In January 2020, Flight PS752 was set to leave Iran when it was struck by two missiles, killing 176 people on board. Many of the victims were children and students.
Now, more than two-and-a-half years after their tragic deaths, many of those victims are being honoured by their schools through memorial scholarships.
Amir Moradi was 21 years old when he died after the plane was struck down. For his parents, the loss of their only child still hits them as though it were yesterday.
“I’m so close to my son’s birthday, and this is so, so much pain,” his mother Azadeh Heydairpour explained.
Moradi was a volunteer at the Sick Kids Hospital and was studying to one day become a doctor.
“He loved his university,” Heydairpour added.
“He loved to study. He wanted to be successful. He had a bright future.”
Despite Moradi’s tragic death, this fall his parents are celebrating their son’s legacy.
Two students have been awarded bursaries in Moradi’s name at Queen’s University in Ontario.
“This makes me so happy. At this moment, I really start to cry,” Heydairpour recalled.
READ MORE: Report into downed jetliner leaves B.C. Iranian community with unanswered questions
In Calgary, another crash victim is being honoured in a similar way.
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Arshia Arbabbahrami was a student at Western Canada High School, where he was often found exercising in the fitness centre.
His social studies teacher and fellow fitness enthusiast, Jason Hutchins, said Arbabbahrami had a unique workout regimen that caught his eye.
After training his teacher on bodyweight exercises, Arbabbahrami also started sharing his routine with classmates.
“(He was) teaching multiple kids every day after school and they were just really drawn to him — his energy,” Hutchins said. “He was just a really unique young man. It was pretty cool.”
When Arbabbahrami died, Hutchins tried to honour his memory in the school’s fitness centre.
“I typed up his workout, and we call it the Arshia Workout,” he said.
Teachers and supporters also put together a scholarship in Arbabbahrami’s name.
“The award will recognize an ELL (English Language Learner) student who is new to Canada and has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to healthy living and fitness, while also contributing to the Western Canada High School community by demonstrating kindness and compassion,” reads the scholarship description online.
Hutchins said scholarships are especially important for international students because of their increased tuition. “The cost is a lot, so every little bit helps.”
At the University of Alberta, scholarships will honour two professors and a student whose lives were also cut short: Mojgan Daneshmand, Pedram Mousavi and Elnaz Nabiyi.
“The scholarship is for five years but we are working hard to perpetuate this scholarship and have it forever,” explained Nabiyi’s husband, Javad Soleimani.
Nabiyi was working towards her PhD when she died. Her husband thinks she would appreciate the gesture.
“I think definitely Elnaz would love to see that in her memory,” Soleimani said.
The funds for her scholarship came from proceeds of a documentary about victims of Flight PS752.
READ MORE: Canada ‘will not rest’ until Iran held accountable for plane crash: Trudeau
“We hope we have more scholarships at different universities all around Canada,” Soleimani said.
“It is very important to keep the memory of those victims who lost their lives in the downing of Flight PS752.”
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