Tending the Garden/Africa and the Ten Year Crusade

AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR.CRUSADE

IN 1953 the Korean War ended, the Soviet Union exploded a hydrogen bomb and cigarette smoking was, for the first time, reported to cause lung cancer. It was also the year that Elizabeth II was crowned queen, while J Love Lucy reigned on television. Meanwhile, Bah@is were galvanized by news from Haifa. Shoghi Effendi had launched a momentous Plan: the Ten Year Crusade—to last from 1953 to 1963. [See Glossary] Soon hundreds were leaving their homes and moving to territories and countries around the globe, to help establish the Baha’ Faith.

Shoghi Effendi wrote:

The avowed, the primary aim of this Spiritual Crusade is none other than the conquest of the citadels of men’s hearts. The theatre of its operations is the entire planet. Its duration a whole decade.’

In that same year, the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada was asked to send a representative to an international Bahai conference in New Delhi, India and chose Fred Schopflocher. In July, Fred passed away suddenly. Emeric recalls the crisis following his death in July 1953, shortly before the Conference.

.. John Robarts felt that if no one else could go, he should be the sacrificial lamb. He phoned us long distance from Toronto, as members of the National Assembly, and Rosemary in particular felt strongly that he should go. He told us later that Rosemary’s persuasion was the final straw that made him decide to go. None of us realized then that his decision had profound repercussions on the rest of our lives.

After John’s return from India we were sitting in his office on November 4th, 1953, at our regular scheduled National Spiritual Assembly meeting. We were all hit like a [Page 120]120 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

bombshell when he announced that within the next few weeks he will leave with his family for Bechuanaland as a pioneer. He learned in New Delhi that we could offer to pioneer. John had been so moved at that Conference that after consulting with his wife Audrey he cabled the Guardian offering to go anywhere.

We were all of course spellbound and deeply moved. Rosemary, sitting across looked at me with longing eyes, and | could see and feel her desire to volunteer also. | too was overwhelmed by the emotion in that room and nodded. With that nod, and without the exchange of any words, our fate was sealed, and we never regretted it.

The day after we cabled the Guardian offering to go anywhere. Two days later we got the answer:

“Suggest Comoros Islands love Shoghi”?

Rosemary and Emeric had never heard of these islands. In fact, the Guardian's Crusade turned out to be a huge geography lesson for many Bahd@’is! After locating these four small islands situated in the Indian Ocean, they began gathering as much information as they could. This not-too-helpful reply came from the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahda’is of India, Pakistan and Burma:

Nov.19, 1953

Many thanks for your letter of 12th instant received today ...

In fact we know very little about Comoro Islands as also about Madagascar with particular reference to the conditions prevailing there. What we know is that these are French territories....3

‘The secretary suggested that they contact others, including Mr. Jalal Nakhjavani in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika, and Emeric wrote, asking these questions:

Nov.26, 1953

We would appreciate any information you could give us about the Islands, electric current, if any, AC-DC, 110 or 220 voltage, and if there are any hotels and in which cities. [Page 121]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 121

We have about 100 books in English, Baha’i and on related subjects. Would you advise us to ship them along?

We have a six-room house full of possessions. Would it be wise to get rid of most and what should we bring along?”

In my own limited experience in going as a short-term pioneer to Romania in the 1990s, I had the help of pioneer workshops, an office at the National Center in Toronto to contact with any question, addresses of friends in Romania itself. Conditions were first class compared to what early pioneers faced. Here Emeric describes their preparations and subsequent refusal of entry to the Comoros Islands:

We applied for a visa which the Consul submitted to Paris. During the subsequent six months | liquidated my business, we sold our house, brushed up on our French, packed about ten wooden cases, and then we were turned down.

We cabled again to Haifa and were given a choice of Zululand, Madagascar, Rhodesia or Gambia. We applied to South Africa for Zululand and asked for an answer in three months, which was the time required to process an application, to Lourenco Marques [the capital city of] Mozambique by which time we would arrive there. If we were refused, we would have gone to Rhodesia, where we did not require a visa.

It should be remembered that by this time, the Salas were approaching 50 years of age. Their fearlessness is astonishing.

Meanwhile, the Robarts family was setting out for Bechuanaland (now Botswana). While bidding them goodbye in Montreal, Rosemary presented 13-year-old Nina with a large box. In the box were 21 individually and exquisitely wrapped small packages. Rosemary gave firm instructions to open only one gift a day. Nina would obediently wait for high tea which the family had with the captain and chief engineer. All would watch in anticipation as she opened the gift of the day. Included was a photo of Shoghi Effendi at age three, a tiny prayer book of Ruhiyyih Khanum’s, a pair of bedroom slippers, a hand-embroidered Hungarian blouse, a box of chocolates, biscuits in a red metal box, a bar of fragrant sandal wood soap... [he small gifts were the highlight of the 21-day voyage.® [Page 122]122 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

I have a memory of a spring day, the family gathered in our living room at the farm, with Rosemary and Emeric about to depart for Africa. There was a sense of impending change for all. I have a vague recollection of a prayer recited. They left Montreal in May, 1954 on a cargo boat, not knowing to which country they were going. Suddenly they were gone. Their cottage by the lake was empty. | felt the loss.

Rosemary wrote about their four-month long trip to Africa, meeting Bah@is along the way. The first stop was Cardiff, Wales.

When we arrived at the chandler’s office [upon disembarking] we found a small group of five Baha’is there. They had traveled, in such dreary weather on a Sunday morning, and by tramcar, to welcome us. We all traveled back the same way, by tramcar, to Cardiff. All the best restaurants were closed and most of the poorer ones. We found a very unappealing one on a rather miserable side-street. All that could be served us, and rather grudgingly at that, was tea and toast. Then | realized that,...prior to sailing in Montreal ... | had bought some very special pastries and also equally special chocolates. ...| had them in my carry-all! ... And when | brought out the photographs that had been taken of Ruhfyyih Khanum in her Montreal home the year before, joy was complete.

We can never forget this loving gesture of true Baha'i hospitality of these Welsh friends. It was the beginning of a chain of such greetings, everywhere we went.

Equal hospitality was ours in Oxford [England] where we spent a week-end with the Hofman’s. It was for them the sweets had been bought originally! We met the believers, among them Dan Jordan, a student of music at that time. We accompanied the friends to hear a talk by Richard St. Barbe Baker’ on his recent exploratory journey to the Sahara Desert with some students. After the talk we had coffee together. When he learned that we were on our way to Africa, he showed his delight by sharing with us some of his experiences with the Kikuyus. He could not believe that his beloved Kikuyus, with whom he had worked in a perfect relationship and fellowship on reforestation in East Africa could be involved in the Mau-Mau atrocities. He sang a Kikuyu song for us in a somewhat cracked voice but so full of love and longing for his African friends that our eyes filled with tears.

The deep love he revealed opened our hearts to an anticipation that we too would share in this love when we reached our final destination... Every experience of St. [Page 123]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 123

Barbe Baker we would find realized, within our limitations, during our fourteen years in Africa.’

We shared in an unforgettable commemoration of the Bab’s Declaration held at the Baha’i School at Esslingen [Germany]. ... | wish we could have taken a colour photograph of the room. ... The long tables along three walls had lilac blossoms, buttercups and green leaves strewn on the white tablecloths, with bowls of yellow, red and white tulips at each end. ...

We remembered dear Marian Jack [the Canadian pioneer living in Sophia, Bulgaria] who had so often visited the school. It was then we were given the photograph of Marian Jack standing by the door of this school with the beautiful smile on her face. This was sent to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada and was reproduced in Canadian Baha'i News.’

From Europe, Rosemary and Emeric embarked on what Rosemary referred to as their “Mayflower”, the Kenya Cas¢le.'The ship stopped at various ports as they sailed down the east coast of Africa. They were prepared with addresses of Bahd’is. Rosemary’s collection of anecdotes includes the following:

We had been booked a very nice room on the top deck of this one class boat, but when we got on board we found that passengers getting on in Southampton [England] had been able to change cabins and we found ourselves four decks down in the bowels of the ship with a port hole very difficult to open. To my fresh-air fiend husband, pioneering began at this point.”

