‘I lost someone who was my everything’: Bondi Junction victim Pikria Darchia remembered

2 weeks ago 6

‘I mislaid idiosyncratic who was my everything’: Bondi Junction unfortunate Pikria Darchia remembered

Artist Pikria Darchia uprooted her beingness successful the medieval metropolis of Tbilisi, Georgia, with its past fortresses and acold winters, and moved to Sydney a decennary ago.

Living successful the beachside suburb of Maroubra, and loving everything astir her caller life, she painted, practised yoga and meditation. Her plans included mastering the English language.

Death was not connected the agenda.

Mourners stitchery to retrieve Pikria Darchia, who died successful the Bondi Junction attack.

On Tuesday, her household and friends withstood rainfall and acold to be a backstage memorial work to farewell the artist, parent of 2 and grandma who died successful the stabbing massacre connected April 13 astatine Westfield Bondi Junction. Her remains volition beryllium flown to Georgia for burial.

The memorial work astatine the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park successful Matraville was besides attended by NSW’s lawman premier Prue Car, and Westfield Bondi Junction’s main enforcement Elliott Rusanow.

Rusanow said connected Tuesday that the tributes to the victims killed successful the stabbing rampage near astatine the eastbound suburbs buying centre would beryllium removed from Wednesday.

They were “a awesome of an outpouring of grief”, and they volition beryllium collected to signifier portion of the authoritative condolence record.

Darchia’s son, Irakli Dvali told Seven News that his parent loved Australia and moved present believing it was safe: “I mislaid idiosyncratic who was my everything: My backbone, my president, my CEO, my mother”. He past spoke with his parent 10 minutes earlier she died.

Darchia’s lad and friends person called connected national and authorities governments to bash much for radical who endure from intelligence wellness issues. The killer, Joel Cauchi, was changeable dormant by Inspector Amy Scott successful an enactment of heroism that witnesses said prevented further deaths that deadly Saturday.

(clockwise from apical left) Ashlee Good, Jade Young, Dawn Singleton, Yixuan Cheng, Faraz Tahir and Pikria Darchia.

Darchia’s champion person Tamara Shelia said, “In Australia, determination are a batch of radical with intelligence wellness issues. We deliberation we unrecorded successful a harmless country, but seemingly we bash not.”

“The authorities has to radically alteration their attack to specified people. It is not 1 man’s fault. It is the wellness strategy and government’s failure.”

Pikria Darchia went to Bondi Junction to bargain a h2o vessel aft having luncheon with her champion friend.

Shelia said Darchia had “loved nature, she loved everything astir Australia.”

Shelia and her girl had luncheon with Darchia earlier the 55-year-old went to Westfield Bondi Junction to look for a caller h2o bottle. “We had luncheon together, and past she left, and that’s erstwhile we past saw her,” she said.

A abbreviated clip later, Darchia was killed. “That day… She conscionable wanted to bargain a portion vessel successful a smaller size for yoga class. She was thinking, immoderate she had, it was a large size. And she said ‘I’m gonna person a look to spot if determination were immoderate smaller ones’. That was the main crushed wherefore she went there.”

Shelia described Darchia arsenic a champion friend, and she is inactive struggling to marque consciousness of what happened. “I don’t privation to deliberation astir it. It is precise painful,” she told the Herald a week ago.

“She was amazing. She was afloat of life, precise friendly. You could accidental thing to her.”

Tamara Shelia

“She wasn’t readying to die, she loved her steadfast lifestyle. She wasn’t smoking, she wasn’t drinking – she was doing yoga, she was doing meditation.”

Darchia arrived successful Australia successful 2013. She painted and was funny successful costume design. She tried to get a occupation erstwhile she archetypal arrived successful Sydney but, owed to her age, recovered it hard to unafraid one. Her English was not large erstwhile she arrived.

Pikria Darchia’s champion person Tamara Shelia spoke fondly of her astatine a work connected Tuesday.

“She was a perfectionist. She wanted to person cleanable English,” Shelia said.

Darchia continued to overgarment and sketch and developed a beardown narration with Shelia’s daughter, who besides painted.

“She was my daughter’s champion friend. She was telling me, your girl is much my daughter. They had truthful galore things successful common. We spoke connected a regular basis.”