
Saeed Maasarwe has been through a hell no parent could imagine.
On January 16, Saeed’s 21-year-old daughter Aiia was cruelly ripped from this earth after she was raped and murdered while returning from a comedy show in Melbourne.
Aiia, a Palestinian Arab of Israeli citizenship, had been in Melbourne for only a short time when she was attacked.
At the time, the streets were dark and the international student decided to call her sister, Ruba, in Israel.
“I didn’t expect you to pick up,” she said. They were the last words Aiia would say to her sister.
This week, the man who murdered Aiia, Codey Herrmann, was sentenced to 36 years in jail. He will be eligible for parole in 30 years.
As the sentence was handed down, Aiia’s family sobbed in the public gallery.
Lisa sat down with Aiia’s family to talk about how they want the world to remember their beautiful girl. pic.twitter.com/waL2mM3o6T
— The Project (@theprojecttv) October 31, 2019
Now, speaking to The Project ahead of their return home, Aiia’s father and her sister have opened up about their indescribable loss.
It was an interview many families would refuse.
But instead, Saeed sat down, wiped his tears, and spoke about his beloved daughter.
Speaking to host Lisa Wilkinson, Saeed shared that the last few months have been “very difficult”.
“This is people I don’t know,” Saeed said, when asked if he felt anything towards the man who took his daughter’s life.
“They take the life who is the most important to for me. This is my daughter, this is my dream. I do everything for my daughter, for all my daughters and for Aiia to give them the best as I can, to give them the sky,” he continued.
“If she asked for a star, I go and give her all the stars, including the moon.”