The Kenya Castle was full of South Africans returning home. It gave us an opportunity of knowing the kind of people we would be associating with, though only casually as we were mindful of the Guardian's instructions not to become too intimate with white South Africans as our teaching was to be directed towards Africans only, except in special circumstances.”

Arriving in Cairo, our hearts beat with excitement, thinking of the Master's many visits there and the site of the burial place of Abu'l-Fazl and Lua Getzinger. We [Page 124]124 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

visited a curio shop owned by members of the Yazdi family whose great-grandfather had been sent to Egypt by Baha'u'llah Himself. While drinking coffee with three of the Baha’i friends and eagerly speaking (in French) of news of the Faith, a large group of our fellow passengers arrived and gazed at us somewhat curiously as we drank coffee with the darker-skinned friends. Then we realized, that for the sake of the Faith, we would have to curtail our open contact with the Baha'i friends en route...Our first intimations of what our future life would be!”

Arriving at Mombassa we were welcomed so lovingly by Ursula Samandari ... and Irene Bennett, another British pioneer was with her. Several African friends accompanied them but they had wisely remained in the background. The white South African [passengers] looked on us with approval being met by two blonde Britishers! ...

When it was learned that the ship would be loading for a week Jalal (brother of Ali Nakjavani) made arrangements that we should take the train to Nairobi to visit [another branch of] the Yazdi family. ...

Aziz [Yazdi] met us on the train as arranged. He had been on a visit to Baha’fs imprisoned as suspects of the Mau-Mau though the charges could not be proved, so was returning to Nairobi on the same train as we were traveling on. When he met us we saw his face aglow as the result of his visit. He mentioned two most devoted souls whose very contact with other prisoners was conducive to teaching. One of them said, “I begin to teach for it is my duty. | would begin to talk about hygiene (he worked in the hospital) and then the Cause would come out of my mouth.” He asked for more declaration cards, nothing for himself. When another pure-hearted believer was praised for his teaching efforts his reply was, “I did not do any work. I’m only a witness to the result of Baha’u'llah’s words.” There were seven declarations in one [detention] camp and again the only thing requested was more declaration cards and prayer books though Aziz had asked if he could send them anything to help relieve the restrictions of prison life. ... An LSA had been formed in one camp and permission was given to hold classes. ... Aziz remarked, “Love and confidence in the beloved Guardian is the key: he says ‘Do it!’ and in obedience, the spiritual bounties are poured out.”

June 29, 1954 ..E. and | returned this morning to the boat after visiting Nairobi, 350 miles [Page 125]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 125

inland. We had armoured cars filled with soldiers to protect us! Every male in town carries a pistol or rifle, even some women... We had a heavenly time visiting the Baha’ts..."4

July 4, 1954 ..We are in Zanzibar! It has been a beautiful approach to the island. ... The wind

carries the smell of cloves to us across the green and blue streaked sea.” BS

Zululand

In Mozambique the Salas at last obtained their visas. Zululand was a region in the eastern part of South Africa, the homeland of the Zulu tribes, and today part of Kwazulu-Natal. Here are two descriptions of their arrival. The difference in tone is evident! Rosemary described it this way:

We had left Canada without a visa but happily it was awaiting us in Mozambique permitting us to enter South Africa. Our excitement and eagerness had mounted with every glimpse of that vast continent of Africa. Travelling down the East Coast we had caught so many nuances of smells and sights preparing us for Zululand, our final destination. ...

Our eagerness to reach Zululand made us leave [Durban, South Africa] by bus within three days to travel the dusty ninety-odd miles to Eshowe, the capital city — really a town. Our made-in-Canada bus broke down and we were stranded in the rain on the dirt road to wait for relief. It was dark when we reached the Royal Hotel. One dim light in the hall greeted us while a sweet-faced old Zulu led us to our room and later brought tea and toast. We were in Zululand! This was the first step of a new beginning: now we had to find a business and a home."

While Emeric wrote:

Eight months have passed since our first cable to Shoghi Effendi, offering to pioneer anywhere. And now in June 1954 we are in reach of our goal. Entering Zululand [Page 126]126 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

late in the afternoon our bus broke down. Waiting many hours in the cold — since it was winter — and in the dark, we finally arrive about midnight, hungry, at our hotel in Eshowe where the dining room was already closed. We went to bed in a cold, unheated room.”

Emeric describes the first months:

It was winter in Southern Africa. The city [Eshowe] was small, hardly any industries. We were thinking of buying a sugar farm. | was then [close to] 50 years old. | still had to make a living, establish myself somewhere, but it was too expensive for a good sugar farm, and | had no experience either, so we had to give it up after two months, studying it as a possibility. We looked around at lumber yards, other industries or businesses where | could make a living...

After about four months of investigation and travel throughout Zululand we ... decided on Samungu, a trading post in an African (native) reserve, 17 miles from Eshowe, the nearest police station, doctor and telephone, connected by a very poor earth road, which was not passable after a heavy rain for a week. Since our contact and teaching of the Africans had to be done without arousing the resentment of our white neighbours or the suspicion of the authorities, we bought this store with 18 acres of land, 16 head of cattle, subject to the approval of the Minister of Native Affairs in Pretoria, which we all took for granted. ... The nearest store was five miles from us. We were to sell to about three thousand half-naked, poverty stricken Zulus, corn, bread, tea, sugar, kerosene and other basic necessities. Our store also served as post office and registrar of births and deaths.”

Now established at their post thousands of miles from home, correspondence began to flow. Rosemary writes an old Bah@i friend in Montreal:

Sept. 19, 1954

[It] is on a beautiful location almost 2000 ft. above Eshowe, on the edge of the Nkandla forest, in a native reserve. ...

The store is the usual hole ...it needs windows for light and ventilation — there are none at present. It was packed five deep when we visited, by Zulus “in the raw’, [Page 127]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 127

wearing skirts, beshus (men’s skirts) and beads. ...2°

Emeric sent these observations to the Johannesburg Local Spiritual Assembly, entitled “The Mystery of Samungu”:

‘Abdu'l-Baha [would have] said — If Samungu has nine good qualities and one bad one, overlook the one and see the nine. Anyone living in Samungu who overlooks the bad things lives in Paradise. ...

..the first night it was the rats. They made a terrific noise in the attic and we felt the house was not our own. Well, they are gone. Three cats and our prayers keep them away. | never knew | can love cats that much.

Work from 7 to 5, Saturday until 1, | thought would be too much for a living. | find that | never found work as leisurely and pleasant as now. With no telephone, no pres sure, no traffic noise... we prefer this work in Samungu to any holiday resort.

And then the dirt. ... And yet the mountain air is so clean that the collar of my white shirt remains white after a day's work — while in Montreal?

Last Wednesday, returning from Eshowe, | got stuck in the mud of a newlyscraped road three miles short of home. Helping hands put on my Canadian chains for the first time. | like our roads. They are full of curves, often unexpected, up and down, never dull, and then the undescribably beautiful landscape.

Every Wednesday | drive down to Eshowe with about 300 pounds of cash to deposit. | take the Chief or one or two other passengers along, and of course, inevitably, my wife, as bodyguards. But really, there is no danger. | just read that the first Bank of Manhattan had no safe for the first 50 years, and its night watchman had no gun. We of Samungu feel the same way. There is nothing wrong with Samungu, or its people. If there is, it is a mystery.”

Here are two of Rosemary’s letters to children - this one addressed to me:

Feb. 12, 1955 ... wish you could meet our Zulu friends! ...the children are so bright-eyed, and all, young and old, have radiant smiles. | don’t believe | have ever heard a Zulu child — [Page 128]128 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

except a very few young babies — ever cry or fuss. A few of the little girls wear dresses... Most of them wear sugar or potato bags tied around them. No shoes, no socks or stockings. Their hair is oiled ... then plaited into tiny braids, with a few colored beads interwoven here and there... The children come to look at me very solemnly, their eyes peering at me shyly over the edge of the counter. | make them giggle at the funny way | speak Zulu, then we become friends.

