It is those closest that feel loss the most.
So as politicians, academics and administrators delivered heart-felt thoughts of kindness and loss at Friday's vigil for two University of Guelph students killed in Wednesday's Iranian plane disaster, it was the words of their friends that resonated the most.
Ghanimat Azhdari and Milad Ghasemi Ariani both died when Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 was reportedly shot down by a missile. They were on their way back heading back to the U of G to resume their PhD studies after a holiday home visiting family.
"We were waiting for you to join us again. Now we will be waiting forever," said Emily Smit, joined at the podium by several other classmates of Azhdari. "How will we continue without your beautiful laughter, your big heart and your amazing spirit?
"Dear Ghanimat. We can't believe we are here today at your memorial, calling out to you. Do you hear us? .. We wish we could go back in the past. We wish you could be here when all of this was just a dream. We hope you hear us," Smit said.
"Ghanimat told us how much marking she had to do, how tired she was, but she always did so with a smile," said Smit. "Her beautiful energy, her smile, her dedication, will be missed by all of us, along with the others that she touched."
Ariani's friend Sepideh Talebi spoke of his big heart and how he always found time for his friends no matter how busy he was, sharing dinners and baking cookies for his friends.
"Milad was hard working, kind and full of life," Talebi said. "His sense of humour made us laugh and he always — always — gave his time."
Another friend of Ariani, Marzieh Yagnini, broke down in tears as she spoke of the guilt she felt because she too was supposed to be on the flight that went down that night, but cancelled at the last minute.
She said she had a dream about her friend and he was on the other side of a beautiful bridge, and he was happy.
Roughly 375 people attended Friday's vigil, organized by the campus Guelph Iranian Students Association.
It featured a slide show, several speakers and Iranian tea and refreshments in the hall's basement following the vigil.
Azhdari was a PhD student in the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, and started studying at the U of G in September.
Ariani was pursuing a PhD in the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies, arriving at the U of G last May.
Professor Faisal Moola, Ashdari's academic advisor, said she had a giant-sized personality in a petite body," calling her a "firecracker" who was dedicated her life to protecting Indigenous peoples and their lands.
"Her energy and her positivity were infectious," added professor Noella Gray.
"Sometimes words are helpless in expressing certain sadness like this one," said Mana Fazaei of the Guelph Iranian Student Association.
Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield detailed the government's latest efforts to try and get to the truth of what happened.
"We have to get together and push back against the forces of hate," Longfield said.
University president Franco Vaccarino said the tragic events were a reminder of the vulnerabilities and fragility of the human condition.
"It is also a reminder of the humanity," Vaccarino said. "The ripples of this community loss, it goes wide and it goes deep.
