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ONE
Winter 1989 Volume 1
COUNTRY
Issue 1 Newsletter of the Bahá’í International Community
“T795 earth is but one country and mankind its citizen.t”— Bahá’u’lláh
1955 1984
-1953
/ 7/
Update on the Baha 1 situation in Iran. Although the most flagrant human rights violations have
diminished, Bahá’ís remain
an oppressed minority.
Women and development in the South Pacific. Delegates from 13 island nations gather at regional conference.
Greening the earth: A look at conservation projects around the world. The emphasis is on a grassroots approach.
“Achieving Peace by the Year 2000” —— A Review of
Iohn Huddleston’s new book.
H.R.H. The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (r), and Mme. Rúḥíyyih Rabbéni (I), a leading figure in the Bahá’í Faith, address an audience of more than 200 prominent individuals at “The Arts for Nature” launch in London.
New Conservation Project Reaches Out to Artistic World
“The Arts for Nature” Launched at Gala Dinner in U.K., Seeks New Environmental Constituency
LONDON — Building on its commitment to the environment, the Bahá’í International Community has begun an ongoing collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in a major new project aimed at bringing one of society’s leading edge constituencies into the conservation movement.
Called “The Arts for Nature,” the initiative seeks to draw leading artists, performers and writers into the environmental vanguard in the hope that artistic creations using the theme of nature will help to arouse popular will and commitment to environmental protection.
The project was fonnally launched by His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at a gala dinner on 26 October 1988 at Syon House in London, the ancestral seat of the Duke of Northumberland. In addition to a short talk by Prince Philip, the evening featured a series of special performances by well-known artists — each centered around the theme of nature. Substantial funds were raised for a rainforest manage ment project in Cameroon from the evening's proceeds.
Mme. Rúḥíyyih Rabbani, a leading figure in the Bahá’í Faith, also addressed the more than 200 in attendance, whose number included some (Continued Page 9 — "The Arts for Nature”)
[Page 2]
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
Unity and the United Nations
The world today views the United Nations with new hope.
A string of recent successes has given increased status to the organization. The laboriously negotiated truce between Iran and Iráq, the Nobel Prize for UN peacekeeping forces, and the conclusion of a groundbreaking treatyto limitchemicals thatharm the earth’s protective ozone layer are but a few examples. These successes have, in turn, set off a new round of discussions over the role of the United Nations.
At the heart of this discussion lies a growing recognition that global problems can only be solved by global c o o p e r ation, or, to useaphrase thatis often ill-defined,through unity of action on a worldwide scale.
As Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev said recently at the United Nations: “Today, further world progress is only possible through a search for universal human consensus as we move forward to a new world order.”
The list of issues that can only be solved through such global consensus is long and growing: disarmament, environmental protection, the fight against international drug trafficking, new global epidemics — even the deterioration of family life and moral values. All involve agents (whether missiles, pollutants, contraband, viruses or ideas) that cross international borders freely and which, therefore, require widespread cooperation among nations for effective action.
This dawning realization that humanity must unite or face a series of unacceptable crises, then, is rapidly becoming the driving force in international dialogue, and, accordingly, the key factor in the reassessment of the United Nations.
Bahá’ís around the world welcome this new thinking. That all nations should band together into some form of global peacekeeping organization has been abasic tenet of the Bahá’í Faith since the 1800s. Accordingly, Bahá’ís have supported both the League of Nations and the United Nations, taking opportunities where pos
sible to work with and promote both institutions.
Perhaps more importantto the task ahead is understanding the principle of unity and its role in remaking the world. Unity must be sought not merely to prevent or forestall the crises that await humanity — unity must also be sought because it is the operative principle of our age and an end in itself.
Bahá’ís have worked steadily during the last century to build a worldwide community of individuals whose pattern of daily life and moral activity is based on the principles of unity and cooperation.
