AVASH NEWS: Zahra Ansari-far was the beloved daughter of her family. She was so kind that her family gave her a special nickname, and everyone called her “Zahra Goli” [ gol means “flower” in Persian and is often used as an affectionate term for someone who is sweet and lovable] ; a name born out of affection that suited her more than any other. Sweet Zahra was a second-grade student at Shajareyeh Tayyebeh Elementary School. Her small world was filled with big wishes and dreams. One day, she would say she wanted to become a doctor; another day, she wanted to be a police officer; and sometimes she liked to imagine herself wearing a military uniform.
She was still a child and had plenty of time to choose her dream. She was born in May 2018, a girl born in the heart of spring. She liked the color green, but as she grew older, she would say that pink was the most beautiful color in the world.
Pasta was her favorite food, and she was excited about the birth of her little sister, for whom she had chosen the name “Fatemeh.”
On February 28, Flowery Zahra took her backpack, just like any other day, and went to school. She left home with thousands of big and small wishes, along with her notebooks, colorful pencils, and a tomorrow that was expected to come. But it never did.
Just a few hours later, missiles fell on the school. The place where the laughter of children was meant to be heard was submerged in smoke and destruction, and the little backpack on Zahra’s shoulders became bloodstained and covered in dust within a few hours.
The Tomahawk missiles did not only target a school on February 28; they also targeted the dreams of a girl who wanted to become a doctor, a police officer, and make the world a better place when she grew up. They took Sweet Zahra from her family; from Fatemeh, who called her sister; from a father and mother who saw the future in her eyes; and from a family who still call her by her affectionate name, “Sweet Zahra”—a girl who was born in spring but never had the opportunity to see many more springs.
The United States and Israel jointly launched a war of choice against Iran on February 28 that lasted for 40 days and ended after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Iran and the United States. However, what had been described as a ceasefire agreement collapsed just a few weeks later.
On February 28, the United States targeted a number of civilian areas, including Shajareyeh Tayyebeh School in Minab, in Iran’s southern Hormuzgan Province. It was likely the most tragic incident of the war, as nearly 170 people—most of them children between the ages of 7 and 12—were killed. The attack is widely regarded as a war crime, and several Western media outlets have reported evidence that the United States attacked the school. However, Donald Trump has yet to accept responsibility for the attack.
