Bahá’ís of Canada Français

Canada responds to harassment of school children in Iran: Montreal uses art to challenge persecution

In the past few months, Baha’is across Canada have shared the news of the harassment of Baha’i school children in Iran with the public, members of local communities, schools, and parents. Several school boards, school principals, teachers, and local government officials have responded with sympathy, and several newspaper articles have highlighted the unacceptable treatment of Iranian Baha’i children.

Public meetings have been held across Canada, from Quebec and Ontario to Alberta and British Columbia. More meetings are planned when the school year begins again in September.

In Montreal, when the Baha’is heard that school children in Iran were being increasingly persecuted by their government because of their religion, they decided to draw on the extensive artistic talents of their community, especially their children and youth. On 21 June they held a bilingual public event with the theme: “Educate these Children”, taken from a Baha’i prayer. The evening served to illustrate by dramatic contrast just how shameful the recent actions of the Iranian regime have been as they set out to target children in their ongoing campaign of persecution of the Baha’is.

On entering the room that evening, the audience of 85 people, including many parents, were greeted by a wall full of colorful 18x20” drawings and paintings created by Montreal children in response to the treatment of Baha’is their own age on the other side of the world. The program provided details of the Baha’i plight interspersed among presentations of art and drama.

Rather than try to combat the violent actions in Iran, “We wanted to give the children something constructive to do, rather than taking violent action, taking beautiful action,” said Stan Phillips, one of Baha’is who contributed to the event.

Performances included the silent writing of a Baha’i prayer on a chalkboard (in French) by 12 year old Talia Hatcher, an audio-visual slide show of the Montreal children who created the art on the walls and pictures of children engaged in learning around the world, classical compositions by the award-winning Crescendo Quartet, and an original piece by Baha’i piano composer Eric Farr, inspired by the evening’s theme. Eric was accompanied by vocals from four Baha’i university students and professional violinist Jacques Proulx, of I Musici de Montreal.

The information portion of the evening included an introduction by the Masters of Ceremony, Gigi Vidal and Benjamin Hatcher, a reading by youth of selected stories of reported attacks against Baha’i school children in Iran, and finally passages of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recited by heart by eight year old, Borna Ebrahimian.

All in attendance were given the opportunity to take home more information and encouraged to write letters to the Secretary General of the United Nations voicing their concern about the Baha’i situation in Iran and their belief in the fundamental right of education for all.

Further Background:Since 1979, the Iranian government has systematically denied Bahá’ís, who constitute the largest religious minority in Iran, from the right to access post-secondary education. Since April 2007, there have been increasing reports that the Iranian government has turned its attention to the youngest and most vulnerable members of the community by vilifying Baha’i students of all ages in Iran, including children and youth. They too are now subjected to harsh and shameful treatment as a direct result of the government-sponsored campaign to suppress the Baha’i community and spread misinformation about the Faith.

A June 2007-January 2008 summary report from the Baha’i World Centre’s Office of Public Information indicates that Baha’i school children have been secretly monitored and reported on by school officials; forced to listen to outrageous tales about their Faith and the moral behavior of Baha’is; vilified by teachers, school administrators, and fellow students; expelled from school when they identify themselves as Baha’is or defend their Faith against unfounded accusations and misrepresentations; and given unfair secondary school grades sufficient only to graduate but too low to allow entrance into university.

For current information about the situation in Iran visit the Baha’i World News Service’s Iran Update page.