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BWNS - Speech Awards 
The 10th anniversary of New Zealand's Race Unity Speech Awards – a competition for senior high school students organised by the Baha’i Office of External Affairs – was celebrated this month with a formal reception in Parliament Buildings, Wellington. Hosted by the Hon Pansy Wong, Minister for Ethnic Affairs, in association with the Office of Ethnic Affairs, the New Zealand Police and the NZ Human Rights Commission, the event also drew winners and finalists from as far back as2003, and contest co-ordinators from throughout New Zealand.
This milestone was marked by two celebratory events prior to the main reception. The party of young achievers, regional organisers and representatives from the Baha'i Office of External Affairs, met officials at NZ Police Headquarters for a round-table discussion. In attendance were representatives from the Office of Ethnic Affairs; the Ministry of Social Development; Race Relations Commissioner, Joris de Bres, representing the NZ Human Rights Commission, and high ranking members of the New Zealand Police.
The outcome of this session was the preparation of a joint statement on race relations in New Zealand. The statement, compiled exclusively by previous winners and this year’s finalists, was read at the anniversary celebration in Parliament later that day by Mr de Bres. It was also circulated at the recent NZ Diversity Forum, an annual event organised by the Human Rights Commission.
In honour of the 10th anniversary, the NZ Police, who provide $10,000 of funding each year towards the cost of running the competition, produced a booklet documenting all the past winners and their speeches. In line with the NZ Diversity Action Programme, the speech awards are regarded by the NZ Police as a key action of their ethnic responsiveness strategy in promoting a more inclusive society.
Another highlight of the day was a special reception in the Labour Party Caucus Rooms hosted by Member of Parliament, Dr Rajen Prasad. A long-time supporter and well-wisher of the speech awards, Dr Prasad was a Race Relations Conciliator before his appointment as chief of the Families Commission. Dr Prasad was effusive in his praise of the speech awards.
The day culminated with a formal reception in the West Foyer of Parliament Buildings hosted by the Hon Pansy Wong, who paid tribute to the awards and the role they have to play in promoting positive race relationships in New Zealand. Speeches were offered by Michael Player, general manager of Public Affairs for the NZ Police speaking on behalf of the NZ Commissioner of Police; Joris de Bres, and Judge Heather Simpson representing the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of New Zealand. The voice of youth was also heard in the form of speeches by 2010 national runner-up, Mindy Hu, and 2009 winner, Rayhan Langdana.
During the past 10 years, hundreds of young people have participated in the competition and their honesty and insights clearly demonstrate that youth do, indeed, have the capacity to move the world.
Kiwi farmer speaks out for Iranian Baha'i farmers 
When Rodney District resident, retired farmer Manoo Ala’i, came to New Zealand over 60 years ago to study grassland farming, his aim was to return to his native Iran to help the nation. Influenced by Point Four of President Truman’s inaugural address in 1949 in which the President introduced the notion of helping the undeveloped, Mr Ala’i hoped that the knowledge and experience gained from studying and working in New Zealand would benefit his nation. "I returned to Iran for only three years. Corruption was rife, making it impossible to stay longer."
Commenting on the recent demolition of Baha'i-owned homes in Ivel, a remote village in northern Iran, Mr Ala'i said the level of ignorance in Iran was still staggering. "This latest attack was made on farmers at harvest time. They were forbidden access to their crops while trucks and front-end loaders levelled their houses. It’s horrifying, and part of a government-sanctioned campaign to expel Baha'i families from the area."
During the 1950s, Mr Ala'i studied dairy and sheep farming at Massey University. He married a New Zealander and the couple initially settled in Hora Hora, near Cambridge, where he managed a sheep farm. He share milked for five years before purchasing a beef/sheep farm in Northland which the family owned for 23 years. The couple retired in 1990 and now reside in Orewa.
During his three year return to Iran, Mr Ala'i worked with sheep farming experts from the USA and was involved in the importation of
merino sheep. His expertise extended to wool grading, and the designing of new wool tables and bins.
Mr Ala'i grew up in a Baha'i family in Iran. "The Baha'i Faith is Iran’s largest minority religion, and the most persecuted," he said. "In places like Ivel, there are long-running campaigns to expel Baha'is despite the fact that they have lived there for more than 100 years."
Persistent government attacks on Baha'is in all the mass media, along with inaction by local officials to protect them, have continued to incite hatred against the Baha'is in the region and throughout Iran, said Mr Ala'i. "This latest action shows the degree to which the authorities have completely failed to live up to their responsibilities to protect the Baha'is and their religious freedom."
Amateur video, shot on mobile telephones and posted by Iranian human rights activists on the Internet, showed what appeared to be several buildings reduced to rubble as well as fiercely burning fires. "It’s hard to believe that human beings can do this sort of thing, especially to hard working farmers whose families have lived in the area for generations," said Mr Ala'i.
Reports about the latest action have appeared on various Persian-language websites. Latest reports indicate that 90 percent of the Baha'i homes in the Mazandaran village have now been demolished.
Ten years of Race Unity Speech Awards 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of the Race Unity Speech Award, and also saw the sixth national Race Unity Conference. Over the years, thousands of students, teachers, parents, family members and judges, have enjoyed the Baha'i-initiated speech contest, which focuses on quotations from the Baha'i Writings and how they apply to race relations in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This year was no different. Some 160 non-Baha'i students from throughout New Zealand again studied a Baha'i quote: The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.
Earlier in the year, 14 regions of New Zealand hosted the speech award and then sent their regional winners to Auckland to participate in the national semi-finals. From the 25 semi-finalists, seven students were selected to participate in the national finals, which took place in the Auckland Baha'i Centre in mid-April.
This year's winner was Aperahama Hurihanganui of Rotorua Boys' High School. Aperahama was the first student ever to have won the competition speaking in te reo Maori; the only male finalist; and only the second male student to have won the competition in its 10 year history.
The judging panel comprising representatives from the New Zealand Police, the Maori Wardens' Association, the Human Rights Commission, the Office of Ethnic Affairs, the Speech Communications Association and the Families Commission, all greatly impressed by Aperahama's presentation, were unanimous in awarding him first place.
The runner-up was Mindy Hu from Chilton St James School in Lower Hutt.
The 2010 Race Unity Conference began with a keynote speech by Rayhan Langdana, the winner of last year's speech award. It was followed by a challenging and thought-provoking speech by a young Iranian/New Zealand lawyer Nura Taefi representing the Baha'i Community.
Workshops facilitated by the NZ Police, Human Rights Commission, Ethnic Affairs and the Baha'i Community were very popular and generated some wonderful feedback.
Given that it was the 10th anniversary of the speech award and the third year that it has been funded by the New Zealand Police, a reception in Parliament buildings to mark this milestone is currently being planned.
Interfaith experiences recounted Young Wellington Baha'i, Lachlan Mackay, national vice president and special officer for peace and security of the United National Association of New Zealand, recently spoke to the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand's Kilbirnie Mosque. Lachlan shared his experiences from the World Parliament of Religions' Summit held in Melbourne in December.
After beginning his address with a quote on the equality of religions from Gandhi, he spoke of the honour and privilege of having represented the association at the great gathering. "I participated and volunteered because I truly believe in Gandhi's vision of equality and I wanted to contribute and experience the parliament. I can also see that what the interfaith movement tries to achieve through dialogue and collaboration is essential for bringing about mutual understanding, respect and peace amongst all religions, cultures and peoples..."
The Parliament, which occurs every five years, is the biggest gathering of the world's religious leaders. The theme of this latest summit was Make a World of Difference: Hearing each other, Healing the Earth. Seminar topics included peace, conflict resolution, nuclear disarmament, climate change, morality, human rights, humanitarian affairs, sustainable development, spirituality, and interfaith dialogue. There were also seven sub themes and 650 seminars. Nine thousand people attended the event.
Lachlan's many experiences included attending the Hindu Leaders Convocation and a Sikh prayer session. He was particularly especially impressed to see the show of unity throughout the whole conference especially on the most pressing issue facing the whole of the international family - the threat of climate change.
Junior youth ecology camp The Wellington Junior Youth Ecology Camp held at Wainuiomata's Brookfield Outdoor Education Centre in April drew an enthusiastic group of young people from around the Wellington region.
The camp theme was Human Impact and the idea was to explore the idea of how we, both as individuals and society, interact with nature, our impact on the environment, and how we can change our lifestyles so we are more respectful of the environment.
Workshops concentrated on recycling, gardening, the ecosystem, and sustainable energy sources. They were designed to be hands-on and interactive to enable participants to develop a solid understanding of what it means to be eco-friendly. The camp also challenged them to think about how they can make changes in their own lives in a concrete way.
Eco adventures took place in the mornings while the evenings featured the showing of documentaries. During the course of the camp there was visit by Diana Shand, who was compiling a report on The Environmental Responsibilities of Wellington Region Youth. After sitting in on the workshops and listening to the participants' views, as well as drawing on other sources, Diana compiled a statement which will go to a national convention, and then on to Brazil to an international convention.
It is hoped that the learnings from the camp will empower the young participants to have a greater respect for the environment, and to change their lifestyles to be more eco-friendly.
Surf champion Twenty-year old Baha'i youth, Laura Rishworth, of Mount Maunganui, won the New Zealand Women's Open Surf Title, at the 2010 nationals held recently in Gisborne. The talented surfer took out a closely-fought open women's final scoring 12.10. Her power and big scores were enough to beat her three younger opponents.
Laura has been surfing since she was a youngster and credits her father, Jonathan, with having taught her. She said the open women's national title had long been a goal, and was a long time coming. She competed in her first nationals event five years ago in Piha.
Laura now has her sights on reaching her ultimate goal - getting onto the Women's World Tour. The tour involves travelling to various hot surf spots around the world and competing against
the world's best women surfers. She hopes to eventually win a world title or two.
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Documentary focuses on art collaboration project Auckland-based director and videographer Ken Zemke recently completed a two-part documentary entitled, A New Garden. Assisted by two Baha'i youth volunteers, Sydney Cameron, from the USA, and Sara Momtazian, from Australia, the project focused on the making of a large collaborative tapa (masi) of the same name, by New Zealand artist Robin White and Fijians Leba Toki and Bale Jione. This new contemporary Pacific artwork was commissioned by the Queensland Art Gallery.
The Baha'i On Air documentary that Ken and his team crafted about the work aired on New Zealand television in May. It was filmed in Lautoka in the home of Verona and Richard Lucas. Originally from Australia, the couple have lived in Fiji for many years having moved there in order to better serve the Baha'i Faith in the Pacific.
Ken described the project as being "extremely special and fun" and the artwork as "exceptional" combining as it does important Fijian images with the famed Baha'i Terraces and the Shrine of the
Bab in Haifa, Israel. In New Garden Robin White and her artistic collaborators simply tell their own story, thus creating a rare documentary style.
Although Ken has made almost 180 episodes for Baha'i on Air since moving to New Zealand from California in 1978, he is exceptionally fond of New Garden.
Prayers in NZ for Baha'is in Iran Alarmed at the worsening situation of their fellow believers in Iran, Baha'is in communities throughout Aotearoa New Zealand are praying for the alleviation of their hardships and respite from the Iranian government's campaign to eradicate the Baha'i community of Iran. Since the beginning of last year, Baha'is have been arrested, detained, interrogated, or had their homes searched, in more than two dozen cities and towns throughout Iran.
Harassment over Baha'i burials and the desecration of cemeteries are clear indications that the persecution is based solely on religion and not the result of any threat posed by Baha'is, as of?cials sometimes claim.
Universities and other institutions of higher education to a large extent remain closed to Baha'i students. In recent years, those who do manage to get admitted generally have been expelled during the course of their ?rst year.
Home raids continue in various cities and usually follow the pattern of agents from the Ministry of Intelligence searching a home; con?scating computers, mobile phones, books, and other materials; and taking residents into custody. Authorities also apply pressure to Muslim citizens to discriminate against and mistreat Baha'is. Trumped-up charges against Baha'is are used to justify arrests.
Economic persecution is acute, with both jobs and business licenses being denied to Baha'is.
The United Nations Human Rights Council conducted the Universal Periodic Review of Iran in February, and a number of countries and international human rights organizations have expressed concern over Iran's deteriorating human rights record. The European Parliament strongly condemned Iran's human rights abuses. Amnesty International has criticized Iran for rejecting
important recommendations by the United Nations to improve human rights, and the International Federation for Human Rights and the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights, issued a joint statement titled, Stop the repression against Baha'is.
Though physically distanced from their fellow believers in Iran, New Zealand Baha'is have a heart-felt connection with their long-suffering brethren and vow to continue supporting them in any way possible.
Last month, the Baha'is of Nelson gathered at Fairfield House to remember and pray for the Baha'is being held in prison in Iran, especially the seven unofficial leaders, known as the Yaran, who have been incarcerated in Tehran's Evin Prison since 2008 and are now into their third year of imprisonment.
Brief biographies of the imprisoned Baha'is were given and the prison conditions were talked about including demonstrating the meagre dimensions of their cells. One of the local Baha'is recounted time in the same prison at age 24.
The Office of Member of Parliament, Nick Smith, sent apologies as did several others who were unable to attend.
The constricted dimensions of the prison cells drew public attention in the Hawkes Bay recently when local Baha'is marked out the size of the Yaran's two cells in Napier streets. Their active display gave passers-by a true indication of the oppressive physical conditions imposed on the prisoners. Information and take-away material offered to the public provided further insight into the situation.
Also in May, and further up the country, the Waitakere Baha'i community held a devotional gathering for the Baha'is of Iran. The programme for the well attended meeting was solemn but uplifting and also informative. It included a special prayer, chanted in Arabic, revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, for the families of those who have been executed, as well as other prayers and readings interspersed with selections of classical music. New Zealand recording artist, Linda Poulton, sang an extract from the Baha'i Writings and the evening closed with an emotional violin performance by Coralie Usmani.
Those present learned about the situation of the Baha'is of Iran and the history of the persecutions through an introduction given by a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Waitakere, Shahriar Jaber. Participants also listened to a recent speech in Los Angeles by Firuz Kazemzadeh, emeritus professor of history at Yale University and advisor to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America.
New Zealand Baha'is are not alone in expressing their concerns for the Baha'is of the Iran. On 14 March 2010, Amnesty International released a statement, which included a suggestion that "...messages of goodwill be sent to prisoners of conscience in Iran in order to mark the traditional Persian new year holiday. The detained leaders of Iran's Baha'i community were included among seven cases selected by Amnesty International. To date, almost 600 messages have been received for the Baha'i prisoners - both individually and collectively - from as far afield as Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United States."
New Zealand politicians defend Baha'is of Iran Joining the swelling chorus of parliamentary leaders worldwide, New Zealand politicians have begun raising their voices in defence of the beleaguered Baha'is of Iran who, for decades, have been subjected to persecution and human rights violations.
In December 2009 four Members of Parliament from three different parties (John Hayes, National; Chris Carter and Dr Rajen Prasad, Labour; Keith Locke, Green) delivered speeches in which they expressed their concern about this issue, following which Parliament unanimously endorsed the adoption of a report containing three recommendations in defence of the Baha’is in Iran.
Following several briefings in 2009, the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Select Committee released a report that was clearly sympathetic and supportive. It contained such statements as: "New Zealand considers the persecution of the Bahá’í[s] the principal human rights issue in Iran", and made three recommendations to Government which have since been acted upon, namely that New Zealand:
1. co-sponsor the Resolution on Iran which Canada tabled at the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (and which made specific reference to the situation of the Baha’is in Iran)
2. lobby other countries to also support the Resolution on Iran
3. " take the opportunity during the Political and Economic Cooperation Consultations bilateral talks between New Zealand and Iran…to raise New Zealand’s concerns regarding human rights violations and the treatment of the detained members of the Yaran."(November 2009).
The Resolution on Iran was successfully passed at both the Third Committee and the General Assembly meetings of the United Nations, both with a wider margin than last year. New Zealand co-sponsored the Resolution on both occasions.
The speeches can now be viewed via Parliament TV on Demand website, www.inhouse.co.nz. In order of speaking they are:
John Hayes, National MP http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/788
Chris Carter, Labour MP http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/789
Keith Locke, Green MP http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/790
Dr Rajen Prasad, Labour MP http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/791
An advance Hansard copy of the debate can also be accessed on Parliament’s website www.parliament.govt.nz. Type "baha'i" in the search bar at the top right of the screen. This will bring up the most recent activity (speeches, select committee report etc) in Parliament that mention "baha’i". Alternatively a copy can be emailed to you by the NZ Office of External Affairs. Copies of the submissions to the Select Committee, and the Select Committee’s report, can also be sent by email on request. (Email: oea-watson@clear.net.nz)
NZ government speaks up for gaoled Iranian Baha'i youth The director of the Middle East and Africa Division at the Ministry of Trade Affairs and Trade, Mr Darryl Dunn, has indicated that the Government will follow up with the New Zealand Embassy in Tehran to see
what steps can be taken to counteract an injustice perpetrated against three Baha'i youth in Shiraz who were incarcerated on 19 November 2007. They were sentenced to four years imprisonment.
The youth were part of a group of 54 young Baha'is and a number of Muslim friends who, since 2004, had been engaged in a series of humanitarian projects to promote literacy and moral empowerment among
underprivileged youth, mostly in poor neighbourhoods of Shiraz and surrounding localities.
In 2006 government agents rounded the group up and accused the Baha'is of using this social service project as a guise for the indirect teaching of the Baha'i Faith. While their Muslim colleagues and one Baha'i were released immediately, 53 Baha'is were held for varying periods. All but three were later released, many of them having paid large sums for bail.
It has now come to light that the Office of the Representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the province of Fars undertook an investigation into the activities of the Baha'i youth in Shiraz. A report, dated 16 June 2008, was published online on 23 October 2008 by the Human Rights Activists in Iran at http://www.hrairan.com/Archive_87/1135.html.
It has confirmed what the Baha'is have stated all along: that their activities were strictly humanitarian in nature.
The report not only completely vindicates the Baha'is of any wrongdoing, but is actually complimentary about the educational methods they employed.
In light of the fact that the verdict against these Baha'is has not been overturned nearly five months after the report cleared them of any wrongdoing, their continued incarceration is not only manifestly unjust, but an act of unconscionable cruelty - particularly since it has been reported that they are serving their sentences under harsh conditions and are deprived even of basic prisoners' rights.
The other fifty Baha'is who were arrested at the same time have been participating in Islamic guidance classes held on alternate weeks, in separate groups for boys and girls. The purpose of these classes appears to be to encourage the Baha’is to convert to Islam, particularly since it is reported that the teacher spends most of the class time insulting and degrading the Faith. Twice, this has been brought to the attention of the court, which had given assurance that the Baha'is would be respected in these classes. To date, however, there has been no change.
The three Baha'is in prison are Miss Haleh Roohi, Mr Sasan Taqva, and Miss Raha Sabet. It is understood that the two young women are being held in solitary confinement.
Mr Dunn has confirmed that the Government will follow up with the New Zealand Embassy in Tehran and "see if something can be done." He said, "We have raised Iran's treatment of religious minorities in the United
Nations General Assembly in New York and are, as usual, actively co-sponsoring the Canadian resolution on human rights in Iran."
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