One sweet old lady was in the store this morning. We looked deep into one another’s eyes, and | felt as though we knew one another very well, this old, very dirty and shabbily dressed Zulu woman and I. She gave me a beautiful smile and | clasped her hand. She spoke in Zulu to Ngotho, our clerk, who was beside me, and told him she wished she could speak to me, to tell me Zulu stories and to have me tell her stories!”

And a letter to my sister Renée, then 8 years old:

Jan. 24, 1955

The last letter you wrote through your secretary, you said that you were dizzy. | haven't heard from you since to the contrary so | suppose you are still dizzy!

Please forgive me writing to your secretary first. She is older than you, and if | hurt her feelings | might never receive another letter from you. She might refuse to be your secretary. Is she very expensive? What salary do you pay her? Two ice-creams and a bottle of Coca Cola? ...

Emeric recorded his impressions of the Zulu language:

Zulu is an agglutinative language. The stem of a word is taken as a basis. We glue to it pronouns, adverbs, negatives, suffixes and prefixes, until the whole glued word represents an idea. ... In German there are three classes of nouns, in Zulu there are ten .. To pick up Zulu is as easy as to pick up mercury, and the result is just as disastrous. | always tell my Zulu friends that they need no other proof of their high intelligence than the intricacy of their language.”

While Rosemary and Emeric were still new to Samungu, customers [Page 129]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 129

would come to the trading post to shop and to look them over. Emeric describes one special day:

One day, when our store was fairly crowded, an old Zulu with a finely chiseled, intelligent face kept on looking at me with startled eyes and amazement. Finally he asked our assistant in Zulu: “Who are these people?” He answered: “Abulungu pecheeeeea’. “Abulungu” means white man. “Pechea” means far. If he extends “ea” in Zulu it means very far. If it is extended still farther, “eeea” means it is so very far that it is across the sea, which usually means England or Holland. But in our case, he said, “pecheeeeea’’which means we were white people from much farther than England, across many seas.

When the old man heard this answer his face lighted up, for he now understood. What he meant was this. He has worked for many years in Durban and Johannesburg, and has seen many white men. He has seen in the eyes of these white men arrogance, an expression telling him every hour and every day that he is of the master race. Even the rare missionary he may have met looked upon him with the superior feeling of a father speaking to children, though the native may be twice his age. And now, for the first time in his long life, did he see “abulungu’, that is white people, who looked at him and the other Zulus as equals.”

‘This report of Emeric’s indicates the racial attitudes of that time in Southern Africa:

Soon after we were settled down Bishop and Ruth Brown came to visit us urgently from Durban—four hours by car—telling us that they received instructions from our [Baha’f] center in Johannesburg that we should destroy all our Baha’i literature, including newsletters, pending secret police investigation. The application we signed for a residence visa stated that we will comply to the South African way of life. This was not defined but we can assume it meant Apartheid. We also knew that under the Act for the Suppression of Communism the Minister of State can deport any foreigner without giving any reason, and without any chance for an appeal. At that time we were unknown to the secret police, and we did not know how they would treat us if and when they investigated us.

Eventually they did investigate some of us, including our literature, and since [Page 130]130 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

we teach brotherly love without violence they decided we are harmless and not subversive, especially since we do not mix in politics.

Most of our customers lived in straw huts with mud floors and spoke only Zulu. We learned a few hundred words for basic communication. Some of our employees and neighbours had worked in the great cities and knew some English. ... We invited our employees and ... new friends for Xmas dinner, and insisted, contrary to custom, that they enter at our front door. Their spokesman told us with great emotion that this is the first time in their lives that they entered a white home at the front door and sat with them at the same table for a meal. It was also standard practice to call their employer “master”. It took mea long time to break them from that habit.”°

Rosemary gives her account of the above-mentioned Christmas dinner:

| decorated the house, prepared turkey and all the extras and a special cake, which we learned afterward was the hit of the party. At the close our “special treasure’, Ngotla, spoke in Zulu to the others who nodded in agreement, “This has been an historic evening. This is the first time in Zululand that my people have come as guests through the front door. This occasion will be remembered through all the ages.”

A cautiously worded Naw-Ruz greeting sent by Rosemary and Emeric from Zululand, with an image of a Persian print:

March, 1955

How we wish you could visit us now that we are completely at home. We think of you and the friends so often, and especially at this time. We will be here alone on the 21« but will be thinking of you and the Haddens and the other friends down your way ... | will try to write a letter telling of our doings. We are still only two here but hopeful!”*

Edith and Lowell Johnson, two long-time pioneers to South Africa, edited a history of the years 1953-1963 entitled 4 Ten Year Crusade Diary for Southern Africa. This compilation has proved most useful and I have quoted from it extensively. Here is a report about a visit to Samungu by some young

Baha'is: [Page 131]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 131

The Robarts family arrived from their pilgrimage and met immediately with the community. Patrick, instead, climbed into a waiting car with Dale and Kenton Allen, Andrew Mofokeng and Maxwell Ndlovu to go on a teaching trip to Zululand.”

Dale Allen described the first fireside:

That evening Rosemary and Emeric invited about six specially selected friends to their first fireside and Emeric spoke in most elegant tones (Max translating). Emeric was an historian and launched into the rise and fall of civilizations pointing out how each had derived its power from one of God’s great Messengers. I was spellbound and always wished I had a tape recording. Emeric poured out his heart after not being able to talk about his Faith for all these months. After Emeric spoke, Andrew and Patrick and Max all made contributions. There were many questions, They were on fire with this new Message from God. I explained that Mr. Sala was a very brilliant historian. They replied that they did understand his talk, but truly enjoyed Max and Andrew’s talks on Baha’u’llah and Progressive Revelation.

(Editor’s note: This was the beginning of Emeric’s frustration with teaching in Africa; very few in South Africa at that time had the world view which was his approach when he wrote the book This Earth One Country.)*°

This report points out Emeric’s challenge in adjusting his teaching methods to a new situation. He had been in great demand as a speaker across the main cities of Canada, and in the U.S. at Green Acre and Louhelen Baha’i Schools. His lectures in Central and South America created publicity for the Faith, and drew new inquirers. In Africa the requirements differed, with teaching mainly one-to-one or in small groups, never in a lecture hall. One had to make contacts, make friends. There are equivalent challenges for Bah#is today (2016) with the focus of regular small-scale gatherings in neighborhoods for study, devotions and activities for children and youth.

At the Salas’ first fireside, one of the Baha'i youth, Andrew Mofokeng noted that among the Zulus there was “some reluctance the cause of which I could not fathom”*'. Perhaps he felt intuitively the absence of the words of [Page 132]132 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

Bah@u'llah, in the native language. He immediately began work on one of the many services he would provide for the Faith. Andrew, in his autobiography, Tiger, writes:

Strangely, it was at Samungu Zululand while at the home of Rosemary and Emeric Sala that some inspiration came my way. It was here that I translated my first prayer from English into Sesotho. ... As we left Samungu for Johannesburg, Rosemary gave me a memento - Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah. What a gift! This certainly helped to spur me on with the translation work because it was in Basutoland, during that January 1955 visit or teaching trip that I was able to translate nine more prayers into Sesotho under various headings and Beth Laws was able to put them on stencil and the first ever Sesotho Baha’i Prayer Book was produced and circulated.*”

‘The editors of the Ten Year Crusade Diary for Southern Africa included this comment, dated 16 January, 1955: “This first teaching effort in Zululand left a nucleus of interested Zulus which the Salas followed up. About a week later they had their first declaration.”

Some years later Andrew Mofokeng, a newly appointed Auxiliary Board Member, visited Rosemary and Emeric in Port Elizabeth. In his biography, he wrote:

The Salas occupied a very beautiful flat in a modern building overlooking the Indian Ocean ... In the city situation I expected that some arrangement would be made in keeping with the South African way of life at the time. There was none of that. I was welcomed into the flat and shown into my room...

