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Special Features

Remembering the PS752 Victims: Shadi Jamshidi

August 7, 2020
IranWire
4 min read
Shadi Jamshidi, an Iran-born PS752 passenger, pictured here with her father
Shadi Jamshidi, an Iran-born PS752 passenger, pictured here with her father
The 31-year-old had moved to Canada in 2010 to pursue her studies at Calgary University before joining an oil company in Toronto
The 31-year-old had moved to Canada in 2010 to pursue her studies at Calgary University before joining an oil company in Toronto
"Shadi boarded a plane that never reached its destination. Her flight became eternal"
"Shadi boarded a plane that never reached its destination. Her flight became eternal"

On January 8, 2020, a Ukrainian Airlines passenger aircraft was shot down over Tehran by two missiles launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The tragedy, which Iran still insists was the result of "human error", claimed the lives of all 176 people onboard and pitched their families and loved ones into a living nightmare - one they are still living through today.

Among the innocent civilians on Flight 752 were 82 Iranian citizens, 63 Canadians,11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, seven Afghans, three Britons and three Germans. They included doctors, students, athletes, activists and environmentalists: individuals pursuing their own dreams and ambitions both inside and outside Iran, and with bright futures ahead of them. 

An international investigation into the incident is underway, spearheaded by Canada, France and Ukraine. But in the meantime, the devastated families of the PS752 passengers are still in limbo. Bereft of either justice or accountability for the disaster that shattered their lives, some of these individuals are now being represented by the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, which has published a series of heart-rending personal letters and testimonies to honor those who were killed on January 8. 

IranWire is supporting the Association's fight for justice by translating these final tributes into English and publishing them on our pages. We hope that through these efforts, the remarkable lives and aspirations of those aboard Flight 752 will not be forgotten.

 

The Snow Has Melted, My Dear Shadi!

For Shadi Jamshidi, a PS752 passenger

By Razie Ansari 

 

Shadi came with the snow on January 21, 1988: the first day of the Persian month of Bahman. It had started falling at high noon that day and made Tehran all white. Her parents were happy, seeing it as a good omen. The war ended a year later.

But when Shadi left, it left a fire burning in their broken hearts that no rain or snow could put out. 

September 23, 1994. A smiling girl was going to school with her mother, where the latter worked. The girl’s name was Shadi. She would prove to be an excellent pupil, a credit to mother and her family. She got her high school diploma from Kherad School, came 700th in the national examination and went on to study chemical and petrochemical engineering at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University of Science and Technology.

But before the end of her first year there, Shadi’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. Together with her father, brothers and relatives, she bore the weight of her mother’s pain and suffering. When her mother was restless, her daughter’s heart beat fast too. It was a bad year for them all. Then the anxiety and strain was replaced with sorrow as her mother passed away.

Shadi became a good friend to her father. She kept the house warm and bright. Whenever someone was worried, she would tell them: “I’m here. Don’t worry.”

In 2010 Shadi travelled to Canada to pursue her studies at the University of Calgary’s Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. It was a cold town. The winters were heavy and long. But Shadi worked hard and endured all the difficulties to graduate with the highest possible grades. From there she went to Toronto to work for an international oil company. Two years later, her brother’s family also moved to Toronto. There was a nascent hope that the loneliness and hardship would come to end. 

Shadi was thirsty for experience. She wanted to see the world. In her photographs she documented trips, camping excursions, sports and all of her most exciting and joyful moments. She loved nature and was kind to the environment. She enjoyed listening to music, reading books and going to the movies. Recently, she had fallen in love with a boy named Nima. The boy also loved Shadi sincerely. They were planning to start their shared life soon, under a lofty roof of dreams. 

By now, Shadi had been away from Iran for six years. She was coming back to see the people, places and past that she missed. She wanted to hug her father, the man she spent most of her time with in Iran, like no daughter has ever hugged a father. “Home is the best place to be,” she always used to say.

Who would have thought that she would be sent to her eternal home so soon? 

Came the dawn on Wednesday; that damned, dark Wednesday, January 8. The sun didn’t want to come up so as not to hear the cries of fathers, mothers, wives, husbands and children. Shadi hugged her father – one of those hugs. They smelled each other, kissed each other and left each other at the mercy of God: a God who had long turned unmerciful. Onwards to Toronto. Shadi boarded a plane that never reached its destination. Her flight became eternal. 

They gave her father a body shrouded in a white piece of cloth and said it had been “human error”. This was Shadi, but she no longer is. The Shadi-that-was-but-no-longer-is was buried in Lavasan Cemetery, on the mountains in the embrace of nature. That day too was cold. The snow fell once more. But the hearts of those who attended were on fire: a fire that tore up all the way up to the sky. 

Shadi came with the snow. 

Shadi left with the snow. 

After she is gone, the snow will fall again. But it will not bring Shadi. 

 

Translator: Arash Azizi

Editor: Hannah Somerville

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