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"A beastly error, not a human one"

January 14, 2020
IranWire Citizen Journalist
4 min read
This is where the memorial service for Dr. Pedram Mousavi, Dr. Mojgan Daneshmand and their children was held. They were passengers on the Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 which was shot down by an Irania
This is where the memorial service for Dr. Pedram Mousavi, Dr. Mojgan Daneshmand and their children was held. They were passengers on the Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 which was shot down by an Irania
Placards bearing condolences for the deaths of the scientist couple and their two young children.
Placards bearing condolences for the deaths of the scientist couple and their two young children.

The entrance to the Friday prayers mosque in Tehran’s Gharb township is filled with garlands and bouquets of flowers. This is where a memorial service for Dr. Pedram Mousavi, Dr. Mojgan Daneshmand, and their two children Darya, 14 and Darina, 9, is being held. They were among the 176 passengers and crew of Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 that was shot down on January 8 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand were both graduates of the Iran University of Science and Technology. Pedram’s major was electrical engineering with a minor in communications. Mojgan’s major was the same and her minor was electronics. They both received their PhDs in Canada and were members of the faculty and research team at Alberta University. Their fathers, medical doctors each, are colleagues.

Aside from family and friends, many of those attending the service did not know Pedram or Mojgan, or their families, but still wish to pay their respects.

One of these visitors, Mohsen, has tears in his eyes. “Dr. Pedram studied electrical engineering in our university,” he says. “I studied in the same university and in the same field, electrical engineering with a minor in communications. When I heard the news I felt I identified with Pedram and asked around until I found that his memorial service is here and is today. It is a pity that our country does not appreciate these scientists,” says Mohsen, shaking his head in sorrow.

Dr. Fathollah Mousavi, Pedram’s father, tells the audience about his son, speaking with a lump in his throat. He starts his talk with a memory of when Pedram was preparing to go to Canada: “When he was about to receive his scholarship, he told me that the university’s president was refusing to sign the list of his grades. I said I knew what to do.”

He explains that he was able to secure the list of certified grades by offering some money: “Then and there, Pedram became aware that money solves everything in Iran. But I told him to avoid [bribery] and Pedram always followed this advice.”

Dr. Mousavi says that his son’s students, his friends and his colleagues all attest to his moral and ethical character.

He then describes the marriage of Pedram and Mojgan: “These prodigies cannot find a partner on their own. And he wanted to marry. Then we got to know the Daneshmand family. Mojgan resembled Pedram in looks, in temperament, in thinking, in ideology, everything. Mojgan herself was another Pedram."

 

Soulmates Who Found Each Other

Dr. Mousavi says that in the past few days, friends of Pedram and Mojgan have called them offering condolences as well as sharing details from the friendships they had shared with Pedram and Mojgan. He pauses for a few moments and then goes on: “Look what a son I brought up. He was 47 and he had so much kindness in him that every day, no matter where I was, he would ask how I was doing. Now, in what they call human error, my son, his lovely wife and my two adorable grandchildren are blown to pieces. This is not a human error. It is the highest form of a beastly error.”

He felt a little calmer after the memorial service at Alberta University, Dr. Mousavi says, which included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Alberta’s provincial leader and the university president all participated.

“Everyone at this memorial had grief in their eyes. And Pedram’s and Mojgan’s colleagues repeatedly praised their moral character,” Dr. Mousavi says. “It was decided that every year from now on they would grant an award in the name of Pedram and Mojgan to the university’s top students.”

“Iran is the Third World,” Dr. Mousavi adds, “a world that does not value scientists. It is the First World that knows a country progresses because of its scientists, not because of ignorance, negligence and ineptitude.”

But then Dr. Mousavi says that a visit from the authorities helped to soothe his pain. “This morning a gentleman from the Revolutionary Guards, and a religious lady, came to see me to offer their condolences. This calmed me down because I did not expect even this much.” He then pauses before saying “I am very careful not to say anything for which they would take me away. I am just remembering my son and daughter-in-law so that you know being cautious has its limits.”

Finally, Dr. Mousavi says that “one must never marry. If he marries, he must not have children. And if he does have children, he must put whatever he has in the service of his child. For seventy-some years I put my every breath, my whole being, at the service of this child, but these people did something to me that broke my back for the rest of my life.”

The audience weeps. And the father of Pedram Mousavi swallows in sorrow once again.

 

Related Coverage:

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Iran Mourns, 13 January 2020

Soleimani Was a Murderer, So is his Leader, 12 January 2020

Iran’s Saturday of Rage: Online Anger Pours into the Streets, 11 January 2020

Who Will Khamenei Blame for the Plane Crash?, 11 January 2020

Guards’ Recklessness Caused the Plane Crash, 11 January 2020

The Ukrainian Plane Crash and a Writer’s Desperate Quest for Truth, 9 January 2020

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Daffodil Season in Iran

January 14, 2020
Daffodil Season in Iran