{"id":18810,"date":"2020-01-25T14:18:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-25T19:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/?p=18810"},"modified":"2020-01-25T14:18:33","modified_gmt":"2020-01-25T19:18:33","slug":"cbc-memorial-held-for-ever-smiling-winnipeg-grade-5-student-killed-in-iran-plane-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/18810\/","title":{"rendered":"CBC: Memorial held for ‘ever-smiling’ Winnipeg Grade 5 student killed in Iran plane crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Henry G. Izatt student Anisa Sadeghi, 10, died with her parents when plane was shot down on Jan. 8<\/h2>\n
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Holly Caruk<\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/span>CBC News\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/span>Posted: Jan 22, 2020 5:57 PM CT | Last Updated: January 22<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A memorial was held in Winnipeg Tuesday evening to honour a young life that was\u00a0cut tragically short\u00a0in the crash of a passenger plane in Iran earlier this month.<\/p>\n

About 150 students, staff, parents and community members came together to share memories of Anisa Sadeghi,10, at Henry G.\u00a0Izatt Middle School in Winnipeg’s Whyte Ridge neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

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Anisa was one of the 176 people on board Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 when it was shot down just outside Tehran by an Iranian missile on Jan. 8.<\/p>\n

The girl’s parents, Mohammad Mahdi Sadeghi and Bahareh Hajesfandiari, also died in the crash.<\/p>\n

“To see how that entire community rallied around the school and around her memory is heartwarming,” said Ted Fransen, superintendent of the Pembina Trails School Division.<\/p>\n

“It was a beautiful evening.”<\/p>\n

Students at the school created a rainbow butterfly poster with Anisa’s name\u00a0and other pieces of art to help express their feelings.<\/p>\n

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A poster filled with rainbow butterflies was created by students at Henry G. Izatt Middle School to honour their classmate Anisa Sadeghi, who was killed in a plane crash in Iran.\u00a0(Submitted by Janice Lukes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A volunteer choir at the school sang\u00a0Over the Rainbow,<\/em>\u00a0which Fransen said was a particularly emotional moment.<\/p>\n

“You imagine all the things that you’ve heard about Anisa, the free spirit that she is. The butterfly bulletin board was there as they sang the song,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I think there was a sense of optimism as well, that this is not the end, this is a part of life.\u2026 [The] rainbow\u00a0is a sign of hope, and it’s a great message for students to be involved in that kind of experience.”<\/p>\n

‘It is not typical that we bury our children’<\/h2>\n

Anisa was a relatively new student at the school, joining the Grade 5 class in September, Fransen said.<\/p>\n

The school’s principal and the girl’s teachers spoke\u00a0at a come-and-go tea in the school’s library, sharing\u00a0students’ memories of their classmate.<\/p>\n

“Just overwhelmingly warm, heartfelt comments, like ‘one of the friendliest girls I’ve ever met, always a friend, not cliquish, kind, ever-smiling,'” said Fransen.<\/p>\n

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Students made artwork in memory of Anisa.\u00a0(Submitted by Ted Fransen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The event was held to help the community with the grieving process and to\u00a0honour Anisa, but also to talk about what happened.<\/p>\n

“Understandably it was sombre. This community is grieving and our adults are helping students grieve, but you know, what so often happens is our young people are the ones that turn around and help us.”<\/p>\n

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