What I enjoyed the most in Port Elizabeth was to discuss every aspect of our Faith with Rosemary and Emeric. They would come out in real depth and sincerity but all cloaked in a vibrant sense of humour which Emeric had. This made a lasting impression on me.*?

Finally, after a year’s stay in Zululand, the Minister of Native Affairs Dr. Verwoerd, (later Prime Minister) refused to extend the Salas’ permit which had expired. Emeric writes: [Page 133]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 133

When the news came that the Minister of Native Affairs would not allow us to remain in Samungu, not being [South African] citizens, it came as a shock ... Our minds were adjusted to stay in Samungu, if necessary, for life. [But] strange is the human mind. When we were forced to see the dark side of Samungu, it looked ominous and foreboding. We suddenly saw the steep grades and deep ruts in the road... the impassability in rainy weather. Our isolation without telephone in an emergency — with a doubtful road, a doubtful car, and a doubtful and reluctant driver in my wife...

Then there was one more reason why we left Samungu. After we signed up all our fortune in this Trading Station we received word from the Guardian that he considered our step unwise and too conspicuous, and this after | made this heroic sacrifice to live among [the Africans] as only a missionary or trader can. | was sure that the Guardian did not know what he was talking about. Now | am sure that he did. What is beyond my understanding is how he knew it. But then there is so much in the Faith beyond our understanding.*

Emeric’s comments about the Guardian’s understanding were based on this letter written in 1954, the year before the Minister's refusal to extend their visa.

Haifa, Israel,

May 5, 1954

Mr. and Mrs. Emeric Sala

Dear Baha’i Friends:

Your letters, one from Mrs. Sala, dated February 20th, and two from Mr. Sala, dated March 25th and April 15th, have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

He fully realizes how deep your disappointment has been that you are not able to secure your visa for the Comoro Islands. He himself was deeply disappointed also. However, some of these places are extremely difficult to enter; and he hopes that where you have failed, at least for the time being, someone else will prove successful at a later date.

He urges you, upon your arrival in Zululand, to find out the status of the Cause in neighbouring places, and, if it is possible for you to settle in one of the [Page 134]134 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

neighbouring countries where the Center is much weaker, and where it is more difficult for people to get established, and there is a better possibility for people like yourselves to build up a business and remain, that you by all means go to the weaker Center, in preference to Zululand, which now has a certain number of pioneers.

He assures you that the example that you and the Robarts have shown has moved him very deeply, and he hopes it will stir the Canadian Community, and impress upon them the advisability of answering the pioneer call now, while the field is open, and the opportunities and the rewards so glorious.

You are often remembered in his prayers in the holy Shrines, and he is supplicating that you may be richly blessed, and meet with success in both your teaching efforts and in your personal affairs.

With warmest Baha’i love,

R. Rabbani

May the Beloved bless your constant endeavours, remove all obstacles from your path, and enable you to enrich the record of your meritorious services to His Faith.

Your true brother, Shoghi*®

‘The Johannesburg Local Spiritual Assembly recommended Port Elizabeth as the next pioneering post.*°

‘The trading post was transferred back to the original owner with fair compensation for all the improvements made. Shortly afterwards Emeric met some businessmen who ran a textile wholesale firm and offered him an unusual opportunity in Port Elizabeth. Here Emeric reflects about these seeming coincidences and about leaving Zululand:

When we decided to acquiesce to the Minister's decision and to surrender Samungu without a struggle, Mrs. Ruth Brown told us that she felt that we were now on the “beam”. We should just let go, let things slide, and she felt that we will be guided to the right place. ... She was right all along. Things had been moving since, very smoothly, it was almost miraculous. ... It gave me a hint of the inner peace and wonder of those who are always in tune with the Way of God. [Page 135]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 135

When we said goodbye to our Zulu friends, there were several touching scenes. The Zulus ... do not show emotions as visibly as we do, but they were moved. We knew them well enough to read regret in their faces. Some had wet eyes, when they said goodbye to Rosemary, “omama’, our mother. Some felt intuitively that they lost more through us than a couple of traders, who were perhaps kinder to them than others. We also regretted that we could not leave them more.’”

Emeric ended a report on Zululand with a series of questions in 1955 that are still pertinent and could apply to the whole world, as we navigate through these tumultuous early years of the 21st century.

In the meantime, Zululand is waiting for an answer to pressing problems, both economic and social, therefore spiritual. What will happen to the educated Zulu? Who is to develop Zululand’s great natural resources and for whom? As the standard of the African approaches that of the European, who is to divide the income of the nation, consistent with justice? As the tribal hold disappears what will be the backbone of Zulu morals? What opportunities are offered to the African in an increasingly industrial society? And last but not least, what culture will they be able to call their own in which they can

find their true identity in relation to the rest of mankind?* By \&

Port Elizabeth on the Indian Ocean

It was a beautiful ride through the sunlit hills of the Zulu Reserve on our way to Durban. We were carefree and happy. We had no home, no job, no future. We were again wanderers, drifting with the waves of Faith. It was an exhilarating sensation, for we knew that we knew no fear. ...

We attended the Unity Feast of the Durban Assembly. Precious among [the Baha'is] was Mrs. Agnes Carey, about 75, an invalid, the oldest Baha’ in Southern Africa. She was born here and became a Baha’ through Miss (Fanny) Knobloch about thirty years ago. ... She kept her Faith in all these years, all alone, isolated from the Baha’ world. What amazes me is the quality of her faith. Though often in pain with arthritis ... almost blind, living alone in the Old Women’s Home, yet every time | see her, it is she who cheers me up. She has the same quality of Faith as many of the old Baha'is of ‘Abdu'l-Baha’s time [Page 136]136 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

that | met in the United States.

It was early November, and springtime in the Southern Hemisphere, when we left for Port Elizabeth where we planned to settle. We travelled through East Griquoland and the Transkei, reserves of the Griquas and Xhosas. ... Most of the 600 miles were paved. ... We met about one car in an hour.”

| established a wholesale business importing textiles, shoes, clothing, radios, pottery; covering with six salesmen half of South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia). Our customers were Afrikaner, Jewish, English, Black and Coloured storekeepers. Business here was relaxed, easy going without the pressure and cut-throat competition of Montreal and New York. Our life, once established was pleasant and carefree, were it not for the archaic and unjust treatment of the blacks and the coloured.”°

New habits and patterns had to be learned to navigate the racial attitudes of government and country, so opposite to the concept of one human family. Emeric writes about the strange laws of South Africa and the related risks:

.. most of our African guests entered our apartment through the servants’ entrance. We found this very embarrassing, but our friends accepted this humiliation rather than expose us to possible repercussions with the authorities. It was not against the law for whites to entertain Africans in one’s home, provided no alcohol was served, but it was not the South African way of life. We pioneers were exposed to the Suppression of Communism Act, under which any alien could be deported at short notice, without any explanation or opportunity for appeal. Shortly after our arrival, a young rabbi, a former Rhodes Scholar, was given two weeks notice to leave the country. The only explanation his friends could give us was that he had entertained African and Coloured intellectuals in his home and that his sermons were outspoken. As Baha'is, we had to obey the law of the country, but we also wanted to speak about our Faith. To reconcile the two meant to walk ona tightrope.

Eventually, we were investigated by the secret police. Since we were found to be genuinely religious, nonpolitical, nonviolent and law-abiding, we were allowed to remain. Nevertheless, we were watched and at times followed...*! [Page 137]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 137

‘The website of the Bahdis of South Africa casts light on this time of apartheid:

During this period of gestation, the Baha’i Faith was being watched continually by the security police. Both the individual Baha’i and the administrative bodies were under police investigation and surveillance. However, although the believers never compromised the principles of the Faith and gradually developed racially integrated Baha'i communities, the numbers were too small and peaceful to be considered a threat to the apartheid regime.”

Rosemary depicts life in South Africa as a fantasy tale:

May 15, ca. 1959

This country becomes more Alice-in-Wonderlandish. These new flats ... have maid’s rooms, but after the Ist of June no African maids are to be permitted to sleep here! They must be headed back into their locations at night, ... eleven miles from here and costs $9 a month bus fare. We may have Colored maids sleeping in but not Africans. This means the African women will be unemployed. | suppose the government hopes to force them back into the reserves which as yet cannot support them except on a meager diet of mealies (corn).

