{"id":62699,"date":"2020-01-16T15:02:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T20:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=62699"},"modified":"2025-09-30T10:25:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:25:59","slug":"vigil-tehran-plane-crash","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/vigil-tehran-plane-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton Remembers: Honouring Those Lost in Tragic Plane Crash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton Remembers: Honouring Those Lost in Tragic Plane Crash\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Hundreds of Carleton University students, faculty, staff and members of the broader Ottawa and Iranian-Canadian communities gathered on campus Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 to honour and celebrate the lives of our student and alumnus and all those who died in the tragic plane crash in Tehran one week earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fareed Arasteh was a PhD student and teaching assistant in the Biology Department at Carleton, and Mansour Pourjam was a Biology alumnus.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThere is nothing more tragic than the loss of young life, and we are all mourning for Fareed and for Mansour,\u201d said Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cOn behalf of the university, I would like to offer my most sincere and heartfelt condolences to their families, friends and colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All 176 passengers and crew aboard the plane died when it was struck by two missiles and crashed shortly after takeoff near Tehran on Jan. 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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One hundred and thirty-eight people on the flight were on their way to Canada and 57 were Canadian citizens, many of them students, faculty and staff at universities across the country. A national moment of silence to mourn the devastating loss was held an hour before the vigil at Carleton began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Carleton community is a caring community and we support one another in good times and in bad times and in times of tragedy,\u201d said Bacon. \u201cLife is short and through bad luck or malevolence, it can be made shorter still.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cAll we can do, to paraphrase Indigenous Elder Barbara Dumont-Hill, is strive to live life in a good way. As you will hear today this is how Fareed and Mansour lived, and this is what we can to do honour their memories.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Catherine McKenna, Canada\u2019s minister of Infrastructure and Communities and the MP whose riding contains Carleton, brought condolences from the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is heartbreaking,\u201d said McKenna. \u201cI look around and see many members of the Iranian community and know how much you\u2019re suffering. But you should know that all Canadians are with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike many of you, I am so sad,\u201d continued McKenna. \u201cBut I am also very angry because we shouldn\u2019t be here crying and mourning two members of the community of Carleton, of Ottawa, of Canada. Their stories are stories of hope and brilliance. They choose to come to Canada, after years of work, often at great risk and great expense, and moved on. But as we work through this tragedy and support their families and friends, we have to honour the memories of these incredible people. We owe it to them. We need to do what they did \u2014 to live and dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

Never Give Up on Your Dreams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Throughout the hour-long vigil, people who knew Fareed and Mansour well shared beautiful and funny stories about two men who brought so much joy to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arasteh \u2014 who had just married his long-time girlfriend in Tehran – was a passionate and determined student on his way to becoming a distinguished scientist.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI thought that talking about him would help me accept the fact that he\u2019s not coming back, but there are no words that can ease the pain or fill the void that so many of us are feeling,\u201d said his close friend Reza Samanfar, a Computer Science master\u2019s student at Carleton.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cInstead, I decided to talk about what he would talk about if he was standing here instead of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe would tell us to dream \u2014 and to never give up on our dreams. He dreamed of coming here to Carleton, he worked really hard for his dream, and he made it a reality. So, let\u2019s learn from Fareed. Let us live our lives to the fullest, take a closer look at the people around us, our friends and family, and let\u2019s have an impact on their lives. Because life is unpredictable and can be too short.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carleton
From left to right: Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Catherine McKenna, and Reza Samanfar, master\u2019s student in Computer Science.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Biology Prof. Ashkan Golshani, Fareed\u2019s PhD supervisor, took the podium next and told the audience about one of his first conversations with the young student, who at the time had a master\u2019s degree and was making decent money working for a biotech company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Golshani asked him why he wanted to trade that stability for five years working 12-hour days as a PhD student with an uncertain future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fareed responded that he may have a good life, but he wasn\u2019t living fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe meaning of life for him was to make a contribution,\u201d says Golshani, \u201cand that was the answer I wanted to hear. Working in a lab was living his dream. That\u2019s what we want to hear from graduate students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Ashkan Golshani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It took two years for him to be admitted to Carleton as an international PhD student. Golshani welcomed him to Canada and told him that he had three weeks to prepare for a presentation to 45 scientists on a topic he knew almost nothing about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe delivered,\u201d recalled Golshani, \u201cand I realized this is a guy who is going to go places. He meant business. He wasn\u2019t here to play. He was a player<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is a very sad situation, but it has brought all of us together, and we should look at it as an opportunity to build bridges.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When Fareed died, added Golshani, his fellow students lost a brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTraditionally, when somebody dies, we ask everybody for a moment of silence,\u201d said Golshani.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI respect that. But I don\u2019t think that reflects Fareed. He made noise, and I invite all of you to make some noise to celebrate his life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A minute of loud applause followed.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

