BAHA'IS ELECT NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES

GIZO, Solomon Islands, 16 May 2007 (BWNS) -- Surrounded by a tent community
of refugees from the recent earthquake and tsunami, the Baha'is of the
Solomon Islands forged ahead with their annual convention where they elected
the nine members of the national governing council of their faith.

When the earthquake hit the South Pacific on April 2 and the resulting
tsunami crashed into the Solomon Islands, a number of people from the area
were at a meeting at the Baha'i center in Gizo, a small provincial capital.

The Baha'i center there happens to be on a mountain -- the highest point on
that particular island -- so no one at the meeting was hurt, but a number of
participants returned home to find their villages destroyed. The young
granddaughter of a Baha'i couple was among the 28 people who died.

Since then, families have camped on the property of the Baha'i center --
which had already been designated the venue for the annual national Baha'i
convention April 27-29. Delegates to the convention said that far from
dampening the spirit of the meeting, the presence of the refugees created a
warm and loving atmosphere for the gathering.

"The friends have manifested nobility, patience, and radiant acquiescence in
enduring their hardship," the delegates wrote in a message from the
convention. The refugees -- who are receiving aid from their national Baha'i
organization, from the government and from international relief agencies --
are now in the process of rebuilding their homes or looking to relocate.

The newly elected governing council, called the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Baha'is of the Solomon Islands, was one of 178 similar institutions
formed in nations and territories around the world in recent weeks. Baha'i
annual conventions are traditionally held in late April during the period
known as Ridvan, commemorating Baha'u'llah's declaration of His mission in
1863.

At national conventions in other countries:

-- In Auckland, New Zealand, Baha'is marked the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of their National Spiritual Assembly. At a special event held
at the Auckland Museum, 600 people - including a number of international
visitors and guests - heard congratulatory remarks by the governor general,
Anand Satyanand, and a keynote address by a Baha'i speaker, Murray Smith.

-- In Paraguay, special note was made that some of the elected delegates
were very young; similarly, a message from the convention in Venezuela said
their new National Assembly "shines for the diversity of the age and
ethnicity of its members."

-- Delegates at a number of the conventions sent messages conveying support
for Baha'is in Iran and Egypt, where government persecution is resulting in
the denial of education and other rights of citizenship to followers of the
Baha'i Faith.

At virtually all the conventions around the globe, participants read and
consulted about the annual message from the Universal House of Justice, the
international governing body of the Baha'i Faith. Referred to as the Ridvan
2007 message, it stressed the importance of teaching the Baha'i Faith and of
systematic grassroots programs that involve increasing numbers of people in
study circles, devotional programs, and activities for children and young
teenagers.

Individuals in each country who this year were elected to their Baha'i
National Assembly will serve next year as delegates to the International
Convention, held every five years in Haifa, Israel, where the world
headquarters of the Baha'i Faith is located. The purpose of that gathering
is to elect the nine members of the Universal House of Justice and to
consult on the affairs of the Baha'i Faith.

To view the photos and additional features click here:
http://news.bahai.org

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3-sw-070516-1-CONVENTION-544-S

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