Many white South Africans disagreed with their government's racial policies. The Glennies and Norman Bailey were examples. Here is how they became Baha'is, before the Salas had a chance to digest the policy, coming from the Guardian, to concentrate on teaching Africans. Rosemary writes:

We also had an exciting time with Sheila and Bourne Glennie. While in Johannesburg we met that precious soul, “the father of South Africa’, for he had remained faithful to his belief even though isolated from Baha’is and news of the Faith. Reg Turvey said he would send us the address of his niece Sheila as he used to speak to her of the Faith and he was sure she would be interested. When the address came it was found to be next door to our flat! Bill Sears was visiting us (before he became a Hand of the Cause) so we invited Sheila and Bourne ... We three arranged before that we would not mention the Faith but wait to see if she wished to speak of it — you remember the Guardian's [Page 138]138 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

instructions about certain restrictions in teaching? Sheila and Bourne came and we fell in love with them ... We chatted about this and that for about twenty minutes until Sheila sat up straight and said, “| didn’t come here to just talk. | want to learn about the Baha’ Faith”. We looked at one another laughing in joy and asked who would speak first! In two days, Sheila signed her card. Bourne took a little longer. All this took place during the first few months in Port Elizabeth and this reconciled me for leaving beloved Zululand.

Norman Bailey, a student of theology and later a renowned opera singer, became the first European male Baha’ to enroll in South Africa. He had been introduced to the Faith by Baha'i Sylvia Benatar while in Salisbury, Rhodesia.* Sylvia gave him Rosemary and Emeric’s address in Port Elizabeth. Here Rosemary describes the eventful meeting:

Remember Norman Bailey? We have just received a British magazine with an article on him saying he is the best Wotan (Wagnerian character) of today! It was so exciting the day we met him, when we were living in Matopos Flats up on the hill opposite the park. Emeric came in one evening and said to me, ‘I have just seen a beautiful young man to whom | longed to speak of the Faith — he should be a Baha'i’. We were about to sit down to supper when the doorbell rang and there stood the beautiful young man! He was then studying for the ministry. .... He asked me one question: to explain a verse in the Bible that puzzled him in relation to the Cause. | said a silent prayer for assistance — the answer came — and immediately Norman said, “Yes, that is it’.*®

In this excerpt from the Ten Year Crusade Diary, Norman Bailey reflects:

Few members of the Christian community were prepared to accept racial integration, and even the clergy were divided as to if, or how hard, they should try to convince their church members to accept other races into their churches. In this respect, the Baha’i Faith was leading the way for generations to come and to me, the Baha’i Faith was like a breath of fresh air in a racially stifling atmosphere.”

Emeric and Rosemary received some advice about teaching in South [Page 139]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 139

Africa, from a “seasoned” pioneer and long-time friend Bahiyyeh Ford Winckler who was later appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa:

I read in your letters the question about teaching white people and a flood of memories came over me. Do you recall that when we came [to South Africa] Harry had a class of over ten, and all was in a flourishing condition? All this very soon after we arrived. Then came the day when we received the message to teach only the Africans. It was a real blow. We stopped everything and even offended some. But then began the heart-rending job of trying to find the first soul to teach. We drove for hours thru the locations praying, praying. Well you know that first soul was found and then another and another. We look back and see the God guiding wisdom in all that happened. The white souls as radiant as they seemed, could not, or would not, we have realized, been able to take the words of the Guardian. The Faith was established on a firm foundation because it was in African hearts! There is no question about this. The Guardian has said that the day will come when we can teach the whites but not yet.

In a letter to Baha’ friends in South Africa, Rosemary refers to the request to focus the teaching work on Africans rather than whites.

June 28, 1956 (Sheila and I) could join the Red Cross group or some similar one, or the American and Canadian Women’s Club for me, but this step | have avoided. | understood that

the fewer connections we had with European groups the better.” By \&

The Library Project

Not long after moving to Port Elizabeth, Rosemary met the wife of the Dutch Consul who had just received a permit to establish a library in a nearby African township school. (Townships were areas in which the Africans and colored people lived a segregated life.) She offered to help. Within a few

months the Consul and wife were transferred to Capetown. Rosemary contin[Page 140]140 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

ued with the work in New Brighton Township for the next 11 years.

To build up a collection, Rosemary would visit bookstores, libraries, consulates and contacts asking for discarded books and magazines, as well as shelving, nails and paint with which to build up the library. For additional stock, she appealed to friends and relatives in Canada to collect suitable books; a ship’s captain whom she knew, transported these free of charge to Port Elizabeth. She would write with detailed instructions.

Aug. 27, 1964

The important thing to remember is that there must be no Bill of Lading: the books should be packed (depending on size) 100 to a carton and should be in charge of the captain or an officer. They can be addressed to me and labeled ‘for under-privileged children’ — not African children as before. ...

I've just phoned the Holland-Africa Line. Mr. Van Hattum is on leave and will be back in September. I'll get in touch with him then. That will give you time to appeal for more books, perhaps from Shelley and her friends. Can she beg from her whole school? No school textbooks - unless attractive class readers or gaily colored science books.”

In Montreal, Sala and Gillies relatives were busily collecting books wherever possible. Rosemary’s nephew Malcolm and I worked together, packing a large wooden crate and following the detailed instructions to get it to South Africa.

A young Cowan Secondary School student confirmed the positive effect of the project. He wrote the following letter to Rosemary’s friend, Amine DeMille, who had sent some books:

19 Aug., 1958

Dear Mrs. De Mille,

lam very grateful indeed for the five books you sent us. I read two of them [by] George Washington Carver. I found them very very interesting indeed. I was even boasting to my school mates that I am the first and luckiest boy to read such books. Every child in our school enjoys your books. As soon as I had finished reading George Washington Carver, I was requested by ten boys to hand the book over [Page 141]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 141

to them, because I told them how interesting the books were. | think you are really interested in us. These books are of the world’s best.

May God bless you and keep you in everlasting good health.

Yours faithfully,

Douglas Ngesi (Prefect)”>

Years later, Rosemary was interviewed by Louise Baker who was collecting information about her mother, Hand of the Cause Dorothy Baker. Rosemary recalled that Dorothy Baker had once met George Washington Carver. “...he said to her, in his little, thin, quavering, old voice, ‘Oh, tell the world, Mrs. Baker, that George Washington Carver thinks very highly of the Bahai Faith.”

In the following excerpts, Rosemary writes to friends and family about her project and in a subtle way provides hints about life in the South Africa of that time:

Dec. 17, 1957

I'm cleaning papers off my desk as I’m expecting three girls from Cowan School at 9:30 a.m. ... to help me mark, cover and catalogue over a hundred books from the Canadian shipment. I’m taking a chance at having Africans here. It is Xmas and | think our neighbours will be not too unsympathetic. Tomorrow, Mrs. Quinta (principal’s wife) and her five children come for a Xmas party, and to play in the park, the section for African children. ...

This weekend we had fresh strawberries, grapes, peaches, plums, apricots, oranges, bananas, mangoes, pawpaws, and apples and pineapples! What a fabulous country, in physical beauty at least.

| went to visit my pet school for the first time this year, owing to my illness. Such a warm welcome | received from all! Hannah (my treasure) had baked a caramel cake and | iced it to bring as a celebration. The teachers loved it. Everything was very quiet and peaceful but | will not go to the location (like a reservation) during Republic Week, as demonstrations are expected. A woman had offered to help me with three schools, but when | telephoned yesterday, she said she had been asked not to go to the African location. People are so afraid! [Page 142]142 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

(The principal's wife) is such a precious believer—exceptionally fine. | had offered to send her to Convention but she left things too late and hasn't got a permit yet. | spend my rent money (received for summer cottage at Riviére Beaudette) on such things, as well as helping to educate my two Xhosa daughters and two sons. One girl is in training for a nurse, the other wants to be a doctor. They wrote that they would care for me in all future illnesses, bless them. Of course things would have to change as they wouldn't be permitted to at present.™

Nov. 2, 1960

The school library work has been extended. | have begun working in four additional schools this year. Two South African (white) women have offered to share the work and will each take three schools. One of the newspapers is going to do a write-up on the need of and eagerness of teachers and students for a library which it is hoped will stimulate people to donate books. Naturally, none of us will have our names mentioned! The more impersonal the better, these days and in this country.”

