Mehrnaz Massoudi is an author and emotional healing coach in Penticton.
She’s closely watching what is happening in her home country of Iran.
Following the plane explosion that killed 176 people outside the Iranian capital of Tehran, Iranian citizens have been protesting, on Saturday.
“Anti-government protests started in Iran at 5 a.m. in the morning,” said Massoudi. “There are hundreds of thousands of students protesting in the streets.”
She relates to the anger of the protesters, and for her, it’s personal.
“My second cousin, Niloufar Sadr, was in that plane and she lost her life,” Massoudi told Global News on Saturday. “She had relatives in Iran, she was visiting over Christmas holidays and she was flying back. ”
READ MORE: ‘Mixed emotions:’ Loved ones of Iran plane crash victims angry, shocked jet was shot down
Sadr was a Toronto resident and had been living outside of Iran for most of her life.
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“It is a very tragic death,” said Massoudi. “It is a very deep grieving, not just for Nilourfar, but for everyone on that plane. ”
When the news broke about the plane crash, Massoudi says beyond dealing with deep mourning, she was also frustrated with what she was hearing.
“We’re hearing news from the U.S.A. and Justin Trudeau,” said Massoudi. “They were confirming the plane was hit by a missile and the Iranians were denying it. ”
She suspected all along what the Iranian government admitted on Friday.
It admitted that the Iranian military shot the plane down with a missile.
Massoudi, along with the rest of Canada, await for more details involving the plane crash.
Trudeau called for a full and complete investigation on Saturday.
Niloufar Sadr leaves behind two daughters and a son in Toronto.
Massoudi wrote a memoir on her life before and after the Iranian revolution in 1979 called “Never Without Love”. “Never Without Love” was published last year.
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