Events

Much has happened since the last post. There was a tremendous earthquake in China that has killed tens of thousands of people. This, in addition to the tens of thousands killed by the cyclone in Burma, make two severe tragedies facing our ever shrinking planet. It used to be that the news would report a tragedy, say a plane crash, and then report a number like "three Americans' died in the crash. Many times this was done and the other deaths were an afterthought. These past two events did not focus on the nationality of anyone involved in the disasters, they focused on the whole of the suffering population. Maybe we are learning that we are all truly one family and these are our dear brothers and sisters that are suffering and dying.

Speaking of the suffering and dying there is another, more subtle, tragedy in the making. In Iran during the 80's the government arrested and killed the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'í's of Iran. They then arrested the second group that took their place and they were never to be seen again. In the meantime, in obedience to the government of Iran, the Bahá'í Institutions have been suspended from that tragic event to now. There were a group of seven believers that were responsible for assisting the Bahá'í friends in Iran in the absence of an administrative structure. This past week the government, in what is clearly reminiscent of those tragic events of the 80's, arrested these seven people and have taken them to the notorious Evin prison. Their future is uncertain and their safety is clearly in jeopardy. There is a House Resolution condemning this action. For more information and what you can do as an individual, please visit www.bahai.org