February 07 2020
In one of the less noticed chores after a death in a plane crash, friends of Masoumeh Ghavi have cleaned out her Canadian apartment and packed her belongings away.
Ali Hamidi said cleaning out Ghavi’s apartment in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was a duty to both her and her surviving family. “I feel like it’s my responsibility to take care of this. It’s the minimum I could do,” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Co. (CBC).
Masoumeh Ghavi and her sister, Mahdieh, died when Iranian air defense missiles shot down Ukraine International Flight 752 as it left Tehran January 8.
Fifty-seven Canadians were killed — mostly men and women born in Iran who became Canadians to escape the Islamic Republic — plus dozens of Iranian students doing graduate work in Canada.
Masoumeh had been studying engineering at Dalhousie University in Halifax since August.
In her apartment, the apples in the refrigerator were still fresh.
“I still am shocked. I can’t believe she’s gone. I was texting with her right before takeoff. She was giving me the time that she would get here, so I could pick her up. It’s really hard,” Hamidi said.
He’s been close with Ghavi’s father for 20 years.
She was working part time for his technology company while she studied. Her younger sister, Mahdieh, was travelling to Halifax for the first time, also to study.
Masoumeh bought a new toaster and kettle for their apartment, which were still in the box as Hamidi packed them up.
This process of packing up is being repeated in homes across the country. “Everybody who knows … anybody who has been in this tragic accident, you feel pretty much the same. They all are in pain,” Hamidi said.
One of the men helping Hamidi empty the apartment broke down weeping as he watched two others dismantle Masoumeh’s bedframe.
Mohamed Barzeghar has a picture on his phone of Masou-meh standing by a Christmas tree at the Halifax airport. He took it when he dropped her off for her flight to Iran.
Hamidi said he’ll keep Masoumeh’s belongings in storage for now because he can’t bear to ask her parents and brother for further guidance. “To be honest with you, I didn’t have the courage to talk about this stuff [with them]. I just asked them, ‘I could take care of those?’ and I’m just doing it,” he said.