Beyond the congress in Dubai - and what we can learn for 2010!

Dear Parviz

I agree 100% and we will soon get there.
By the way, as a nice and encouraging end note for 2009, we have doubled the number of members on the Ushta List to 127 members at last count. And we have broken all records this year when it comes to the number of responded postings and the number of posters among the members. Please note that all Ushta members have found the forum through their own efforts or word of mouth and not through some canpaigning. That is evidence of its strength.
It's time to start discussing what we can do next in 2010!

Ushta
Alexander

2009/12/31 Parviz Varjavand

I am in Dubai and enjoying the conference, thank you very much! You can never please all the people all the times. The key is for each group to organize their own kind of event and gain strength thus. Dubai congress is about an old guard enjoying seeing each-other one more time. I love seeing all the old faces, but ideologically, I can not stand any one of them, they are all out to lunch (and by the way, the lunch and dinners are out of site).

EZC has its own agenda and it is as useless to try to attach the new converts and the Monist movement amongst some of us to them. Alex should rent a hall in Sweden and have a congress for the Monists and supporters of conversion group of Zoroastrians. That would be the way to go for our movement if we want to raise our flag and see how many would salute it. Otherwise when we sit at other groups table, we should enjoy the food and vine and not make a spectacle of ourselves.

My two cents,
Parviz Varjavand


--- On Wed, 12/30/09, Alexander Bard wrote:

From: Alexander Bard
Subject: Re: [Ushta] Congress in Dubai
To: Ushta@yahoogroups.com
Cc: "MEHER AMALSAD" , mehran_sepehri@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 10:27 PM

Exactly!!!
But why not ask the European Zoroastrian Center in Paris if they would find it feasible to organise such an event? Since the EZC is located geographically right between India, Iran and America, and was founded by Irani and not Parsi Zoroastrians, they should understand what is required to make such an event work.
Ushta
Alexander

2009/12/31 yury jakymec

DEar Alexander and friends!

Thanks for your mail Alex!
I think a proper congress may include Zoroastrians from all kind of backgrounds. Unfortunately, still exists little will to make something where averybody are able to attend, participate, interchange ideas and share the same table.
I have a dream, that one day, all Zartushties can meet and talk freely and respect each other no matter which are the points of view.
Perhaps this job has to start among ourselves, learning to tolerate those who are closer to us and then we can extend our efforts to meet those who live farther.
At least we are learning that we need a common language to speak. IN Dubai are our Iranian friends who feel discriminated because of language, in other parts of the world, there are parsis who cannot speak persian and cannot attend in such conditions to events planned by Iranian Zatushties. We come from very different backgrounds and we cannot assume a language is more international than others, because we have the case in Iran where some people from our community find difficult to learn English.
It is my humble opinion!

Shaad Baashid!

Yury

--- On Wed, 12/30/09, Alexander Bard wrote:

From: Alexander Bard
Subject: [Ushta] Congress in Dubai
To: Ushta@yahoogroups. com
Cc: mehran_sepehri@ yahoo.com, "Yury Jakymec"
Date: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 9:24 PM



Dear Mehran and Yuri

Please note that there are thousands of Parsees who will not go to Dubai for this conference precisely because they are not interested in taking part in something with so little substance. And then we have thousands of converts too. What we need to do is to organise proper conferences that are both educational, scholarly and entertaining, and definitely not excluding.
Dubai is full of fari translators. That none of them were hired for this conference speaks volumes.

Ushta
Alexander

To: yuryjakymec@ yahoo.com
CC: zoroastrians@ yahoogroups. com

From: mehran_sepehri@ yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:38:52 -0800
Subject: Re: [zoroastrians] Congress In Dubai


Dear Yuri,

Thanks. Last night about 80 Iranian deligates sat in disbelief for the evening show
featuring Bowman Irani from India telling jokes and stories in Indian language.
While those from Indian origian laughed and enjoyed themselves, Iranians just
looked and could not understand a word. We have certainly felt like second class
citizens at the congress. Unfortunately, the congress chairperson is not known
for her communication and team working skills. She is so proud of herself
for disallowing any alternatives or even suggestions.

Happy Holidays.

Mehran

--- On Tue, 12/29/09, yury jakymec wrote:

From: yury jakymec
Subject: Re: [zoroastrians] Congress In Dubai
To: "Mehran Sepehri"
Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 7:53 AM

Dear Mehran:

With all the respect I have for you I feel sad to listen that in a way you and our Iranian fellows are not well treated, and no place for debate exist. Perhaps our dream of seeing Zoroastrians from different backgrounds sharing the same table and interchanging their ideas is something we have to wait and work with patience.

I hope better days are yet to come! INcluding those from the 3 days yet to tolerate.

Shaad Baashid!

Yury Jakymec

--- On Tue, 12/29/09, Mehran Sepehri wrote:

From: Mehran Sepehri

Subject: [zoroastrians] Congress In Dubai
To: "Z list"
Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 5:48 AM



Reporting from Dubai on the second day of WZC,

Over 700 Zoroastrians gathered in Dubai to attend the 9th World Zoroastrian
Congress. The first day was a great show, indeed a great evening show.
The food was excellent and a chance to renew freindships.

The day before the congress was a roundtable for Z. Anjomans. However,
unlike its name, there was no roundtable discussion, only packed set of
speeches. In fact, the congress chairperson personally suppressed any
discussion out of context.

Iranians left out, as many of them paid the expensive entrance fee to
find ouit that there was no arrangements for English to Farsi translation.
The schedule was packed with 'who is who' speeches, again no room
for discussion or debate.

The evening was the time waiting for the grand entrance of his highness
majesty, a third grade ruler of Dubai. The congress chairwoman greeted
his highness forward and backward as if her business depended on it.
Zoroastrian guests waited patiently as they were locked in while his
majesty could eat first!!

There is 3 more days of the congress to tolerate, while many people are
shopping and sightseeing, and the congress chiarwoman is giving gifts
and throphies to her selected friends. Maybe the next congress in India
will be better suited for those looking for solutions than presentations.

M. Sepehri
Dubai