Mourning Their Loss

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The loss of 176 people from six countries in the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS 752 in Teheran on January 10^th has been felt around the world and especially in Canada. Nine of those who died were from BC, and two of them had links with the Vancouver Branch of the UN Association in Canada.  Past-President, Greg Neumann – an educator with the Burnaby School Board and VP of the BC Social Studies Teachers Association,  remembers them:

The Vancouver Branch of UNA Canada joins many around the world who are mourning the loss of 176 people in the shooting down last week of Ukrainian Airlines Flight PS752 from Teheran to Kyiv.  In particular we would like to acknowledge one of the nominees for the 2017 John Gibbard Award.  Zeynab Asadi Lari and her brother who nominated her for the award, Mohammad Hossein Asadi Lari, both perished in the crash and we acknowledge the legacy of work they left behind in their much too short lifetimes.

Writing about his sister, Mohammad said, “She is passionate about youth leadership, student engagement and community work.” For those of us who knew her in Burnaby, this was already very evident as she had created both the Science and the UN Clubs at Alpha Secondary School, participated in the school district’s UN Connections Club as well as at University with her role in the STEM Fellowship founded by her brother.   The Fellowship gave her the opportunity to work with the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and her passion for medicine led her to intern in Iran with the UN World Health Organization.

In nominating Zeynab for the John Gibbard Award, Mohammad wrote, “This diverse range of activities has shaped her as a caring and passionate individual who strives for a positive global and local impact on the next youth generation.” Undoubtedly, Zeynab Asadi Lari and her brother did have an impact on those around them during their short lives. We, along with their family members, can only imagine what great things they would have achieved had they not been on the doomed flight.

The Board and members of UNAC Vancouver extend their deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues on whom Zeynab and Mohammad left their mark.