On Mother's Day, I Will Mourn Alongside the Grieving Parents of Minab

"A video of Makan Nasiri has been shared over and over on social media in recent weeks. It starts off with vignettes familiar to so many parents: a young child opening the door to be surprised by a birthday cake, then walking with friends, then dancing joyfully with an older relative. Halfway through, though, there's a sharp transition. Nasiri was a student at Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran. The rest of the video documents the immediate aftermath of the attack on the school in the opening salvo of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran."

"Nasiri is the only person whose body has yet to be found since the U.S. bombed the elementary school three times, with one strike hitting the prayer hall where students were sheltering. His parents report they have only found a single sneaker belonging to their son. "I was terrified by the idea of having to place Makan in the grave, I couldn't stand that," Nasiri's mother, Asieh Rahinejad, said during an address at a memorial service for the killed students. "I prayed to God for help, and it may explain why we couldn't find him.""

"This Mother's Day, like every day that has passed since I first saw that video, I will be thinking of Makan Nasiri's parents, and of the fact that Makan was so dearly loved that the whole world can feel his family's devotion through 30 seconds of home videos. As I treasure my own day with my own kid, I will remind myself that the only thing that separates me from Asieh Rahinejad is the location of our birth. I will also be thinking of Julia Ward Howe, the activist who issued the antiwar Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870, urging for the adoption of a mother's day devoted to peace."

A video shared widely shows a child’s birthday moments before abruptly shifting to the immediate aftermath of an attack on an elementary school in Minab, Iran. Makan Nasiri, a student at Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school, remains the only person whose body has not been found after the school was bombed three times, including a strike that hit a prayer hall where students sheltered. His parents report finding only a single sneaker belonging to him. His mother, Asieh Rahinejad, described being terrified at the prospect of burying him without his body and said she prayed for help. The account connects personal grief with the idea of a Mother’s Day focused on peace, referencing Julia Ward Howe’s 1870 antiwar proclamation.

Read at Truthout