The diversity of the worldwide Bahá’í community matches the diversity of humanity as a whole. Bahá’ís come from virtually every religious, national, racial, ethnic, class and/ or professional background. Significant communities exist in more than 165 nations, for example, and more than 2000 different ethnic groups are represented within the membership of the Bahá’í Faith.
In recent decades, humanity has solved
immense technical problems. Men have rocketed to the moon, world communications now operate on a level that would have been sheer magic a century ago, and some nations have constructed consumer societies that provide large masses of men and women with material comfort undreamed of by the ancient kings.
Yet the construction of a truly cooperative world society has remained out of reach and stands as the most difficult — and the most imperative — task faced by humanity today.
Although the Bahá’í worldwide network operates on a small scale, (there are currently about four million members of the Bahá’í Faith), anyone intent on examining the prospects for a revitalized United Nations would find this experience pertinent and useful. 9
Page 2
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ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
United Nations Expresses
/92
Concern over Iran’s Baha 1S
NEW YORK - For the fourth consecutive year, the United Nations General Assembly has expressed “grave concern” over the human rights situation in Iran. As in previous years, the General Assembly also made special mention of the Bahá’ís in Iran, noting that they continue to be subjected to various forms of harassment and discrimination.
The December 1988 General Assembly resolution, and the evidence that preceded it, offer a good summary of the situation in Iran regarding the Bahá’ís. As the resolution noted, the intensity of the 9-year campaign of persecution against the Bahá’í community of Iran appears to have diminished somewhat during 1988.
At the same time, however, Iran has yet to make clear its official policy towards the Bahá’ís, and the Bahá’í International Community — like the United Nations — remains gravely concerned about the 300,000member Bahá’í community in Iran.
Although no Bahá’ís were reported to have been killed during the first 11 months of 1988, reports surfaced in mid-December that at least two Bahá’ís had been executed
during the fall. Further details are sketchy at present, although it appears that these killings represent isolated incidents and do not necessarily represent a new twist to the Iranian government’s policy.
In other respects, the record for the year was equally mixed. Although no Bahá’ís are known to have been arrested since February 1988, and the prison population fell stead ily during the year, from about 200 at the end of 1987 to about 130 in September 1988, Bahá’í’s remain without any form of legal protection or recognition.
Although the Ministry of Interior issued a circular letter that instructed local government officials to stop denying business licenses to Bahá’í's, tens of thousands of Bahá’ís remain unjustly deprived of pensions, jobs and property.
Although children are again being accepted into primary and secondary schools, the degree to which university students will be allowed to pursue their studies is unclear.
Further, Bahá’í holy places remain in government hands, and Bahá’í’s continue to be denied the right to profess their religion. They are not allowed to meet as a community, to have places of worship, or to maintain administrative institutions.
“Although Iran’s systematic persecution of members of the Bahá’í Faith has on the surface been less severe this year, the Bahá’í community of Iran remains an oppressed minority, deprived of the freedom to practise their religion and live in peace,” said Daniel Wegener, a Bahá’í International Community representative to the United Nations.
“We can only conclude that continued international pressure, as exemplified by the resolution of the Forty-Third General Assembly in December, remains a critical factor in sustaining and, we hope, advancing on the improvements that have been seen in Iran’s treatment of the Bahá’í's over the past year,” Mr. Wegener said.
Since 1979, more than 200 Bahá’ís have been executed or killed in Iran solely because of their religious beliefs. During the height of the persecution, more than 600 Bahá’í's were unjustly imprisoned. Tens of thousands of Bahá’ís have lost jobs or been deprived of properties.
These persecutions are based purely on religious intolerance. Bahá’ís have never opposed the authorities, and, as a matter of faith, are required to be obedient to all laws and to remain loyal to their government. 0
Page 3
The number of Bahá’ís killed in Iran each year has dropped sharply since the United Nations General Assembly has expressed concern in a series of resolutions, beginning in 1985 (black bars).