In another article in 1964, a Port Elizabeth newspaper with the headline “Books Bring A New Life” describes the school library project and a talk Rosemary gave to the Port Elizabeth branch of the National Council of Women (NCW). At the top of the clipping Rosemary added a note:

| have always refused to give talks for publication on my work but the NCW has been so kind in making yearly collections that | consented to speak. ... | told the NCW that as a result of their efforts during the past six years and efforts of others, the keenness of teachers has forced the Govt. to take recognition of this need—this year for the Ist‘ time. [The Bantu Education authorities had built up a fund to be spent by regional inspectors to buy library books. }°

Robert Mazibuko was a student at Cowan School. He became a “son” to Rosemary and Emeric, and in turn, they became his “Mamacita and Papacita”. After Emeric’s death in 1990, Robert and I began corresponding, first by letter, then by email. He sent vivid descriptions of his relationship with them that began with the library project. He has recently published his autobiogra[Page 143]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 143

phy, This Side Up, which is dedicated to Rosemary and Emeric. Robert’s first

meeting with Rosemary occurred in the library:

The library seemed to be run by a white lady who was very kind. She was able to remember the likes and preferences of some students and help them make choices of books, while in the library. She soon noticed that I loved books on adventure and that I preferred books about “Biggles”.®”

Rosemary loaned Robert a special “Biggles” book which was promptly absconded with by another avid fan. Robert returned nervously the following library day. Rosemary was strict and decided on a consequence: “My punishment was that after school, I was to stay in the library and help cover and catalogue books for the school.”** And thus began a friendship.

Robert provides a close-up account of Rosemary’s courage and inadvertently, of his own:

In 1957 when I met Rosemary, there had just been very destructive riots in Port Elizabeth when a Jewish cinema owner was killed and several Jewish shops ... were burnt down. ... So, it was an act of great bravery for Rosemary to board a bus full of Africans in New Brighton at the time, but she proved she was there to stay, at least for a while...5°

... There were four of us helping in the library: Angelina, Eunice, Daniel and I. What we did was cover books, label and register them and catalogue new books. This would happen after school between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. We did not have to worry about lunch as Rosemary Sala would bring sandwiches and soda. Usually a ride came and picked her up. The driver would most of the time be Abdul, an Indian clerk at Emeric’s (business) Sala and Company.

One day the ride failed to pick Rosemary up and she had to get out of New Brighton before nightfall. She called the office a number of times and found out the car was possibly out of town. She then said she would go home by bus and asked me to come along. We were all frightened for her as the political situation did not permit this at all. Five years ago there had been such terrible riots that left many buildings gaping black ash into the sky. ... The final statement was that ... [word left out] were no longer welcome in the township and were not too popular. [Page 144]144 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

I prepared myself for whatever might have to happen... I carried nothing with me having left my books at school and Rosemary carried a bag with her working tools like paper, scissors, plastic and some paper clippings.

We got out of the schoolyard into the street. That part was not so difficult as everybody on that part of the street knew Rosemary. We did not rush and did not talk. For some reason I trusted Rosemary knew what she was doing. We turned the corner and headed for the bus route. Everybody was watching this strange sight: a young boy walking with a tall respectable-looking lady. We did not stop or outwardly flinch. No audible comments were made. We went down Funde Road to Mendi Road and crossed the road to stand at the bus stop.

It was strange, no friends passed by to say hello though there were many students from Cowan in that area. This used to be the busy part of New Brighton. Today it was very quiet. This was the critical part: How long would we wait? Would somebody come and want to talk to Rosemary? Would the bus refuse her entry? We stood there in the sun, not talking and not looking at each other but I was ready to follow any cue. The bus arrived. We entered. The conductor looked curiously at Rosemary and allowed us to sit side by side next to the door. Rosemary paid for both of us. There were no events on the bus but the subdued conversation.

We got to the city and had to transfer to the Summerstrand bus. In this bus things were different. I deliberately went upstairs as the bus was marked on bottom floor WHITES ONLY and upstairs ALL CLASSES. As I passed Rosemary she winked. When the bus inspector came my way I told him my ticket had already been paid for ... and he believed me. We got off the bus near the sea and only then did we attempt to talk. It was a relief to get to her apartment and be able to really talk. However, she showed no signs of stress but continued as if that was what life was meant to be. This did not matter to me at the time and now years later | understand. Later Rosemary gave me bus fare to go back and I had no problem going home.*°

Rosemary’s involvement in an African school did not go unnoticed by officials. An entry in 4 Ten Year Crusade Diary for Southern Africa states:

Rosemary and Emeric Sala were visited at their flat by the secret police who wanted to know what Rosemary was doing at Cowan School in New [Page 145]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 145

Brighton township so many hours a week and who the Africans were who were visiting them.”

Robert takes us into Rosemary and Emeric’s home:

The home of the Salas was the first White home that I entered not as a servant but as a visitor. In this home was a room we used for working on books. Rosemary called it “The Horrors”. In the Horrors you would find boxes of books: some from the American Consulate, from the Canadian Embassy, from the Public Library and from friends overseas. You would also find parcels to be delivered to needy friends she had. Most of these boxes had clothing. Some of this clothing was for the “library helpers” to fit and take home. ... Besides clothing, you would find musical records. Once I found a box of books I liked and Rosemary asked me to buy them from her. I could only afford to pay a tickey each time I met her. After about four tickeys [South African threepenny coin] I was asked to stop payments!

In one corner of the room was a curtained off area and there Rosemary kept many things. Some of these were projects. Some of the projects were making clippings from magazines which she mounted for the schools. I do know that sometimes when we asked a difficult question she would go to the corner and dig in and find something that would illustrate that better.

Against one wall was a bed which Rosemary used when her phlebitis was causing her some discomfort. This is where she would lay down. Away from the bed she would put a foldaway table. The four of us would then sit there and work and chat and inquire...It is in this room that I met the Baha’i Faith. It is where I shed many tears because of the sadness in some of the prayers of the Faith.

At lunchtime when Emeric arrived, Rosemary would ask us to go to the bathroom and wash face and hands before going to eat with Emeric ... Rosemary never sat for long. She would be up serving everybody and fetching food and things from the kitchen. If I came alone to visit she would serve me in the “Horrors’ so we could talk. ...

In the Horrors I discovered there was a bookshelf and on that shelf were a number of Baha'i books. Here I was deepened. It was also here that I found a second mother. [Page 146]146 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

Rosemary would say that in the next world she would find a room like the Horrors where we could visit.™

I found this draft of a letter to the Guardian in Rosemary’s files. She rejoices in the entry into the Faith of the first African in Port Elizabeth.

Beloved Guardian,

We have not written you for some time as we felt we should not take up your time, or give ourselves this great joy until we could report some worthwhile result of our pioneering. Today we are very happy as we have accepted the first African in this city into the ranks of Baha’u'llah’s community. He is Xhosa, and may be the first of his tribe. He has worked for us for a little less than a year.

