On Saturday, the Iranian-Canadian community honoured the memory of all 176 people killed on the Ukraine-bound flight that was inadvertently shot down by the Iranian military on Jan. 8.
Dozens gathered at the Triwood Community Association to pray and remember victims one day after another vigil was held in the city.
“We are hoping to remember the many precious lives that were tragically lost in the aviation catastrophe in Iran,” said Navid Nafisiyazdi, a spokesperson for Calgary’s Baha’i community.
Though attendee Rozita Ighani didn’t know any victims personally, she feels sad about the whole situation.
“I can’t imagine what their families are going through, and I feel a responsibility as a Persian person and as a human being to honour these people who passed at such an unforeseen situation,” she said.
“It’s best to have a place where people can all gather and mourn together, and that kind of unity really helps the heart heal much faster.”
Guest Armin Ataee was grateful the community came together.
“The tragedy overseas has touched a lot of people worldwide, particularly in Canada seeing that 57 were Canadian citizens,” he said. “I was just really happy to see that locally, in Calgary, there were friends that decided to put this together.”
He hopes for closure for the families now that Iran has accepted responsibility for unintentionally shooting down the plane.
Amin Omidy attended the vigil to support the Iranian community, calling the tragedy painful for everyone.
“Unfortunately, based on the conflict we have in the Middle East and all the tension in the area, there is no way we can exclude such an accident,” he said.