I was born in Iran and have lived in Canada for decades. One of the reasons I left was the systematic persecution my family and I were subjected to because we are Baha'is.
The Bahá'í faith teaches oneness of humankind, the equality of women and men, the abolition of all prejudice, universal education, and the harmony of science and religion. Baha'is respect all religions including Islam and are loyal to government of their residing country. Nonetheless, various Iranian regimes have considered Baha'is a threat to Islam. Therefore Bahá'ís have been arrested, kidnapped, tortured and executed, without any justification. Now the Islamic Republic has re-intensified the campaign of eradicating the Bahá'ís since the Islamic revolution in 1978.
For instance, the government ruled that my father had to repay the sum total of all his salaries throughout his life because he was a Bahá'í, and has ruled that all Bahá'ís should be fired from their jobs and all Bahá'í students should be expelled from schools.
My uncle, an 87-year-old tea farmer most of whose livelihood has been confiscated, cannot afford to retire and they repeatedly torch his farm. My brother was imprisoned for months in solitary confinement for transporting Bahá'í books. Many of our friends have been imprisoned and dozens executed.
This month is the one year anniversary of the arrest of seven individuals, responsible for the affairs of the Iranian Bahá'ís, whom are held without charge or access to their lawyer, Shirin Ebadi. Recently their families have been told of a possible charge: "the spreading of corruption on earth" which carries the death penalty (www.bahainews.ca).
Oppression is not a rarity, but I hope our vigilance can mitigate it wherever it raises its head.
Farzin Behji, Sechelt
