Family and friends gathered yesterday at the Darusalam mosque in the Don Mills Rd.- Overlea Blvd. area to say good-bye to a Toronto man who drowned at Wasaga Beach.
Irfan Jogiat, 20, died Saturday after the dinghy he was in was blown into the deeper water off the popular Georgian Bay beach and he went into the water. Although two passersby attempted CPR, they were unable to resuscitate him.
"We're six siblings but he was one in a million," said Farhana Jogiat Khote, his 24-year-old sister.
"It's a big shock for us. He was a hero to many."
"We believe it was to be. God decides when it is time for everyone to go," said Khote.
Many of those who gathered at the Pine Ridge Memorial Garden in Pickering, where Jogiat was buried, had difficulty letting go.
"Nobody was willing to let the coffin go," said Khote.
"They just stood there for hours, waiting and mourning."
She described the outpouring of support for the family as amazing.
"It's phenomenal the amount of friends he's made and the lives he's touched."
His family immigrated to Canada in November 2004 from the small African nation of Malawi. It was that heritage that earned him his high school nickname.
"He was known as Malawi and his brother Mohammed as mini-Malawi since he kept teaching the other students about the country," Khote said.
EDUCATED OTHERS
Jogiat had recently graduated from Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute where he was known among friends as a great fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as being a player and coach for local hockey teams.
Educating others was an important part of Jogiat's life. He would spend his spare time away from his studies tutoring young children in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood his family called home.
"The community is really reaching out to us. He left an immeasurable amount of impact on those around him," his sister said.
The Muslim religion played an important part in his life as he earned the title of Hafiz at the young age of 11. The honour is reserved for those who have memorized the entire Koran.
Jogiat hoped to one day become an aviation technician.
"He liked to look up into the sky at planes," said Khote.
"He didn't want the hassle of being a pilot so this was the closest thing for him."
Monday 14 July 2008
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Dear Friends of Irfan Jogiat,
Irfan Jogiat was my Arabic teacher. I cannot believe that he is gone. He was a very pure and Islamic person. I found out he passed away on July 15, 2008 when he was suppose to come teach me and other students. Irfan has indeed gone to a better place and he is in great, pure peace. I pray Noful Namajes for him so that I can pray some doas for him. Irfan cannot feel love from me anymore but I do know that my doas are showing him love. Since Irfan's death, tears have been flooding into my eyes every time I think that I lost such a kind person. I love Irfan and he will always be in my heart. However, we people who miss Irfan deeply should remember that we may see him again in Jannah (heaven). We will all join him in death and we will all be brought back to life by Allah for the Day of Judgement. We won't know anyone then but if we are sorted into Jannah, then, we will see him again. Now that Irfan is gone, he is in all of our hearts. We should all remember him for lifetime and remember a person who was very kind, nice, Islamic, and of course pure. Irfan was also a Hafiz at the very young age of 11. I will remember this devoted Hafiz Irfan for the rest of my life and I hope everyone else does the same.
Sincerely,
Mohtaseem
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