Welcoming more international students is how to honour those we lost in Ukraine flight PS752

On Tuesday 7 January, many Canadians went to bed anticipating the return of family, friends, colleagues and students from their visits to Iran. No one could have predicted the events that unfolded. No one could have imagined the sudden loss of so many shining stars.

One of those stars was my research assistant, Samira Bashiri, and her beloved and incredibly supportive husband, Hamid Kokab Setareh. Like many on that plane, Samira and Hamid were bright, young students excited about their future. Samira was already an accomplished veterinarian who was anticipating the start of her graduate studies in my lab this summer, and Hamid was into his first year of a PhD programme in engineering, already making his mark in the field.

Samira and Hamid were two of five promising students from the University of Windsor who were among the 138 passengers on Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 en route to Canada. Like all international students, they left the familiarity of home to chase opportunity. They were among the brightest that their country had to offer. They carried with them the pride of their families and the weight of expectations. It takes great determination, resilience and grit to thrive under such conditions; character traits that are the very essence of academic and professional success.

Samira epitomised these traits. She would have been very successful in graduate school, and she would have made a significant contribution to biomedical sciences.

We will never know what these individuals would have accomplished; what questions would have been answered, diseases cured, inventions discovered and records broken. What we can be certain of, though, is that this was a grievous loss for us all.

After we all struggled to comprehend and accept that this tragedy was real, the world started to learn about the beautiful souls who were lost on that tragic flight. They were mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, daughters, sons, friends, colleagues and students.

As our nation cried, we held our Iranian friends even closer, for they were suffering away from the comforts of their families and friends at home. In Windsor, the community both inside and outside of academia joined in our mourning. Students’ host families shared stories as if they were speaking about their own sons and daughters. We learned that these incredible students had been involved in volunteer work, how they were helping in the local high schools and were tutoring students who were struggling. We had never realised just how much of an impact these students had on our community and how many lives they had touched.

Samira loved being in Canada. She proudly shared what she was learning about the Canadian way of life on social media with her friends around the world. Her Instagram account, @Dr.Samira.Vet.Life, is full of photos of her and Hamid enjoying the shores of Lake Erie, standing in corn and tomato fields, experiencing the changing of seasons and sharing in our traditions.

Mixed among these photos, and displayed proudly on her desk in the lab, are images showing the beauty of Iran – majestic artwork and infrastructure, and large gatherings of friends and family sharing food and music with their arms around her.

Samira embraced multiple cultures, and through her creativity and happiness we learned about the treasures that exist in unfamiliar lands.

When the news broke, our thoughts did not go to politics or speculation. We didn’t even immediately feel self-pity for the loss to our research programme and the scientific community. Rather, our hearts broke for her family and friends in Iran and those of us who had lost a friend in Canada. We cried thinking of the fear she must have felt, and we gave thanks that she had been able to hold Hamid during those last minutes.

International students bring diverse experiences, perspectives and talents to our campuses. They widen our knowledge base and challenge our norms. They form an international network that disseminates knowledge across the globe. They bind us together, not just through discovery and knowledge but through humanity. They bring a face to countries in crisis, redefine stereotypes and build respect between people of different cultures. They allow us to walk alongside them as they discover new ways of thinking and living, prompting us to be more self-aware, nudging us to be better.

In today’s political climate, many nations are closing their doors to international talent. Even welcoming nations such as Canada often balance budgets by raising international student fees such that an education abroad is out of reach for many. The latter poses the risk of amplifying exclusion and inequity, and exacerbating conflict.

In the wake of the flight PS752 tragedy, we need to reflect on the gravity of these decisions. It is through academia that we can maintain a progressive relationship with countries around the world. It is through education that we can promote equality, peace and democracy as the way forward. If we truly want to honour the lives lost and to do our part to stop the perpetual cycle of hate and violence, we need to increase efforts to support international students in our institutions and communities. It is through them that we can truly promote global citizenship at a time when it is so desperately needed.

Lisa Porter is a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Windsor and executive director of WE-SPARK Health Institute.