0 10 20 30 40 50
[Page 4]
Bahá’í women from 13
nations participated at the
Fourth South Pacific
Commission Women's Affairs
Conference in Suva, Fiji, 1723 September 1988. Left to
right, back row: Tupou Tu'itahi
of the Kingdom of Tonga;
Verona Lucas of Fiji; Epiphany
Aihi of Papua New Guinea;
Mary Power, Bahá’í
International Community
United Nations
representative, of New York;
Florence Kelley of Hawaii;
Violette Haake of Australia;
and Lorrie Olivari of New
Caledonia. Middle Row:
Jimaima Balawanilotu of Fiji;
Edy Rapasia of the Solomon
Islands; Daisy Baitman of
Papua New Guinea; Meria
Russell of Kiribati; Luavalu
Malifa of Western Samoa;
and Nailawen Beeps of Papua
New Guinea. Front row: Betra
Majmeto of the Marshall
Islands; Vaopua Taafaki of
Tuvalu; Freda Raenaitoro of
the Solomon Islands; and
Tinai Hancock, Bahá’í
International Community
regional representative, of
New Zealand.
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
Women’s Issues and Development Discussed in
South Pacific
SUVA, Fiji—A recent conference of women here made clear that development planning, health care, domestic violence, ap ‘ propriate technology and environmental
education are of as much concern in the South Pacific as in the rest of the world.
More than 200 women from among the 27 member nations of the South Pacific Commission gathered to discuss these topics and others at the Fourth Regional Women’s Conference in September 1988. Among their number were 17 Bahá’í women, representing the Bahá’í communities of 13 Pacific nations.
That the Bahá’í International Community chose to send such a large contingent to the conference was an indication of its commitment to the issues of women and development, said Mary S. Power, a Bahá’í International Community United Nations representative based in New York, who attended the conference.
“We were there because we believe that women must be fully involved in the development process,” Ms. Power said in a re cent interview. “Bahá’ís, especially, are trying to build a community where both women and men work together on all aspects of development. In that process, it is vital that We strengthen the voice of women and solicit their contributions.”
The Bahá’í' delegation reflected the diversity of the South Pacific region, Ms. Power said. Nearly everyone in that delegation was native to her country. Professions ranged from nurse, nutritionist, educational administrator to high school teacher — and even data control. The 13 nations represented by the Bahá’í delegation were Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Soloman Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United States of America (Hawaii), and Western Samoa.
The Bahá’í delegation, along with members of numerous other non-governmenta1 organizations from the region, participated in a series of panel discussions and workshops from 17-23 September 1988. Sponsored by the Pacific Women’s Resource
Page 4
[Page 5]
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
Bureau of the South Pacific Commission, these activities were part of an official conference of government delegates, with the non-governmental organizations acting as observers in the plenary sessions.
“Throughout the world, people are coming together in a spirit of unity,” Ms. Power said. “Much of this is happening through non-governmental organizations and associations. In the South Pacific, that process is taking a big leap forward, and this conference was one sign of that, in that women from all over the region — both governmental and non-governmental delegates alike came together for a full level of discussions about social issues and their respective roles.”
The Bahá’í view on these issues was reflected more by the experience and understanding of the 17 women, than by any singular statement or position, Ms. Power said. “A number of the women who came are involved in social and economic development at the grassroots level, so they know the problems in their own countries.”
The Bahá’í experience was then summarized in a statement circulated to govem ment delegates at the Annual Conference of
the South Pacific Commission, held 10-12 October, in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The
Bahá’í International Community, on behalf
of the Bahá’í communities of the South Pacific region, offered its cooperation and assistance to the Commission, noting that it could at least share some of its “experience”
in working towards the “full integration" of women intoall aspects of development and society.
“In Bahá’í communities, both men and women, as an act of faith, are committed to implementing the principle of equality,” said the statement. “Both are engaged in developing attitudes that are appropriate to equal status for women. Men, through membership in Bahá’í communities, are learning from experience that when women become fully incorporated into the life of the community, everyone benefits.”
