More than 500 people gathered at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax on Saturday, joining together in prayer, tears, and remembrance of the 176 people on board a flight that crashed near the Iranian capital of Tehran on Wednesday.
Flowers, photos and candles were laid out at the front of the auditorium to honour five of the passengers who had connections to Nova Scotia; Masoumeh Ghavi, an engineering student at Dalhousie University, and her sister, Mandieh Ghavi; Dr. Sharieh Faghihi, a dentist who worked in Halifax for several years; and Maryam Malek and Fatemeh Mahmoodi, who were attending Saint Mary’s University as masters of financial management students.
The ceremony on Saturday was the third public vigil to be held in the province, with community members packing into the Al-Rasoul Islamic Society in Bedford on Thursday and more than 100 people gathering at Saint Mary’s University on Friday.
The vigil on Saturday was the largest.
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“I cannot stop looking at those faces, thinking about their dreams,” said Ali Nafarieh of the Iranian Cultural Society of Nova Scotia, at the opening of the vigil.
“It could be any of us.”
Friends and family members wept openly throughout the ceremony, which saw officials from every level of government offer their thoughts on the tragic deaths.
Lena Diab, Nova Scotia’s minister of immigration, thanked all of the guests for their acts of love and support in response to a “shocking” and “tragic” incident.
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said that he hoped for peace to everyone affected by the crash and asked everyone to learn from the example of those on board the plane.
“If there’s anything we can take from this tragedy it is perhaps to … learn from the example they set,” he said.
“Let us be teachers, caregivers … leave the world a better place than where we found it.”
Friends, colleagues and family members were able to offer their thoughts on how they were touched by those who died.
Marjan Adibi, the sister-in-law of Faghihi, described the dentist as a passionate and devoted mother with a beautiful laugh that could “fill up a room.”
Reza Rahimi, a member of the Dalhousie Student Association, said that although Masoumeh Ghavi had only been at the university for a couple months she was well known by everyone.
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At one point, Ivan Joseph, vice-provost of Dalhousie University asked the audience to take the hands of the people next to them.
“Don’t sit there in isolation,” Joseph said as his request was met with laughter.
Joseph said that it was important for everyone to remember that they were all connected and affected by those they had lost. He compared the audience to trees, saying that all trees need to survive is a little attention and light. Joseph asked that everyone in the audience share their light and love with those who were grieving.
Joseph’s message was echoed by Robert Summerby-Murray, president of Saint Mary’s University.
“Keep looking after eachother.”
—With files from Jeremy Keefe
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