A Ten Year Crusade Diary for Southern Africa records that development:

Frederick Gqola, an employee of the Salas in their business, enrolled as the first Xhosa believer there. ... He told us he had one interested contact but that he had been disappointed to learn that he was a member of the ANC [African National Congress], so he has the point of our attitude toward politics clear. (Editor’s note: Fred was an active Baha’i with many contacts for many years, then he became impatient with the seeming inability of the Baha’i Faith to make changes in South African society, turned to the ANC himself, became an active member, and subsequently was arrested and served time on Robben Island. He was eventually released and settled with his Baha'i wife in Transkei.)**

Rosemary persevered with her work and in the next ten years placed over 10,000 books in 11 schools. An editorial note by Edith and Lowell Johnson in their’ Ten Year Crusade Diaries states: “This library project at the Cowan School in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth was probably the first standard-setting Baha'i socio-economic project in southern Africa, although performed on the basis of individual initiative.”® Years later, in 2003, the Baha'is of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan

Municipality dedicated a plaque at Cowan High School library in remem[Page 147]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 147

brance of Rosemary Sala. This was part of their celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Baha'i Faith in South Africa. Here is part of a report by Ian Sogoni, former principal of Cowan School:

She got involved with Cowan High School when it was building a room as a library...She donated lots of books, some collected in South Africa and some brought from overseas. ... She was not only involved in Cowan High School, she helped in other schools as well... Newell High School... Kwakakhele Secondary School and Ithembelihle Technical School.

She established a Sala Prize which was to honour a student who showed leadership qualities. The student did not necessarily have to be academically gifted. He/she had to be someone diligent, assisting teachers without being asked, exemplary to other students and also respected. ... She suggested a Xhosa name for this prize and Imbalasane(kazi)® was adopted.”

Years before this, in 1958, as the project was becoming recognized, Emeric wrote to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada about Rosemary’s accomplishments and his pride in her:

Yesterday, Saturday afternoon, we went to New Brighton, an African location, to the school closing of Cowan Secondary School. There were over 400 students, 100 parents, the staff of about 10 teachers, 2 African ministers, a white Government official, the American Consul’s wife who presented the prizes, the General Manager of the Morning and Evening Paper (English), a City Councilor and a few other European sympathizers.

The Principal announced that two years ago the staff room was turned over to Mrs. Sala and through her efforts the school library has increased from 80 to 4,000 books, and if she would not have been so selective for quality they would have over 5,000 by now. The desire for books among the students has constantly increased.

After the closing speech by a prominent industrialist, and after all the prizes were given, the Principal presented Rosemary with a wooden tray depicting a Xhosa. He read the inscription: “From the staff and students to our Mother and dearest friend the school has ever had.”

There were tears in my eyes and if that was the only purpose of my coming [Page 148]148 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

to Africa | am satisfied.

While serving on the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, Emeric witnessed the incorporation of the Faith in that country. The Canadian national body was in fact the first in the world to be formally incorporated. This happened in 1949 by a special Act of the Canadian Parliament. It may have been because of this that Emeric encouraged the National Spiritual Assembly to acquire greater legal status for the Faith in South Africa. These two entries in the Ten Year Crusade Diaries describe his efforts:

Emeric Sala received a letter from John Ferraby answering his request to the British Assembly asking how to approach colonial governments about registration of the Faith. (Editor’s note: This detailed document gives the history of how the Faith was registered in Nairobi and, thanks to Emeric, was later used by the National Assembly in assisting Assemblies in the Region, notably the Rhodesias, to register their Assemblies under British colonial conditions.)®

Following up on Emeric Sala’s prodding, the Assembly asked Fred Schechter to check on the laws governing religious bodies and the registration of missionaries in South Africa. (Editor’s note: He spent many hours in the J.W. Jagger Library at the University of Cape Town and many weekends at home in the search, but found nothing definitive.)”°

Robert Mazibuko contributes additional glimpses of Emeric, of his restraint in teaching, and the impact of the few talks he gave. As already mentioned, Emeric’s strong point had been in speaking before the public. In South Africa, because of the system of apartheid, Africans and whites could not meet in public together. Public gatherings were out of the question. Thus, while Rosemary would discuss the Faith with her contacts one or two at a time, Emeric would stand aside, silently teaching by example.

Rosemary would tell me sometimes that she could not answer me until she consulted with Emeric. Silence was the teaching method Emeric used. One time I was saying a very short prayer and was repeating it many times in Rose[Page 149]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 149

mary’s presence when I heard Emeric come in. I opened my eyes after a while and he was standing there looking at me. He stood for a minute, smiled kindly, and left.2

Rosemary always said Emeric was being ‘sainted’ but did not explain to me what she really meant except to say that he used to give talks in many languages in the Americas.”

He was a man of quiet habits, a great reader and a Baha’i scholar. His measured speech and systematic method of tackling a subject thrilled me even as a teenager. | know when William Masehla visited our community, probably round about 1962, I heard Emeric speak for the first time and I found I could not resist bursting out: ‘Keep talking Mr. Sala! Keep talking!’ and immediately felt so embarrassed for everybody stopped listening and looked at me!”

The Ten Year Crusade Diary records that:

During the day the National History and Archives Committee reviewed the tape of the 1958 Convention, at the request of the National Assembly, and recommended that only Emeric Sala’s talk be saved. The rest of the tape could be used for other purposes.”

Robert describes how Emeric managed his business:

Emeric had many customers in the African community because he sold many items Africans could afford to buy. Many African salesmen came to his office to buy in bulk. In the Traanskei, one of his customers was a paramount chief who later became a prime minister of that Homeland state. The chief took many items on credit, promising Emeric he would pay later. Emeric never forgot the debt and kept after him until the full amount was paid. As a result Emeric was not popular in the Transkei. This is how Emeric wanted Africans to own up.®

On his staff, at Sala and Company, he had a Hindu, two Moslems and about three Africans but there was no problem. He worked well with all these people and they respected him very much... You could mention that Emeric knew [Page 150]150 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

all the exploitation that was going on in the country at the time, but offered his workers a deal they did not take advantage of. He proposed that they put in a little money into the company and he would give them shares which was very unusual in South Africa in any job! They would have benefited when he sold the company in 1968... Emeric never handed money around to create an advantage but believed that anybody who bought things from him had to pay. He became unacceptable in some quarters when he followed up on monies owed ... to his company, even if they were African.”

There were many Jewish businessmen in Port Elizabeth, in fact the Mayor was Jewish, but Emeric never used his own Jewish background for any gain. None of the Africans knew that he was Jewish. Instead, Rosemary, because of her philanthropic activities was suspected of being Jewish. Nobody knew that Emeric lost relatives in the Holocaust. There might have been sympathy from the Africans.”

I have a great respect for Emeric as a person. Perhaps it is because of the way he talks and conserves words and weighs them before he uses them at all. If he had nothing to say, then he would say nothing! ... [know he wanted me to be an “independent” person and free to make my own decisions and evaluations of the Faith without his interference. He always said I should be exposed more to life and that Rosemary was over-protective of me! ...

When I got to the US your uncle told me to find a job but every winter sent me $500 so that I could survive. ... That was your uncle, my hero as a Baha’i!®

Rosemary and Emeric did not have children of their own. Rosemary used to tell this story, related to her by May Maxwell. “It seems that Lua [Getsinger| longed for physical children and begged ‘Abdw’'l-Baha several times to grant her wish. One day he took her to look upon a cat and her kittens saying that physical birth was a function shared by the animal world but that His prayer was that she would be blessed with spiritual children.””

From his own life, Robert Mazibuko provides an illustration to the story: [Page 151]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 151

When I had my first child, Rosemary and Emeric were both in Mexico's Guadalajara. I sent them a cable that “Emeric Husayn Bonga Mazibuko” had been born. I did not hear from them for a while. I then received ... a letter from Emeric. He said he knew I wanted a girl so that I could call her “Rosemary” and that he was second choice. He went on to explain that Emeric had been “Emerich” before and had been Russian, German, Hungarian and had become French later and that it had a meaning. The meaning is “Valiant”. ... To me Emeric is my spiritual father — period!*°

Emeric did not keep quiet when he perceived an injustice. A letter had been written by the National Spiritual Assembly of South Africa about non-participation in party politics. This entry from A Ten Year Crusade Diary tells the story:

Emeric Sala read the National Assembly’s letter to Joseph Musole concerning non-participation in party politics which was published in the Baha’i newsletter as a warning to everyone. One paragraph in particular upset him and one of the well-educated new Baha’is in Port Elizabeth, Grace Qunta. As a result Grace wrote to the National Assembly asking to have her Baha’i membership suspended.

