Volume 7 • 2020 • Issue 3

RememberingThose Lost on Flight 752 On January 8, 2020, Ukraine Airlines Flight 752 was shot down shortly after takeoff from Tehran International Airport in Iran. Among those who perished in the crash were 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents of Canada, as well as many Iranian citizens who were students at Canadian universities. T he Canadian dental community lost four colleagues in the tragedy: Dr. Parisa Eghbalian of Richmond Hill, Ontario; Dr. Sharieh Faghihi of Halifax; Dr. Farhad Niknam of Toronto; and Mansour Pourjam of Ottawa. “Along with Canadian dentists from coast to coast to coast, we mourn and honour the incredible lives of our colleagues,” said Dr. Alexander Mutchmor, CDA past-president. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to their families and friends during this difficult time of sorrow, to the loved ones of all those who have suffered the loss of their lives in this tragic event, and to the Iranian community both locally and abroad.” Dr. Lynn Tomkins, CDA vice-president, Frank Bevilacqua, executive director of the Ontario Dental Association (ODA), and Dr. David Brown, a member of the ODA Board of Directors, attended a ceremony held by the Iranian Ontario Dental Association at the Parya Trillium Foundation in January. Dr. Tomkins described the memorial as heartbreaking. “The service was in Farsi, but one did not need to know the language to understand the depth of sorrow and anguish expressed. There were family members in attendance and the entire community came together to support each other,” says Dr. Tomkins. “Such a loss of talented people who were contributing so much to their chosen country.” The dental community mourns the loss of four colleagues in the tragedy in Tehran. 22 | 2020 | Issue 3