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"lighten and uplift
them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses"
-Baha'u'llah
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Generation
expresses gratitude
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PHOKENG,
South Africa, 30 December 2003 (BWNS) --
Two young cousins provided a highlight here at
the national Baha'i jubilee celebrations, which
followed satellite festivities in eight cities.
At
an opening session of the festivities,
Kelebogile Khunou, 12, and Direlang Nakedi, 11,
praised their grandparents for becoming Baha'is
nearly 50 years ago.
The
cousins said the sacrifices made by their
grandparents, Ntate and Mme, were the cause of
many of the benefits in their own lives.
One
of those benefits, both said, was that their
parents were "welcomed into the progressive
knowledge-giving world of the Faith."
"I
[would] never exchange anything to give up being
a Baha'i child -- it is really a rewarding
experience," Kelebogile said. "The
favorite gift I receive every day from my
grandparents' efforts is the relationship of my
parents, which is based on the principle of
equality of men and women." |
Cousins who praised their Baha'i
grandparents at the jubilee...Direlang Nakedi
(left) and Kelebogile Khunou. Photo by Denny
Allen.
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This
testimony by third-generation Baha'is helped symbolize
the dramatic and inspiring history of the Baha'i Faith
in South Africa, where for many years the government's
official policy of apartheid (involving the separation
of racial groups) ran directly counter to the principle
of the oneness of humanity, a fundamental teaching of Bahá'u'lláh.
Participants
at the South African jubilee celebrations, held from 21
to 22 November 2003, told stories of courage, of
successes achieved in a "cloak and dagger"
fashion, of constant police surveillance, of dogged
determination, and of endeavors of heroic proportions.
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Members
of the 40-strong local community of Phokeng,
including youth, organized most of the national
event, which was attended by some 620 Baha'is.
African
dancing, music and dramatic performances,
including presentations by the group "Beyond
Words," gave artistic and emotional energy to
the national jubilee celebrations. At one point,
all the members of the National Spiritual Assembly
sang to the audience from the stage.
The
Queen Mother of the Bafokeng tribe, Dr. Semane B.
Molotegi, a guest of honor at the celebrations,
said she was delighted the jubilee was held in her
province -- the home of the first indigenous South
African Baha'is -- and she praised the Baha'i
community work for peace and unity. |
Guest of honor, the Queen Mother of the Bafokeng
tribe, Dr. Semane B. Molotegi (right, and Beth
Allen, a member of the Continental Board of
Counsellors. |
During the
celebrations, some Baha'is who were in South Africa in
the 1953-1963 era recounted memories, and outlined some
of the difficulties they overcame in the early years of
the community.
One such
speaker was Ephens Senne, whose wife, Dorothy, in
January 1955, became the first South African woman to
accept the Faith. Describing the oppressive atmosphere
of apartheid, Mr. Senne said he and his wife were scared
initially that the white people had plans to kill them.
That fear vanished as they got to know the Baha'is, but
they had to be very careful about meeting them because
of their apprehensions about official surveillance.
One of the speakers, Ephens Senne (right), with
festival participant Christine Hoagi. |
When
the couple visited European Baha'is, they had to
pretend that they came to clean the houses,
carrying mops and brooms to avoid suspicion, said
Mr. Senne, a former member of the National
Spiritual Assembly.
One
of the talks at the conference was about the
"spiritual ancestors" of many of today's
Baha'is -- the three Persian Baha'is who were
murdered in March 1994 at the Baha'i center in
Mdantsane, Ciskei.
The
presentation recalled the crime that shocked not
only Baha'is throughout South Africa and the world
but also the local community when gunmen from a
militant black group shot dead Houshmand Anvari,
Shamam Bakhshandegi, and Riaz Razavi, all of whom
had come to South Africa to improve conditions for
the black majority. |
At the
jubilee festivities, members of the Continental Board of
Counsellors, Beth Allen and Enos Makhele, gave inspiring
talks on unity and diversity, and the vision of the
South African Baha'i community respectively.
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The
two authors of a newly published book,
"Heroes and Heroines of the Ten Year Crusade
in Southern Africa," Edith and Lowell
Johnson, spoke on the topic, "Fifty Years of
the Baha'i Faith in South Africa."
Participants
listened closely as Edith Johnson pointed out that
in 1953 there were only two Baha'is in South
Africa, Agnes Carey (1879-1958) in Durban and
Reginald Turvey (1882-1968) in Johannesburg, and
they didn't know about each other. Shoghi Effendi,
who had traveled through South Africa in 1929 and
1940, named them "Mother" and
"Father" respectively of the Baha'is of
South Africa.
Records
show that the first Baha'is in South Africa were
Agnes Cook in 1911 and William and Mary Fraetas in
1912. The first pioneer was Fanny Knobloch in
1920. |
Reginald Turvey, the "Father" of the
Baha'is of South Africa. |
Mr. Johnson
said that the first of 37 pioneers to arrive during the
Ten Year Plan were William (Bill), Marguerite and
Michael Sears. The Sears' farm became a place for people
of different racial and religious backgrounds to deepen
their understandings of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
Mr. Sears was later appointed a Hand of the Cause of
God, and this much-loved figure published influential
books and delivered inspiring talks on the Faith.
On their way to South Africa...William (Bill)
Sears (left), his wife, Marguerite, and son
Michael. (Absent from photo is the Sears' other
son, Billy). |
The
first indigenous South African to become a Baha'i
was Klaas Mtsweni, an employee of Lyall and
Eleanor Hadden, in 1954 in Pretoria. The first
white South African to enroll was Florence Norman
in Durban.
During
the early years prominent local Baha'is included,
for example, Bertha Mkize, Gilbert Tombisa, Dr.
A.H. and Joan Bismillah, Cassiem Davids, William
Masetlha, Max and May Seepe, Andrew Mofokeng,
Florence Marumo, Sue Hofmeyr Podger, Daniel
Ramoroesi, Michael Nthau, Stanlake Kukama, Phillip
Hinton, plus the Heuvel and Gallow families.
Mr.
and Mrs. Johnson said that since 1963, 396
overseas Baha'is had served in South Africa, and
about 182 are present there now
The
first Local Spiritual Assembly was formed in 1954
in Johannesburg, and the National Spiritual
Assembly, administering the whole of Southern
Africa, followed two years later. It assisted the
formation of 14 National Spiritual Assemblies in
Southern Africa and also three
"homeland" regions, which are now
incorporated back within South Africa. |
Today the
National Spiritual Assembly administers one country,
South Africa, and the island of St. Helena. There are 38
Local Spiritual Assemblies.
At the
conclusion of the address by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, the
participants sang a Mike Sears song, which is now sung
all over Africa and starts with the lyrics:
"Africa, Africa! Come let us sing, a song of the
love and the glory of God."
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The
satellite festivities were held in Bloemfontein,
Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Sabie,
Umtata, and Mafikeng.
The
South African Baha'i community is actively
involved in the three core activities now engaged
in by Baha'is throughout the world -- study
circles, children's classes and devotional
meetings.
In
2000, some 12 per cent of new Baha'is were under
the age of 25 years but that has increased to 25
per cent this year, as more and more young people
attend study circles and become attracted to the
teachings. |
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is
of South Africa. |
One of the
activities carried out within the wider community is the
Royal Falcon Education Initiative, which is dedicated to
the promotion of moral values among teenagers and young
adults in South Africa.
More than
29 facilitators are now offering the program at 18
schools throughout South Africa and it is being used at
a university and in a prison, as well as in nearby
countries.
(Jubilee
photos by Denny Allen).
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| Published in Bahá'í
World News Service |
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