A Bahá'í Perspective

Manal Gillett is a Bah#225;'#237; of Iranian descent, but who was born in Iraq. She knew only Arabic when she moved back to Iran at the age of 22, and then moved to Africa a few years later teaching math and science for nearly 30 years in the country of Cameroon. I start the interview by asking Manal how it ended up that she, being of Iranian descent, was born and raised in Iraq?

Ramin Gillett is a 25 year old Bah#225;'#237; youth who grew up in Africa, in the country of Cameroon, and came to the United States for university, and lost his way. His story describes the struggle he went through and the reward of finding his calling. He also describes his recent service trip to Rwanda with the service corps organization called the Orien Aid Foundation.

A Bah#225;'#237; who has lived in Africa, in the country of Cameroon for thirty years teaching English in the public school system.

Many times Bah#225;'#237; youth will take a year off between high school and college and do what Bah#225;'#237;s call a Year of Service. This typically involves volunteering at a Bah#225;'#237; inspired project of some kind in service to humanity. Bahia Odess-Gillett is a 19 year old who, after graduating from high school, went overseas to Northern Ireland to participate in a social issues-oriented dance workshop called Lights of Unity and to Kosovo where she worked for a non governmental organization called the Global Perspectives Development Centre. The interesting part of the story is her resistance to the idea of doing a year of service and the events in her life that led her to changing her mind.

The co-administrator of the Green Acre Bah#225;'#237; Conference Center in Eliot ME with his wife, Jeanine. Jim got his doctorate in education at the University of Mass. After getting married and having two small children, Jim quit his job as an assistant professor at the University of MD to go to serve the Bah#225;'#237; Faith in Paraquay. Eventually the Saccos ended up in Brazil starting up a school called the School of Nations, which is a Bah#225;'#237; inspired school in the town of Brazilia. In this interview Jim shares his thoughts and experiences of living as an American in Brazil.

An African-American professor of psychology at Franklin Marshall college, the oldest college in PA founded soon after the birth of this nation. He teaches psychopathology with courses related to the development of mental illness; and his interests include the relationship between culture and psychopathology; hope and hopelessness; and human spiritual development.

A Bah#225;'#237; from Chattanooga TN who is a licensed clinical social worker. In addition to her private practice, she is one of the founders of the Authenticity Project which she describes in the interview.

I was at a conference called Cultivating Spirituality at the Bah#225;'#237; conference center, Green Acre, in Eliot Maine. One of the presenters at the conference was Elena Mustakova-Possardt, a Bulgarian-born educator who came to the United States when communism fell in Eastern Europe, to study at the University of Mass. She focused her doctoral studies on the subject of critical conscientiousness, integrating the heart with the intellect. I was able to pull her aside during the conference to have a few minutes to interview her for A Bah#225;'#237; Perspective. The interview is very "on location" so you hear the comings and goings of the conference participants during the interview.

A Bah#225;'#237; from Tanzania who has been drawn to the protection of the wildlife in his country. He started his career as a game warden in a nature conservancy park, but realized more had to be done to protect Tanzania's wildlife. He developed a unique way to have villagers see the wild animals as a resource rather than a liability to their farms and family. He has just completed his first phase of academic work for his doctorate in Elephant Ecology Conservation at the University of Massachussetts and is returning to Tanzania for a two year stint to perform field work in support of his doctorate studies.

In this interview Ray shares a tender story about his mother who died when he was a young child.

I went to Cambridge, MA to interview Greg and Waithera Kagira-Watson for A Bah#225;'#237; Perspective. Waithera was a bit reticent about doing an interview, so I did the Greg first. Well by the time I was through with Greg, Waithera was willing to share her story. I happen to have Waithera's interview ready before Greg's, but Greg's will be coming soon. Waithera is a Bah#225;'#237; from Kenya who followed her sister to the US and ended up getting a Bachelor's degree here and she and her husband, Greg, are relocating to Atlanta Georgia in June. Before the interview I play an excerpt from the podcast Interfaith Voices hosted by Maureen Fiedler. This interview is of Kit Bigelow, Director of the Office of External Affairs for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bah#225;'#237;s of the United States, discussing the persecution of the Bah#225;'#237;s in Iran.

Greg is a Bah#225;'#237; from the midwest who has recently finished a doctoral program at Harvard in Education and is now in Atlanta with his wife Waithera.

My wife and a Bah#225;'#237; from Hadley MA who has lived in New England all her life and describes her spiritual journey that includes spending 8 years in a commune in Western Mass. We started the interview by her describing how this journey began.

A Bah#225;'#237; originally from Iran who left for the US soon after the Islamic Revolution and started a family. After about ten years in the US he and his wife decided to move to Saipan and have lived there ever since. I started the interview by asking Soheil, where he grew up and what was it like growing up there.

A Bah#225;'#237; from Amherst, MA who ran into the Bah#225;'#237; Faith in California after finishing nursing school, then went to Africa for 8 years and when she returned got her doctorate at the University of Texas.

A Bah#225;'#237; from Rochester, VT, who had a rough childhood, left home at an early age, served in World War II and the Korean War, and an engineer job-shopper who traveled throughout New England and as far south as Richmond, VA.

Paul is a Bah#225;'#237; from Wilbraham Massachusetts who was formerly a political consultant and is now a public relations consultant for both corporate and non-profit organizations.

A Bah#225;'#237; originally from Malawi who is now a professor of mathematics at Springfield College.

A Bah#225;'#237; from Wilbraham, MA who escaped Iran with her family after the Islamic Revolution.

In the 2nd segment Ash continued his journey by describing how he ended up in Amherst, MA and ultimately to Uganda and Botswana. In this final segment Ash describes his work in Egypt and finally in Afghanistan.