October 9, 2026 (TORONTO): The Zoryan Institute announces the release of a new Scholar’s Corner contribution, “The Children of Minab Deserve More Than Our Silence,” by Bree Akesson, Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Adversity and Wellbeing and Full Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

In this piece, Akesson examines the February 28, 2026, strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, which killed 120 children and 26 teachers. Just a few weeks ago, on September 21, 2026, the UN released a report of its fact-finding mission into this attack, which concluded that there were reasonable grounds to define this strike as a war crime. Drawing on her own research into the psychological toll of war on families, she explores the enduring trauma experienced by families and the broader community, while questioning the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the attack.

She concludes her piece by stating:

“The children of Shajareh Tayyebeh were not combatants. They were not collateral. They were children going to school on a Saturday morning. The very least we owe their families is the truth, an admission of responsibility, and compensation.”

To read the full article on Scholar’s Corner, visit: https://zoryaninstitute.org/scholar-corner/the-children-of-minab-deserve-more-than-our-silence/