The statement to the government delegates of the South Pacific Commission also noted that women have long been involved in the electoral process of Bahá’í’ institutions, and that they are full participants in the decision-making process — a process known in the Bahá’í community as “consultation.”
“One step in the direction of greater participation for women has been the formation of women’s consultative groups,” the statement said. “In these groups, women, who have often been isolated from one another, can share experiences, practice consultation, encourage each other and develop plans. This experience prepares them for service on local elected councils and encourages them to express their views. The groups also provide a place for literacy training, spiritual and intellectual growth, child care and other practical information.” 9
1973 1978 1987
The number of localities where Bahá’ís reside in the South Pacific has more than doubled since 1973, reflecting the rapid expansion of the religion in that region of the world.
Profile: Bahá’í Communities in the South Pacific
Bahá’í communities are found on virtually every major South Pacific island, with Bahá’ís residing in more than 2200 localities throughout the region. Of the roughly four million Bahá’ís in the world, somewhat more than 70,000 live in the South Pacific. More than 99 percent are native to the region.
Although Bahá’í communities in the South Pacific islands are neither particularly wealthy nor well—educated, they have nevertheless started more than 40 separate social and economic development projects. They range from efforts to raise chickens to weekly women’s literacy classes; from health and hygiene seminars to preschools for village children.
0 On Fiji, forexample, a local Bahá’í assembly in the Lomaivuna area has worked to supervise the raising of goats, chickens, pigs, bees, and fish. In Sigatoka, Fiji,
Page 5
a Bahá’í-sponsored preschool had recent enrollments of more than 100 children from six neighboring villages.
- On Vanuatu, a Bahá’íwomen's group in the village of Lamanien organized a sewing project. The National Community Development Trust, a government agency, provided sewing machines and other assistance, and the group has since purchased a truck with its profits.
0 In Papua New Guinea, in Aragip, Milne Bay Province, the Bahá’í community has supported the training and on-going costs of a Health Aid Post orderly for the area.
One of the world's seven Bahá’í Houses of Worship exists in Apia, Western Samoa. The nine-sided, domeshaped building has won praise for its architectural design and beauty. 9
[Page 6]
Above: Students of the
Rabbani High School in
Madhya Pradesh, India, plant
saplings in 1987. More than
14,000 trees have been
planted on the campus and in
neighboring villages since a
campus tree nursery was
established in 1985.
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
GREENING THE EARTH: Conservation Work Ranges Worldwide
In the popular perception, the world's religious faiths have little involvement with the modem—day environmental conservation movement. Yet a closer look at the teachings, and, more recently, the activities of the world’s religious communities indicates a surprisingly strong connection. Virtually all faiths, for example, revere the natural world as a creation of God.
The founding of the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) Network on Conservation and Religion in 1986 has helped greatly to strengthen the links between religion, society and the environmental movement. The network, for example, has
done much to help frame environmental issues against the backdrop of traditional religious ethics — an important step in broadening the overall appeal of the conservation message, especially in Third World countries.
The interplay between religion, society and the environment is especially strong in the Bahá’í Faith, which joined WWF’s Network on Conservation and Religion in 1987. The youngest and, therefore, the most modern of the world’s independent religions, its teachings relate directly to today’s most pressing social problems, and the environment is no exception.
Page 6
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ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
Since 1984, Bahá’í's have initiated more than 50 conservation projects around the world. These projects, located in more than 30 countries, range from ongoing tree—planting and reforestation efforts to the local manufacture of fuel-efficient stoves. Environmental education, too, is rapidly becoming an integral part of the curriculum in Bahá’í schools and learning centres, of which there are more than 600 worldwide.
The fundamental teachings of the Bahá’í Faith explicitly uphold the sanctity of nature and make clear humanity’s connection with the natural world. And the Faith’s messages of human interdependence and world unity, which were first outlined in the 19th century, stand as the harbinger of today's emphasis within the environmental movement for a coordinated, global approach to conservation.
