Dear Editor,
In 1987, the semi-underground Baha´i Institute for Higher Education was formed by some concerned academics to give young Baha´is in Iran their only chance for a university-level education. Despite repeated raids, harassment and arrests from the authorities there, volunteer teachers and administrators continued that independent, decentralized university system that has lifted the lives of thousands of Baha´i students across Iran.
In May, 2011, an organized assault by the authorities was launched by the current Iranian government in an attempt to shut down the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education. Over thirty homes were raided and over a dozen professors and administrators of the institute were detained. Several are still in prison for doing nothing more than teaching specialized academic education. Their effort is a genuine human rights issue, a powerful narrative of resilience against oppression, and the need to respect human rights everywhere
Baha´is, their families and their beleaguered communities in Iran have been subjected to systematic persecution, including arrests, torture, and execution simply for refusing to recant their beliefs. They are also prohibited from going to college and debarred from many professions and jobs.
“We are in the 21st century and we are being persecuted because we want education” – this does not read well for mankind, and further, Editor, this is a classic human rights issue. The question could be asked, for how long can we block our ears and turn our faces the other way, pretending that we did not see or hear?
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