Emeric wrote a cover letter to her request as follows:

After discussing your August insert (in Baha'i News) about politics with a few other pioneers who did not like it, it was suggested that | write you. Several of your statements we thought to be un-Baha’i. | have never in my life written a letter of criticism to an N.S.A. and had no desire to start one now.

But when Grace Qunta’s letter arrived, of which | enclose a copy, which confirms the damage which was anticipated, her letter expresses the feelings of the educated African much better than | could. To condemn all their [African] leaders was, to say the least, unkind. From what | have read about [Albert] Luthuli and judging from statements he has made to the press (which we Baha’is are expected to read) he has the makings of a Gandhi.

| appreciate your desire to protect the Faith. Your methods are probably best [Page 152]152 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

suited for the masses who are uneducated. But, if we are to attract the Africans of capacity could we not evolve an approach which will appeal to all?”

Lowell and Edith Johnson, in their Ten Year Crusade Diary, provided

this clarification:

The phrases in the [NSA] letter to Joseph Musole which raised the strongest objection were probably the following: “If the African leaders could perfect their lives and show themselves to be the well-wishers of ALL MANKIND rather than falling into the pattern of dirty politics with an aim to enhancing their position personally, by stirring up hatreds and sedition, and when opportunity offers become the oppressors...”®

And from Grace Qunta’s letter of resignation:

I am sorry you have not had the opportunity of meeting some of those would-be seekers of power. I’m sure that even the N.S.A. would change their opinion about them. I believe they must get their impression of men like Chief Luthuli, Professor Matthews and [Oliver] Tambo only from the press. These men I consider martyrs for their people. We are not so clever as to be able to predict the future, but all that I can see that awaits these men is hardship. Allin all I do not agree that these people have selfish aims.

I think I should suspend my membership, study more the holy Teachings, pray that I may fall wholly under the guidance of Baha'u'llah.

‘The National Spiritual Assembly considered Emeric’s letter:

Emeric Sala’s letter stimulated a healthy discussion on the Assembly’s attitude toward politics and politicians. In consultation with the Assembly, Val answered Emeric’s objection to the statement on politics and political leaders .... “Perhaps sometimes because of too oft repetition we may become a little too [Page 153]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 153

strong in our statements. Such letters as yours makes us pause and re-evaluate

our own attitudes and approaches to the problems arising in the Region”.*4

The National Spiritual Assembly drafted a letter to appear in the

next issue of Baha'i News [of South Africa]. Here is an excerpt:

When the unfortunate term “dirty politics” was used we did not mean that all politics are dirty, but referred to the violent, abusive, revolutionary type. This letter was written to one individual in answer to specific questions and therefore easily misunderstood when published without the original letter.

We also want to correct the impression that all African political leaders are self-seeking and are only interested in gaining personal power. We know that many men in politics are God-fearing and righteous men. We believe that African political leaders are like political leaders everywhere else. Some are motivated by high ideals; others are not.

The chief reason why Baha’is cannot join a political party is because each political party represents the interest of only a part of mankind. A Baha’i heart — having accepted Baha’u’llah — belongs to all mankind. It is inconsistent with our conscience to swear loyalty to a part — that is, a particular political party — when we know that the salvation of every group, tribe or nation, is inescapably tied together with the salvation of the human race.”®

‘The year that Emeric wrote the letter to the South African National Spiritual Assembly, I took part in a march to protest the racist laws of South Africa. There had been a demonstration in Sharpeville, a South African township, which turned deadly. Police opened fire and killed 69 people who had been demonstrating against ‘pass laws’. McGill University students in

Montreal protested what would become known as the Sharpeville Massacre. [Page 154]154 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

My activism continued during my university years. The Baha'is disappointed me, with their seeming silence in the face of the injustices of racism and nuclear proliferation. What were the Baha’is doing about it? Only later did I come to realize how many ways there can be to promote justice and peace, and how much the Baha’is were doing. A friend of the family, Milly Rena Gordon told me in later years about her time in Atlanta, Georgia, helping the Bah@i cause. That was during the harsh days of segregation. She told of Bahai gatherings in homes with police appearing suddenly at the door. Neighbours had objected to the mixed races inside. I wish I had heard her courageous stories during my youth.

From Emeric in South Africa I received encouragement for my ideals. Following the anti-apartheid activities, | became involved in the Student Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Here is what he wrote me in the 1960s:

| like your joining a movement for Nuclear Disarmament. Whether it is right or wrong is not important, for truth is relative and it can be judged only if measured against an up to date Divine Standard. What is important is that the pattern you follow is right. You are fighting for an ideal, greater than any sectional interest. Morally you are greater than anyone who opposes you to protect national or vested interest. You can measure the moral good of any ideal to the extent it does the greatest good for the greatest number.

At first everything looks to you black or white. As you learn in discernment you will see that they are really grey. There is good in everything incl. Communism. But is it good enough? The critical student will be disillusioned unless he can observe and perhaps judge from the standard of the Most Good or the Greatest Good that is an up-to-date Divine Standard. Otherwise the road of the intellectual ends in doubt, cynicism and disillusionment.

McGill will open your mind but not your heart (or soul). McGill is not sure about the soul — or things of the spirit. It can’t ignore it, for without the Spirit in Man there would be no civilization. Yet modern science is confused on the subject of the soul. Therefore the universities of today do not produce wise men, only knowledgeable men.

But you ... will want more than knowledge. Try to get this from men of wisdom, from men who can blend mind and soul, knowledge and intuition, will and spirit.

Is there a Baha'i Youth Group in Montreal? ... Such a group might give you the balance [that] McGill cannot give. This is just an idea for 1961.” [Page 155]AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE 155

To my knowledge there was no youth group at McGill in the early 1960s. By the end of the decade a Baha’i Club existed and a good friend, Violet States, would invite me to meetings in the basement of the old Student Union building. One meeting J remember well. I was thrilled to learn that an elderly man was coming who had actually been in the presence of Baha’u'llah. I felt the significance and made a point of going to hear Hand of the Cause, Mr. Samandari. In spite of my various dissatisfactions with the Faith, I sensed the significance of its Founder and wished to set eyes on one who had met Him.

On a different note, | must have written Rosemary and Emeric about a favorite book at the time, the well known novel, J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. In this reply, Emeric gives his analysis with his own delightful versions of the author’s name and the book's title:

Dec. 19, 1963

| read recently Salzinger’s ‘Green is the rye’, or similar. | liked the frankness of his style. It is the story of a boy in search of his soul. Since most of us are in that search we could often identify ourselves with that boy. What was sad in a way is that to the end he did not come one iota nearer to his goal. Many contemporary writers of Europe write in the same vein. They do not help except to remind the reader that he is in the dark valley of search.®

News came in October, 1957, and Rosemary writes exuberantly to old friend John Robarts:

October 13, 1957

| read the letter first and, having no phone, was bursting to tell Emeric. When | asked him to tell me who were the two Hands of the Cause for Southern Africa, he guessed so easily!

Dear John, memories of our giving the news to Sutherland Maxwell, then the moving account from Leroy of his own experience, of Dorothy's, Horace’s crowd my mind. You belong in exalted company, and how rightly - The beloved Guardian knows so well who are his specially devoted, dedicated assistants. ... As for the Canadian friends, | think | can hear their shouts of joy in my ears! | must write Laura, for we both anticipated the [Page 156]156 AFRICA AND THE TEN YEAR CRUSADE

Guardian’s choice, in whispers to each other. Emeric adds these words in his inimitable way:

Dear John, Now you've had it. You are in. That is, in the Inner Circle. It has its joys and responsibilities like life itself. Now we have to love you more, if that is possible.”

And John Robarts answered:

October 26, 1957

Your letter and telegram were more appreciated than you could ever know - a typical Sala letter, so wonderful to come at this time.

Yes, I too, recall the experiences of Leroy, Horace, Dorothy, Fred, Sutherland. Good old Freddie remained calm, cool and collected, didn’t he? I have tried to emulate his way of accepting that appointment, but it doesn’t work with me.°°

By \&