Prof. Farzad Khalvati in Richmond Hill, Ont., on Thursday. Prof. Khalvati is a senior scientist who holds a chair in medical imaging and artificial intelligence at U of T.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Students in Hessam Dehghani’s Persian culture class at the University of British Columbia have been swept up in a wave of emotions since the outbreak of war in Iran, which followed a violent government crackdown on protests across the country in January that left thousands dead.
Some thought the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would trigger the rapid downfall of the regime. But for students with ties to Iran, that feeling soon shifted to worry about family members back home under aerial bombardment by U.S.-Israeli strikes, and the possibility that a protracted conflict might only strengthen the regime’s hand, Prof. Dehghani said.
“Yesterday I went to class and everyone was on their phone, either crying or very worried about parents in Tehran, for example, or other cities,” Prof. Dehghani said last week. “I couldn’t even begin to teach. It was more than a question of happiness or sadness. It was concern and worry that filled the atmosphere.”
He said he encouraged the students to discuss what they’re feeling and write down their thoughts. For many, the conflict hits close to home.
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Iranian-born scholars and students, as well as Canadians of Iranian background, have a prominent place at Canadian universities. About 6,000 people who identify as having Iranian cultural or ethnic origins work at universities and colleges, according to the census.
And in 2023, there were more than 20,000 postsecondary students from Iran in Canada, even though the two countries haven’t had formal diplomatic relations for more than a decade. A significant portion of those students are in Master’s and PhD programs. According to the census, more than a quarter of the working-age population in Canada with an Iranian cultural or ethnic background has a master’s degree, a PhD, or a degree in medicine, optometry or dentistry, more than twice the rate in the general population.
Prof. Dehghani came to Canada about five years ago after completing a PhD in Iran and spending several years in the U.S. doing a second doctorate. He said during his studies in Iran, he saw students attacked by allies of the regime and didn’t see a long-term future for himself.
At UBC, he has met dozens of other scholars originally from Iran who teach in a variety of fields. The Persian, Iranian and Persianate studies program, which he leads, is one of the few such programs in the world outside Iran. It offers about 10 classes with enrolment from about 20 to 100 students, he said. Some courses on the region’s history and culture are taught in English and some are taught in Farsi.
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He said students and academics from Iran are attracted to Canada for a number of reasons. The points-based immigration system rewards educational credentials, and students recognize Canada as a place with a significant Iranian diaspora where they can reach their potential, free from constraints that some face in Iran, he added.
Mitra Sabetghadam is a PhD student in biomedical science at the University of Saskatchewan and president of the Iranian Students Association, which has more than 180 members. She came to Canada from Iran in 2021, after having taken part in protests back home in 2019, in which a friend was detained.
She said she’s hopeful that the war will lead to freedom for her friends and family still in Iran.
“We are happy, but at the same time we are worried for our families,” Ms. Sabetghadam said. Her family lives in a city in Northern Iran and she doesn’t know whether the area has been a target of the strikes. The internet there has been cut off for several days.
She said many people are so angry after the government massacre of thousands of protesters in January that they’re willing to accept the risk of death for the chance of a new beginning.
“I just want freedom for my people,” she said.
In 2020, the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which was en route from Tehran to Kyiv, by the Iranian military underlined the connections between Iran and Canada’s postsecondary schools.
Among the 176 people killed, 55 were Canadian citizens, 30 were permanent residents and dozens were students bound for Canadian schools. As many as 22 institutions lost students. The University of Alberta alone lost 10 students and two faculty members.
Prof. Khalvati briefly spoke with his parents in Iran before communication was cut off.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Farzad Khalvati, a senior scientist who holds a chair in medical imaging and artificial intelligence in the University of Toronto’s faculty of medicine, said he made the decision to leave Iran 25 years ago after doing his undergraduate degree there. He also witnessed attacks against students while he was at school.
“I was just wishing to have a very normal life, nothing more. And at some point you just know that is not possible,” he said.
He said he views Canada as a place where people driven to make a contribution can do so. And those who have established themselves have encouraged others in their networks to follow. One of his old classmates in Tehran is also now working in Canada as a professor, Prof. Khalvati said, adding that he would be surprised if there’s a university in Canada that doesn’t have an Iranian-born faculty member.
Prof. Khalvati said he was able to briefly speak with his parents in Iran before communication was cut off.
“They’re worried, but hoping for a real change. That’s what I heard in their voice,” he said. “They are hopeful that after 47 years, the real change could happen.”