A small group of people gathered at Iqaluit’s Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum for a candlelight vigil on Saturday, honouring those who died in the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752.
“I posted something on our community discussion page, on Facebook, to see if there would be any interest of people to gather,” said Iranian-Canadian Iqalummiuq Sima Sahar Zerehi, “and I was shocked that so many people sent messages of support.”
The repercussions of the crash that claimed the lives of 176 people, including 57 Canadians, have reached even to the small Iranian communities of Canada’s northern capitals.
“It was another [piece of] terrible news in a series of terrible news from the region,” said Ramin Mostmand, an Iranian-Canadian who lives in Yellowknife. “This news is really taking a toll on everyone.”
In Yellowknife’s small Iranian community, as in Iqaluit, many were only one or two degrees of separation from victims of the crash, he said.
Longtime Yellowknifer Roya Yazdanmehr, whose family roots are in both Iran and Ukraine, had a personal connection to Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand, a couple killed in the crash.
“This couple were an instrumental force at the University of Alberta for mentoring many students,” she said. “My husband was one of those students.”
She said Mousavi made it possible for her husband to study in Canada, where they met and were married.
“I feel deeply indebted to them for their kindness and mentorship, and everything they’ve done for my husband,” she said.
“This has been a week of reflecting on that and seeing how interconnected we truly are,” said Yazdanmehr.
Though at first denied by the Iranian government, the military later acknowledged the flight was shot down in error, what Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called a “disastrous mistake.”
The incident followed closely on the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani by U.S. forces.
Amid the rising political tensions, Yazdanmehr said she has been asking herself how she can “feel empowered in [her] own community … in a time when it’s easy to sink into despair.”
She said she’s been focusing on small steps, like organizing devotional gatherings, that she can take to “translate grief into action.”
“That’s been helpful in coping, and remembering that there is so much good in this world, and so many people … who are striving to build a better civilization,” she said.
This has been a week of … seeing how interconnected we truly are.– Roya Yazdanmehr
“I see so much love and coming together, and a shared experience of grief,” said Yazdanmehr. “That has been profound…. Perhaps some communities that once felt separate are identifying more so as one.”
“In Nunavut, we don’t have an Iranian-Canadian community in the same way that we have in other parts of Canada,” said Zerehi, who organized Iqaluit’s vigil.
“Oftentimes, when you’re a part of an immigrant community, you feel that you matter less to Canada and Canadians than others,” she said. “It’s just beautiful to see people across Canada care.”
“We need that support to continue, because the community is going through a very difficult time.”
In Yellowknife, Mostmand agreed that the tragedy has brought communities together in grief.
“In tragedies like this, there is always the human sentiment that comes out,” said Mostmand. “Ordinary people just connect to each other on the level of the heart, regardless of where we come from.”
“That’s the humanity that I believe in, that helps me be optimistic amidst all [this] bad news.”
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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