Baha'i News: Brazilians march together to demand justice

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Brazilians march together to demand justice 


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, 19 September 2011 (BWNS) – The ongoing persecution of 
Iran's Baha'i community featured prominently as 25,000 people from Brazil's 
diverse traditions marched to defend the right to religious freedom and call 
for justice.

Established in 2008 by Rio's Committee for Combating Religious Intolerance 
(CCIR), the Religious Freedom Walk initially aimed to call attention to the 
prejudice faced in Brazil by followers of traditional Afro-Brazilian religions. 
Since then, the march has become an annual event, growing from 2,000 
participants at the first rally to this year's record figure.

Yesterday, Afro-Brazilian religious leaders were joined by Roman Catholics, 
Muslims, Jews, Protestants, Buddhists and Baha'is, all united in their aim to 
draw attention to intolerance.

Baha'is distributed 1,000 yellow vests bearing the slogan, "Today, we are 
followers of all religions" – a sentiment that was happily worn by participants 
from the different communities. 

In the opening speech of the rally, CCIR's coordinator, Babalorixa Ivanir dos 
Santos, highlighted the persecution faced by Iranian Baha'is and called the 
crowd's attention to the "group in yellow" who, in his words, "are active 
supporters of the cause of religious freedom in Brazil."

Leaders and representatives from the gathered communities then addressed the 
rally about the need to respect others.

"Prejudice, stereotypes and lack of information about the various religious 
traditions make people behave irrationally against those who have different 
beliefs," Brazilian Baha'i Iradj Roberto Eghrari told the crowd. 

"It is as if they stop seeing these 'other people' as human beings, as people 
who deserve respect and fair treatment," he said.

Mr. Eghrari spoke of the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders who have been kept behind 
bars since 2008, sentenced to 20-year jail terms on trumped-up charges.

"There are many similarities between the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran and 
the Afro-Brazilian religions here," he said. "Properties are destroyed and 
confiscated, children are harassed and youth cannot have access to education 
because of their beliefs. And the only way in which the oppressors agree to 
leave these people alone is if they agree to recant their faith - but how can 
you forcefully remove a religious belief from a person without tearing him or 
her completely apart?" 

Ivan Dos Santos, an organizer of the march, said religious intolerance 
generates racism and threatens democracy.

"Religion is a cause of war in the world, but here we are bringing the 
religions together to dialogue," he said. 

"Our movement is not religious, it does not promote any faith, just the right 
to be respected." 





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http://news.bahai.org/story/850

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