Guelph we join together in this time of national mourning and national solidarity. We come together tonight to tell stories, to extend our hands to one another in connection and support, to share words of comfort, and to assure one another that none of us is alone.”
Ghanimat Azhdari was a PhD student in the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics. She was described in a letter by her academic advisor, Faisal Moola, and read at the vigil, as a “passionate activist” who had dedicated her life to the protection of Indigenous lands, or “territories of life,” as she called them.
Milad Ghasemi Ariani was pursuing a PhD in the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies. His friends described him as hard-working, always generous with his time, and funny.
Both were returning from visiting Iran over the winter break.
“It’s my hope that tonight we can reach out and support one another,” Franco Vaccarino, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Guelph, told the nearly-full hall. “We commit to remembering all those we lost this week.” Vaccarino went on to emphasise that the vigil was a chance for the community to reflect on “the strength of our shared common humanity.”
David Said, president and CEO of the Graduate Student Association, said that a tree will be planted in memory of Milad Ghasemi Ariani and Ghanimat Azhdari.
While the details of what happened on Wednesday that led to the plane being shot down are still under investigation, Iran has admitted “unintentionally” shooting down the passenger jet. The crash resulted in the deaths of 176 people including 57 Canadians and four members of the Guelph community.
MP Lloyd Longfield, spoke on the response from Canada, saying that since the crash on Wednesday “we’ve had two cross Canada conversations,” with at least one including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence, and that they hoped to have people on the ground as early as Saturday, Jan. 11. “An international response is being formulated,” he said. It is being done so to “get the answers the world deserves.”