Air India flight 182: 41 years later, tears of gratitude linger at Irish memorial for victims – Vancouver Sun

“There’s a learning here – which is about seeing humanity in others and caring for others in their deepest, darkest hours.” – Nisha Thampi, who was just six when her mother was killed
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AHAKISTA, Ireland — Tears streamed down Nisha Thampi’s face Tuesday as she hugged and thanked local residents here who rushed to help after Air India Flight 182 exploded over the Atlantic 41 years ago.
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She met fishermen who headed out to sea hoping to aid the rescue mission. She met police officers involved in identifying the 131 victims recovered and helping families who arrived from overseas.
Thampi, an Ottawa physician, was almost six when her mother Vijaya was killed along with 328 others after a B.C.-built bomb brought the plane down 135 kilometres from here.
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Despite the devastating loss, Thampi said she felt nothing but gratitude Tuesday after a moving memorial service paid tribute to the victims and the Irish impacted by the disaster.
“It’s incredibly healing to be surrounded by community,” Thampi said. “There’s a learning here, which is about seeing humanity in others and caring for others in their deepest, darkest hours.”
She now has a better understanding of what the local people, as well as first responders, went through at the time.
“This affected way more than the families of 329 people. It affected a community, multiple communities, generations of those communities.”
Thampi and representatives of two other victims’ families stood around a sundial monument on the stunning rocky shore for a minute of silence at 8:12 a.m. — the moment the flight exploded on June 23, 1985.
Canadian investigators said B.C.’s Babbar Khalsa separatist group targeted Air India to hit the Indian government, which owned the airline at the time. Another B.C. suitcase bomb exploded the same day at Japan’s Narita Airport, killing two baggage handlers.
Two B.C. men were eventually charged in the bombings, which remain Canada’s deadliest terrorist attack. But they were acquitted in 2005. A third pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
There were far fewer families here than at last year’s 40th anniversary, but just as many locals, including schoolchildren who sang and played tin whistles, as well as a keyboard donated by the Air India Victims’ Families Association.
Toronto’s Babu and Padmini Turlapati lost sons Sanjay, 14, and Deepak, 11, on that terrible day. They have returned here every year since, building strong bonds with the local community.
Babu said that while “this grief continues forever,” the Irish — particularly those in West Cork — have “been a source of strength for us to return year after year to this place.”
Padmini, now 85, described her boys to the 200 people gathered. Sanjay, the elder, was “a sensitive, intelligent and gentle child” who never swore or raised his voice.
Deepak, the mischievous younger son, was “energetic, lively, popular, lovable” and a born actor.
Sanjay, 14, was recovered after the bombing, while Deepak, nine, was never found.
Padmini told Postmedia that she feels that both are with her here at this incredibly beautiful spot: Deepak in the calm water of Dunmanus Bay and Sanjay in the fresh air blowing around her.
“They are around us today. It’s a beautiful day. All our friends are around us. There’s so much love around us.”
As the years pass, there is concern that there will be fewer victims’ families left to commemorate those lost.
Babu Turlapati said he has been “mobilizing” younger members of his extended family, encouraging them to come to Ireland. He also considers the Irish who have stood by them for decades as family.
Dennis King, Canada’s ambassador to Ireland, said he believes the Air India tragedy will continue to be remembered here.
“I think as Canadians we owe to the families and the victims to make sure we honour that memory,” he said.
More Canadians need to understand the significance of the monument here, which has brought “so much light in the darkness of that event in 1985,” he said.
“I would like to see a greater effort of Canadians to get over here to witness this. When you get here, it’s hard to leave it behind.”
Joe Long, a retired Garda assistant commissioner, pointed to names on the monument wall, sharing his connection to Canadian families he met when he was in charge of the investigation in the aftermath of the bombing.
“There is the danger that (the history) can be lost, but the monument that’s been erected here ensures the continuity,” he said.
In 1985, his team worked to identify the bodies recovered and reunite them with family members arriving from Canada and elsewhere.
“It was very difficult because they were coming to a country that more than likely none of them had been to before,” he recalled.
The relationships formed have lasted decades.
“There were lots of positives out of the terrible, terrible tragedy,” Long said.
Canada’s Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree came Tuesday for a second year.
“It’s hugely important as we mark the 41st anniversary of this horrific tragedy,” he said. “We’re here to stand with the families, to stand with the survivors, but also never to forget the many souls that passed away.”
Anandasangaree said that when he attended the 40th anniversary, “I was truly moved by the generosity of the people of County Cork, as well as the determination of families to never forget to always honour their loved ones.”
Sanjay Lazar was just 17 when he lost his dad, stepmother and toddler sister in the bombing.
While he finds the memorial here to be “one of the most serene places on Earth,” he thinks more needs to be done to ensure the bombing and response are permanently etched in history in Ireland, Canada and India, where he lives.
All three governments could build “a small visitor centre where we talk about this tragedy, explain to people about terrorism and the family members that died here, as well as the emergency responders. We need to honour them.”
Nisha Thampi is doing her part in Canada, working to create curriculum about the Air India case that can be taught in secondary schools.
“There is a risk that this will be lost to those who don’t learn from this history,” she said. “There are really important lessons on how we can do better and how we can avoid this from happening again.”
And Thampi said there is also the lesson about “how we can be grateful and gracious for the connections we make during these really difficult times.”
kbolan@postmedia.com
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