AHAKISTA, Ireland — Since the day that Air India Flight 182 exploded off the coast of Ireland 40 years ago, it has not been fully recognized as a Canadian tragedy, Ambassador Bob Rae said in an interview here.
Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, was tasked with reviewing the Air India terrorism case 20 years ago after two suspects were acquitted of all charges in
twin bombings on June 23, 1985
.
Less than an hour before a B.C.-made suitcase bomb detonated on Flight 182, killing all 329 aboard, two Japanese baggage handlers died when a Vancouver suitcase tagged for another Air India plane exploded at Tokyo’s Narita Airport.
As Rae began meeting families of the Air India victims, he was deeply impacted by their suffering.
“That was one of the main things that I said in my report, that I feel very strongly, is that from the very beginning of the event, it was seen as somebody else’s problem,” Rae said Sunday, after visiting the memorial in this quiet village on the west coast of Ireland.
“It really was seen as sort of an event affecting the Indian community, ignoring the fact that the vast majority of the people on the flight were Canadians.”
Rae said that “there had been a real failure to recognize the level of extremism” that led to the unprecedented act of terrorism.
“It was Canadians who built the bomb, Canadians who planned it,” he said. “There was a huge degree of denial in the community that this was true. Many other theories were floated.”
His report in November 2005 called for a public inquiry into the intelligence failures and investigative problems both before and after the bombings. After Conservative Stephen Harper was elected prime minister months later, he appointed retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice John Major to head a broader judicial inquiry instead.
Rae said his Air India work led to the construction of public memorials in Canada, as well as the declaration of June 23 as a day of remembrance of victims of terrorism.
While both measures increased recognition of Canada’s worst mass murder, “the narrative of what took place is still not embedded in the country,” Rae said.
“We still have a lot of work to do to make sure it’s taught in schools and people understand this was the worst civil aviation disaster, proportionately every bit as important as 9/11.”
Working on his report “had a big impact on me,” Rae said. “It really affected me emotionally, because families had a tremendous sense people weren’t listening, they didn’t understand the story, and didn’t realize what it was.”
He was surprised to learn that no Canadian prime minister had ever met with the victims’ families, prompting him to arrange a 2005 dinner with then prime minister Paul Martin.
“He stayed for six or seven hours, talking and relating and connecting to the families. It was very powerful,” Rae said.
At his urging, Martin flew to Ireland for the 20th anniversary, attending the memorial service here — the first and last time a Canadian prime minister has visited. Harper, then opposition leader, and NDP leader Jack Layton also attended in 2005, as did Rae.
Rae said he wanted to come back this year after hearing from Air India family members who have become close friends.
“Why did I come? Because my own experience with talking to people about what happened and learning about it, and then writing about it … has changed me. It’s changed the way I look at things, and it’s also changed my relationship with these families,” Rae said. “And this year, I decided I wanted to come to Ireland again because this is where the community is gathering.”
He’s also seen the remarkable bond here between the Air India families and the Irish from the town of Bantry, down the Sheep Head’s peninsula to the village of Ahakista, where the memorial stands.
Rae attended an awards ceremony at a Bantry high school Saturday where Babu Turlapati, of Toronto, presented scholarships to two graduating students.
Turlapati and his wife, Padmini, lost sons Sanjay, 14, and Deepak, 11, in the Air India bombing. They have tried to give back to the community here with the scholarships they’ve presented for 25 years.
Turlapati said despite the devastating loss of their boys, giving back to the community has helped ease the pain.
“This is the silver lining in our tragedy — the only silver lining that has happened was the plane fell in Irish waters, which has brought our spirits back to life again in one way because of the support we get, the help we receive from the Irish community.”
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