Trip to Paris-Part Two

Reza offering a smoke detector to the President of Sciences Po

Chance and chance alone has a message for us. Everything that occurs out of necessity, everything expected, repeated day in and out, is mute. Only chance can speak to us. We read its message like gypsies read the images made by coffee grounds at the bottom of the cup”.
-Milan Kundera

The University of Science Po with aid of one of Jasmine’s classmates, Ashley Kingham, arranged for students gathering at a café across from the university where many of Jasmine’s friends joined us in a very emotional evening of tears and laughter. That evening, we distributed among the students, free smoke detectors with 10 years batteries, T-shirts, educational booklets and we spoke in length about how the students should be more proactive about their safety and that it is natural that they demand that from their local officials (see the attached pictures of the event).

I distinctly remember one of the students, Natassia Miller, who is from Columbia University participating in study aboard program at the Sciences Po. She was one of the students who participated in Jasmine and Louise memorial arranged by the school and she is the one who has been asking“What are we going to do about Fire safety in Paris?” Of course, it was easy to understand why she is asking this question, when we found out that her mother, Soraya Figueiredo, sent her daughter a Fire Escape Ladder from Florida, after she came to Paris to help Natassia move to her apartment in sixth floor, which was also facing the court yard, and who was horrified at the thought that her daughter has no chance of escape in case of fire.

Hearing stories like that, made us feel blissful, knowing that our world will be a better place to live, when the likes of Natassia Miller and Sarah Blanc and Zoe Friedland and hundreds of other courageous, compassionate young students will be the future leaders of our planet.

From left to right, top to bottom:

1. Lighting a Candle at Notre Dame

2. Distribution of Smoke Detectors to the Victim's Association of the 20th District

3. Displaced tenants of The Labrynith City

4. Displaced tenants of the Labrynith City at the accident site

5. Jasmine's professors at the cafe

6. Displaced tenants of The Labyrinth City

7. Students and professors at the cafe

8. Typical Apartment Buildings in Paris

9. Jasmine's friends in our apartment

10. Jasmine's friends in the cafe

11. Distribution of the smoke detectors at the City Hall

12. Distribution of the smoke detectors to residents of 20th District

13. Clothing collection center for the victims of the fire

We would like to take this opportunity and thank Reiner Wolf and his company, DHL, for shipping the smoke detectors to Paris, for free. We love you Reiner and Bahareh Jan. We are also forever grateful to my cousin, Kambiz and his wife, Espano. They were there for Jasmine when she moved to Paris and they immediately stepped in as our representatives, dealing with embassy, school and police officials, the entire month that we were in Florida and the news of Jasmine reached us at home. We love you two.

“The last movement of the Beethoven’s last quarter is based on the following two motifs:

Must it be? It must be! It must be!

Beethoven introduced the movement with a phrase, which is commonly translated as ‘The difficult resolution’ which may be construed as a ‘heavy’ or ‘weighty resolution’. Necessity, weight, and value are three concepts inextricably bound: only necessity is heavy, and only what is heavy has value.”
-Milan Kundera

Go to part three.