A Smile You Could See From Far Away<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Mansour Pourjam was a denture technician who lived in Barrhaven and worked in Bells Corners. He loved to make people laugh, and leaves behind 13-year-old son Ryan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMansour was an entertainer,\u201d said his brother Masoud. \u201cI remember the first time he landed in Canada. Me and my older brother went to the airport to pick him up and we were still far away when I saw his teeth \u2014 he always had a very big smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI also remember the first day I dropped him off at Carleton,\u201d continued Masoud. \u201cWe got a coffee and were sitting and talking. He didn\u2019t want to finish the coffee. I told him: \u2018I have to go, brother.\u2019 He said it was the best coffee of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Masoud
Masoud, Mansour Pourjam’s brother<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ryan spoke next and told the audience about his father.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI can\u2019t remember a single moment in my life when my dad had any negativity in his voice or actions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI did, obviously, but he always told me to stay positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about the bad things, because my dad wouldn\u2019t want to talk about the bad stuff. I look to the audience and see his family and friends, the relationships he built over decades, and it comforts me, because you\u2019re all here to celebrate Mansour\u2019s and Fareed\u2019s amazing lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMansour, if I could describe him in one word, it\u2019d be strong. He\u2019s been though tragedy after tragedy, wall after wall, wrong turn after wrong turn, and he stood strong. He was amazing \u2014 and we loved each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI stand up here a week after this horrible tragedy and I still can\u2019t believe it. I feel like I\u2019m dreaming. But I feel like if I was dreaming and he woke me up, he\u2019d tell me it was going to be OK. And it will be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ryan
Ryan, Mansour Pourjam’s son<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Robert MacLeay, owner of the Ottawa Denture and Implant Centre, where Mansour was a dedicated and beloved employee, said he \u201cwas a guy who brought light to a dark room.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI have to echo what Ryan said: In 17 years, we never saw him angry. It was remarkable. Our family at work was a small group. We all worked together and he leaves a big hole.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

MacLeay told a couple stories about Mansour\u2019s love of food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe absolutely treasured birthdays at the office, not so much his own, but anyone\u2019s birthday, because it meant there was going to be cake \u2014 and there was going to be cake for days and days afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember him being distressed, absolutely distressed, when two people in the office had the same birthday. It meant he was going to be shortchanged cake \u2014 so we had to stagger the birthday so he could get his cakes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mansour was a Jack of all trades who fixed broken equipment, MacLeay said with a smile, and broke equipment that was not in disrepair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe called it the \u2018Mansourian approach,\u2019 and we loved him dearly. It was all about levity with Mansour. He was all about trying to make everybody feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

Different Cultures Living in Peace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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After MacLeay, the vigil\u2019s emcee, Karen Schwartz, Carleton\u2019s associate vice-president (Research and International), introduced the afternoon\u2019s final speaker, Engineering Prof. Fred Afagh, who represented all of the Iranian faculty members at the university.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cCanada lost people who had so much to offer to their adopted homeland,\u201d said Afagh.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cA good number were academics, scholars, students, researchers and professionals who were valuable contributors to the future of Canada and humankind in general.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof.
Prof. Fred Afagh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Afagh described Iran as a cradle of ancient civilizations that has produced so many celebrated minds, including the 13th<\/sup> century poet Saadi Shirazi, whose work emphasized the unity of humankind. He quoted from Saadi\u2019s poem \u201cBani Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Adam\u2019s children are limbs of one body<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That in creation are made of one gem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When life and time hurt a limb,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other limbs will not be at ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You who is not sad for the suffering of others,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Might not deserve to be called human.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Iran airplane tragedy \u201ctranscends national boundaries,\u201d said Afagh, quoting a colleague, \u201cand as such it shows how our solidarity as humans also transcends those boundaries. If living in Canada has taught us one thing, it\u2019s the value of different cultures living together in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

—
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Hundreds of Carleton University students, faculty, staff and members of the broader Ottawa and Iranian-Canadian communities gathered on campus Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 to honour and celebrate the lives of our student and alumnus and all those who died in the tragic plane crash in Tehran one week earlier. Fareed Arasteh was a PhD student […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":62706,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28],"cu_story_tag":[1924,1919],"class_list":["post-62699","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships","cu_story_tag-advancement","cu_story_tag-faculty-of-science"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/62699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/62699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97377,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/62699\/revisions\/97377"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=62699"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=62699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}