“The environmental problems which confront us are increasingly global in nature,” said Robert White, an environmental research officer at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada who has written on the Bahá’í approach to the environment. “Acid rain, deforestation, toxic wastes and nuclear contamination threaten the planet as a whole. There is a growing recognition, therefore, that we need a global environmental strategy. Bahá’í's have long believed in the creation of a world commonwealth to deal with such global issues, whether peace, development or the environment.”
Grassroots Projects
In addition to promoting a unified, global approach to environmental issues, however, Bahá’í's have also stressed the necessity of practising conservation at the local level. Hence, Bahá’í-sponsored environmental projects are most often locally initiated, operated on a small-scale, and coupled with efforts at economic development.
In Kenya, a number of such projects have been operated over the last decade, where the Bahá’í community there has initiated or participated in a wide range of reforestation efforts, environmental education programmes, and even a project to manufacture and distribute fuel-efficient stoves.
“One of the most exciting things we were able to do in Kenya was to put together a programme for World Environment Day that reached out into the villages,” said Dr. Donald G. Peden, a Bahá’í who lived in Kenya from 1978 to 1986 and works today as
Page 7
an international consulting ecologist. “They were able to put on programmes for 10,000 to 12,000 high school students. To my mind, this was really exemplary for its ability to take increased environmental awareness to the grassroots. Often environmental education efforts go no further than the educated elite in the cities.”
Mairuth Sarsfield, who served in Kenya from 1980 to 1983 as associate director of information for the United Nations Environment Programme and had much contact with Bahá’í projects in Kenya put it this way: “IfI were to evaluate the Bahá’í input into ecology and environmental protection, it’s simply that the Bahá’ís, because of their ability to identify with the people, when they do a project, it is not ‘them and me’ or ‘us and them’, but it is ‘we’... There was an openness, a reaching out, in the Bahá’í philosophy and which strikes a cord and gets people to working along with the Bahá’ís.”
Women have played a special role in conservation projects in Kenya. The stove manufacturing project, which makes charcoal—buming “jikos,” as the stoves are known, entails a women’s cooperative. At several Women’s conferences in 1984 and 1985, women were given seedlings to carry back to their villages and plant.
In India, Bahá’í environmental projects have emphasized conservation education, with an accent on practical effect. Accordingly, Bahá’í schools have been the focus of much activity.
At the Rabbani High School in Madhya Pradesh, more than 14,000 trees have been planted on the campus and in neighboring villages since a campus tree nursery was
established in 1985. Over the same period, (Continued next page)
[Page 8]
GREENING
THE
EARTH:
Involvement
with
Conservation
Ranges
Worldwide
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
(Continued from previous page)
an outreach programme helped establish four village nurseries that, together, have produced more than 30,000 saplings for use in the surrounding region. The school has used and promoted fuel—efficient smokeless stoves since 1982.
In 1986, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi presented the Rabbani School with the “Friends of the Trees” award, granted by the Ministry of Environments and Forestry, for these and other efforts. The Bahá’í' community in India has sponsored more than a dozen forestry projects since 1984.
Environmental projects have also typically looked toward appropriate technology, and the means of distributing it, as the key towards lasting change.
In Boliva, near Cochabamba on the high plateau where wood is scarce, the Baha'ioperated Dorothy Baker Centre of Environmental Studies has been currently exploring the feasibility of producing biogas from animal waste and then using that gas for cooking, heating and lighting since 1985. Other appropriate technologies, such as for water conservation, solar energy use and soil development, have also been investigated and training materials are being
produced in Spanish and Quechua, a local
native language.
The Theme of Interdependence
The Bahá’í approach to conservation issues is more than a collection of locallybased conservation projects. Underlying these activities are the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, which provide motivation and guidance. Richard St. Barbe Baker, whose concern for forests around the world earned him the nickname “Man of the Trees,” was a Bahá’í, and he attributed much of the inspiration for his work to the Bahá’í Faith.
Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, made explicit statements in the late 19th century on the sanctity of nature, humanity’s interdependence with the natural world and the importance of a unified approach to world problems.
“That concept of unity operates at several levels,” said Mr. White. “There is the understanding that the planet is physically unified, and that the destruction of the forests in one country also affects the atmosphere and climate in others. And there is the understanding that unity between the nations is necessary ifwe are going to collaborate on a resolution of the problems that affect all of us.” 0
Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi presents officials of the Rabbani High School in Madhya Pradesh, India, with the “Friends of the Trees" award in 1986 for the school's work in tree—p|anting and environmental education. The Bahá’í community in India has sponsored more than a dozen social forestry projects since 1984.
Page 8
[Page 9]
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
The Arts for Nature
(Continued from page 1)
of England's most prominent people. In her remarks, Mme. Rabbani called on each individual present to take responsibility to care for “our mother, the eart .”
Participation in The Arts for Nature initiative follows the October 1987 entry of the Bahá’í Faith into WWF’s Network on Conservation and Religion, a unique interfaith venture aimed at highlighting religion’s role in establishing a new environmental ethic and stimulating the participation of diverse faith groups around the world in environmental eonservation projects.
Subsequent discussions between Prince Philip, WWF, and the Bahá’í lntemational Community led to The Arts for Nature proposal, said Jackie McDougall, marketing manager/ corporate funding for WWF in the United Kingdom and WWF’s representative on the organizing committee of The Arts for Nature project.
“For WWF, we were delighted that the Bahá’í community expressed an interest in joining with us,” Ms. McDougall said. “Because of the Bahá’í community's very strong cultural background, they have a very strong interest in the arts.”
Behind The Arts for Nature project lies the idea that artists, performers, poets and others involved in creative expression often lead the way in sensitising the general public to social issues.
“We’re appealing to the hearts rather than the heads,” said The Duchess of Abercom, who co—chaired the event’s organizing committee. “To our minds, we know statistically how horrific the problems facing the environment are. But if you move people from their hearts — and this is what the arts can do — then you get people more involved.”
That effect was seen on a small scale at the Syon House event, according to those who attended.The evening’s entertainment, with its diverse programme of music, dance, poetry and the visual arts connected only by a conservation-oriented theme, demonstrated to many the potential that the arts have in stirring an emotional commitment.
“We realize more and more that we’re dependent on nature,” said Prince Alfred von Liechtenstein. “The poetry reading, the
Page 9
ballet — these were things where the artists tried to express this idea, that we are not separated, that we are responsible for each other, that we are living in one world.”
“People who had never dealt with this subject could feel this impulse,” added Prince Alfred. “And people who had already dealt with this got a deeper understanding. During the evening, I talked with many people,and they felt this way too.”
The programme included a dance episode featuring the world-renowned Eva Evdokimova, Prima Ballerina Assoluta; another dance, choreographed especially for the occasion, by six members of the London Festival Ballet; a musicial perform ance of Poulenc’s “Le Bestaire,” led by musical director Leonard Friedman; and two readings by Poet Laureate Ted , Hughes, who finished the evening with a poem written that morning. The artistic director for the evening was John Faulkner, formerly of the National Theatre in London. Also displayed was a special exhibition of paintings and drawings on the theme of nature from the private collection of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Philip.
For the future, the project's organizers, including the Bahá’í lntemational Community, hope to hold other events in other countries, in an effort to bring into the conservation movement the widest possible constituency. Q
An audience of more than 200 await a special evening of music, dance and poetry, all using the theme of “Nature," at Syon House, the ancestral seat of the Duke of Northumberland. The event was undertaken by the World Wide Fund for Nature in collaboration with the Bahá’í International Community. (Inset: “The Arts for Nature" logo.)
