LOCAL IRANIANS GRIEVE BAM EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

One Woodland Hills teen lost 30 relatives. Another San Fernando Valley man lost 36. Each hung their heads Sunday to mourn thousands killed in the calamitous earthquake that hit southern Iran.

``It's hard; you lose a person, it's hard,'' said Hossein Ahmadi, 17, of Woodland Hills, counting cousins lost among the more than 30,000 residents who perished in the Dec. 26 temblor. ``Imagine losing 30.''

Ahmadi and about 250 other Iranian-Americans gathered Sunday afternoon at the Iman Cultural Center of Los Angeles to grieve the dead, the injured and the living of Bam, Iran.

The magnitude 6.7 quake that struck before dawn leveled the historic city. In addition to thousands killed, 30,000 were reported injured and an additional 100,000 are believed homeless.

The earthquake also sent shock waves through the 277,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States, of which a third live in Los Angeles and 23,000 reside in the San Fernando Valley.

``I lost at least 36 cousins, first and second, and a lot of friends, lots of friends, I can't even tell you,'' said Bam native Ali Mohajeri, 54, of Woodland Hills, who supplied 10 giant bouquets for Sunday's memorial.

``I'm really shocked.''

Sadegh Namazikhah, founder of the Iranian Muslim Association of North America, co-host of the event, said a TV telethon in Los Angeles raised $800,000 in 15 hours to aid relief efforts in the stricken city.

Many victims had been worshipping when the quake struck at 5:28 a.m.

``They passed away while kneeling and praying to Allah,'' he explained to the group in his native Farsi. ``They never got a chance to get up.''

Iranian singer Behzad Behzadpour, co-host of Sunday's event, said that between him and his wife, 180 family members died in addition to the 700 to 800 friends buried in the mud-brick rubble.

``We have to rebuild Bam,'' said Behzadpour, 47, of Huntington Beach through an interpreter, between crying on the shoulders of black-clad guests, near trays of dates and hot tea.

Allah, he noted, ``wants to give patience to all who have been affected by this tragedy, and to all the people of the world to come together to help those in need.''

Iranian poet Toraj Negahban told the audience in Farsi that his mother-in-law is believed to still lie beneath the Bam debris.

``She is like the leaves of autumn,'' the Los Angeles resident intoned through an interpreter. ``How cold, how yellow, where have all the pains gone?

``My heart aches. All that is gone is past, is marching on ... if we become united, then the flowers of kindness will flourish in our hearts.''

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Behzad Behzadpour greets mourners at a memorial service Sunday at the Iman Cultural Center of Los Angeles.

(2) Women grieve at the memorial service. Many L.A. residents lost scores of friends and relatives in the Bam earthquake.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer