Education Under Fire

Education under Fire is a poignant documentary providing an expose in the systematic persecution of the Baha’i in Iran. The denial of education for many young Baha’i is a way to keep them down. The documentary underscores the creativity of the Baha’i in providing higher education to its young. It is a strong story of resilience. Directed by Jeff Kaufman, the documentary, “examines the struggles of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) to provide Baha’i youth with an opportunity for a college education. The BIHE was founded in 1987 in response to the Iranian government’s campaign to deny Baha’is access to higher education. The Iranian authorities carried out a series of raids and arrests of BIHE faculty and staff in May and June; statements in the government-linked press indicate that the BIHE has been declared illegal. Amnesty International estimates that over 100 Baha’i are currently imprisoned in Iran. The Baha’i have been arrested, tortured and even executed for their beliefs…”Amnesty MIT.

Recognising Women of Courage

L-R: Parisa Hafezi from Iran, Chiranuch Premchaiporn from Thailand, Adela Navarro Bello from Mexico and the Lifetime Achievement Award to Katie Adie from UK at the Courage in Journalism Awards ceremony on 27 October 2011(Photo image: IWMF)

The Courage in Journalism Awards were in a couple of hours. Rosie and I got dressed to go to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. It was raining so I wore pants instead of the skirt I had  planned to wear. I took out my Kenneth Cole shoes, a good find in a thrift store, where I had gone to buy sweaters and couldn’t resist adding the shoes to my shopping cart.  We thought that we would make it on time. We got out and ran into Grand Central Station. Rosie was running ahead of me. I could not keep up. The Kenneth Cole shoes were not made for fast running and the Dr Scholl in-sole padding I bought for the heels are actually bogus. I felt my feet getting sore.  Note to self: don’t buy additional in-sole whatever stuff they advertise on TV.