[Page 10]
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
President of Uganda Receives Delegation
Three members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Uganda met with that country's president, Yoweri Museveni, on 27 September 1988 and pre
sented him with “The Promise of World
Peace," a statement by the Universal House
of Justice, the international governing
council of the Bahá’í Faith.
The 45-minute meeting evolved into a discussion of many . ‘ aspects of I B *' f° the Bahá’í 1 ' Faith, including questions about its history, its relationship to world issues and the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran. The meeting was covered in a broadcast on Radio Uganda News, and carried in the 11 major languages of Uganda.
Since 1985, “The Promise of World Peace” has been distributed to most of the world’s heads of state by the worldwide Bahá’í community in an effort to direct attention to the prospects for peace in the near future. 3
Howard Borrah Kavelin, Long Time Leader, Dies
Mr. Howard Borrah Kavelin, who served for 25 years on the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith, the Universal House of Justice, died on 18 December 1988 at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was 82 years old.
Until last April, when he resigned for health reasons, Mr. Kavelin lived in Haifa, Israel, where the Universal House of Justice has its seat.
Prior to his election to that body in 1963, Mr. Kavelin served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, the national governing council for Bahá’ís in that country. He was first elected to the U.S. national Bahá’í assembly in 1950, and served as its chairman from 1958 to 1963.
Born on 16 March 1906, Mr. Kavelin grew up in Denver, Colorado, and attended the University of Colorado. He later moved to New York City, where he lived for most of his life, working as a real estate investment consultant. From 1945 to 1963, he worked at Durand Taylor Co., Inc., serving as executive vice president. 0
Encouraging Cultural Activities in Greenland
A play, entitled “The Contents of a Mother’s Heart,” received a warm response at first-ofits-kind theatre and culture seminar held September 1988 in Greenland. Written and directed by Vali Nielsen, the play is based on Bahá’í’ principles as they relate to family and human relationships. The performance came at a theatre seminar in Nuuk, which broughttogether amateur groups, interested individuals and governmental and non-governmental organizations to discuss ways of encouraging cultural activities in the Greenlandic community. 0
World Cultural
Development the Theme of Ottawa Conference
The role of culture in human development was the focus of the 1988 Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá’í Studies, held in Ottawa 7-10 October 1988.
The theme of culture was chosen for this year’s conference to coincide with the launch of the United Nations Decade for Cultural Development, said Dr. Glen Eyford, chairman of the event.
“Perhaps the most powerful civilizing force is culture, which can be broadly interpreted to include moral and ethical beliefs, art, tradition and customs, mythology and spiritual values,” said Eyford.
Speakers at the conference included Dr. Alvino Fantini, director of the Language and Cultural Centre at the School for International Training in Vermont; Viviane F. Launay, vice president of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO; and Bernard Wood, director of the North-South Institute. 0
Page 10
[Page 11]
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
I‘ 1'
The students of the Covenant School in Ngonkira, sub—prefecture of Marc, Moyen—Chari, Chad,
gather for a photograph. The school is supervised by the Bahá’í Committee of Humanitarian
Service for Development (CBSHD) in Chad.
AChiCViI1g PC3CC 2 0 0 O can be free so long as any are oppressed or "To eliminate these
(Continued from back page)
springs from our urge to “seek the transcendental through religion or art, to love and to give to others, and to cultivate the nobler qualities of character.”
This spiritual side has for too long been ignored in the equation, he writes. “When the animal side of our nature dominates, society sinks into barbarism; when the spiritual side is cultivated, civilization soars to heights not attainable at other times.”
Mr. Huddleston believes that a new understanding of this duality is beginning to emerge in the feminist movement. It is also an integral teaching, he notes, of the Bahá’í’ Faith. If widely understood, he believes, it would open the door to genuine peace by, among other things, making it “possible to respond positively to friendly moves by other nations without being obsessed by the fear that everything must be a trick to gain an advantage.”
