"lighten and uplift
them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses"
-Baha'u'llah
News
Reflections
of Rwanda
KIGALI,
Rwanda, 11 December 2003 (BWNS)--
Baha'is from different ethnic groups joined
together in unity at a meeting here where they
reviewed the achievements of their community and
made plans for the future.
The
Baha'is were participating in a "reflection
meeting" -- now an increasingly common
practice in Baha'i communities worldwide.
Songs
and traditional dances contributed to the
meeting, which was held on 30 November 2003.
Sixty participants attended, half of whom were
youth. They came from different sectors of the
community.
Participants at the Kigali reflection meeting.
A Baha'i
spokesperson said that unity is a Baha'i ideal, and the
Baha'is identify themselves as Rwandans first, instead
of as belong to a particular ethnic group like Hutu or
Tutsi.
"So in
the Baha'i meetings everybody is seen as a brother or a
sister, without emphasizing the differences," the
spokesperson said.
The
reflection meeting was the third held in the Kigali
cluster of communities, which comprises five Local
Spiritual Assemblies.
The
participants studied, "Building Momentum," a
publication produced at the Baha'i World Centre, which
gives guidance in the administrative and
capacity-building methods being used to advance the
process of wide expansion of the Faith.
Baha'is are
following advice from the international governing
council, the Universal House of Justice, to focus on
three core activities: study circles, children's classes
and devotional meetings, all of which are open to
participation from those in the wider society.
In
the Kigali cluster there are six regular study
circles, -- which are aimed at developing
spiritual insights, knowledge and skills -- five
children's classes and nine devotional meetings.
The
participants at the reflection meeting made a plan
to multiply those activities.
In
1994 in Rwanda, widespread violence resulted in
the deaths of some 800,000 people.
Dancers at the reflection meeting.
In March
2000, as the country struggled to create unity and
rebuild trust between the ethnic groups, the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Rwanda issued a
statement to the National Commission for Unity and
Reconciliation urging consideration of the principle of
oneness of humanity as a basis for reconciliation in the
country.
"Baha'is
believe that humankind has always constituted one
species, but that prejudice, ignorance, power seeking,
and egotism have prevented many people from recognizing
and accepting this oneness," said the National
Spiritual Assembly, urging the adoption of a program for
moral education that would seek both to abolish
prejudices and to foster social and economic
development.