Mr. Huddleston also lists understanding the unity of humankind as fundamental to peace. He finds this concept a potentially powerful force in promoting the “growing human understanding that all people have the same human spirit and that none of us
Page 11
deprived of the basic necessities of life.”
At the end of the book, Mr. Huddleston offers apoint-by—point “blueprint” for peace. It includes:
0 Building a world peace constituency through global education and observances like the United Nations International Year of Peace;
0 Adoption of a treaty to abolish all offensive weapons;
0 Creation of a World Peace Council as an independent body to determine when a state of war exists and who is the aggressor and the requirement for compulsory arbitration of international disputes;
0 Expansion of the United Nations peacekeeping forces, or something like them, with funding from a tax on all mineral exploitation worldwide;
0 Efforts to give women an equal role with men in the peace process.
Although this list might appear overly idealistic at firstglance, the rationale for each step is well-considered and worth examining. Certainly, in a world where calls for new thinking and new approaches to peace are increasing, this book stands as a clear, concise, and, at times, bold annunciation. 9
general causes of war there have to be some fundamental changes in the way we think. The first such change concerns the prevalent view of human nature which regards man as Innately selfish,
uncaring and violent. "
[Page 12]
The
Causes of
War and
Some
Remedies
“Achieving Peace by the Year2000-A Twelve Point Proposal”
ByJohn Huddleston
Oneworld Publications
London
ONE COUNTRY / Winter 1989
This is a modest book with ideas that are anything but modest. Just 94 pages long, not counting the appendices and notes, it proposes a series of sweeping changes in the international order— and in humanity’s collective consciousness — that its author views as necessary to establishing a lasting peace by the year 2000.
Writing with an authority that clearly comes from years of reflection upon and experience with international affairs, John Huddleston provides a concise and readable assessment of why humanity still faces the scourge of war and what can be done about it.
Formerly Chief of the Budget and Planning Division of the I n te r n a t i o n a 1 Monetary Fund, Mr. Huddleston first recounts the failure of international diplomacy and past peace movements to establish a warless world. Then, in what may be the book's most valuable section, he offers a fresh look at the root causes of war. Finally, he offers an ambitious, yet — given the drift of recent world events—notunimaginable, 12-point plan for reforming the world system.
Mr. Huddleston makes clear from the start that his thinking is influenced greatly by his Bahá’í belief and practice. Although the book keeps to a no—nonsense, secular style of analysis and writing, Mr. Huddleston nevertheless says that the book is a personal reaction and “footnote” to The Promise of World Peace , a statement on peace and the world situation issued in 1985 by the Universal House of J ustice, the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith.
To end war, Mr. Huddleston believes that we must first understand and eliminate its root causes. He lists the following attitudes as key barriers to peace: nationalism, racism, extremes of wealth and poverty, religious strife, the domination of public affairs by men, and competitive arms races. Although each has been identified before by various authors, Mr. Huddleston’s contribution rests in neatly tying them together and, then, offering several key “principles” that if widely understood and adopted might serve to dismantle the various barriers outlined above.
First among these all-important principles, writes Mr. Huddleston, isanew understanding of human nature.
The question of man's nature has not often been examined in the arena of intemational affairs, and where it has, that examination has frequently been faulty. Mr. Huddleston suggests, however, that it is on the question of human nature that barriers to peace will rise or fall. He writes:
“To eliminate these general causes of war there have to be some fundamental changes in the way we think. The first such change concerns the prevalent view of human nature — which regards man as innately selfish, uncaring and violent. Such a view has a crippling effect on efforts to achieve peace because it suggests that nothing will ever change and that therefore it is a waste of time to alter the way governments think or behave: all that can be done is to ‘carry a big stick’ and hope that this will deter would-be aggressors.”
Mr. Huddleston suggests a more realistic approach, viewing human nature as having two sides. One side is our animal nature, which springs from our physical needs and serves us in our effort to survive. The other side of our nature, he writes, is spiritual and
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