afezanajournal-fall 2010-part1_v11_p1-98.qxp 10/18/2010 7:27 AM Page 1 PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF ZOROASTRIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA Vol 23 No 4 Fall/September 2010, PAIZ 1379 AY 3748 ZRE President Bomi V Patel www.fezana.org Editor in Chief: Dolly Dastoor 2 Editorial [email protected] Technical Assistant: Coomi Gazdar Dolly Dastoor Consultant Editor: Lylah M. Alphonse, [email protected] Graphic & Layout: Shahrokh Khanizadeh, 3 Message from the President www.khanizadeh.info Cover design: Feroza Fitch, 5 FEZANA Update [email protected] Publications Chair: Behram Pastakia Columnists: 9 Financial Report Hoshang Shroff: [email protected] Shazneen Rabadi Gandhi : [email protected] 34 YLEP UPDATE Yezdi Godiwalla: [email protected] Behram Panthaki::[email protected] Behram Pastakia: [email protected] 37 Global Health Mahrukh Motafram: [email protected] Copy editors: R Mehta, V Canteenwalla 97 In The News Subscription Managers: Kershaw Khumbatta : [email protected] 112 Interfaith /Interalia Arnavaz Sethna: [email protected] WINTER 2010 115 North American Mobeds’ Council SHAHNAMEH: THE SOUL OF IRAN GUEST EDITOR TEENAZ JAVAT 120 Personal Profiles SPRING 2011 124 Letters to the editor ZARATHUSHTI PHILANTHROPY GUEST EDITOR DR MEHROO M. PATEL 129 Milestones Photo on cover: 141 Between the Covers 147 Business Mehr- Avan – Adar 1379 AY (Fasli) Ardebehesht – Khordad – Tir 1380 AY (Shenshai) Khordad - Tir – Amordad 1380 AY (Kadimi) Cover design Opinions expressed in the FEZANA Journal do not necessarily reflect the views of Feroza Fitch of FEZANA or members of this publications’s editorial board Lexicongraphics Please note that past issues of The Journal are available to the public, both in print and online through our archive at fezana.org. FEZANA Journal Vol 23 No 4 ISBN 1068-2376 (USPS 021-495) published quarterly by FEZANA 5750 S. Jackson St Hinsdale Il 60521-5109. Periodical postage rate is paid at Oakbrook, IL 60523 and at additional mailing offices. Annual subscription $25 (US) ; $25 (Canada); $30 (surface) and $50 (air) for other countries; details on subscription Form. POSTMASTER: send changes to Fezana Journal, 8787 W. Airport Blvd. Houston, TX 77071 FEZANA JOURNAL – Fall 2010 1 afezanajournal-fall 2010-part1_v11_p1-98.qxp 10/18/2010 7:27 AM Page 2 A word from the Editor We need to come There is not a week when we do not hear of a together not drift friend or a relative or a public figure or a celebrity who together. We need has been diagnosed with a life threatening disease. to strengthen and Suddenly the fragility and frailty of life hits you , you sit empower the up and start taking stock of your health status and life "Coming Together style, you go for brisk walks, eat healthy, do all the Round Table". right things, for a few days, a few weeks but then go back to your own sedentary busy life. In this issue we explored the We all want good health, we all wish each other ancient art of good health. We take health for granted. We think of it health preservation as an inexhaustible replenishable source of supply. and healing, in Iran But is it? Why and how should we take personal and in India, and responsibility of building and maintaining good health which continues to in our quest for eternal life!! be practiced even today, we got together well We have heard of young men falling victim to known sudden cardiac arrests, or the high rate of breast cardiologists, cancer in Parsi women (page77). Our small research scientists, to write about the state of health of community cannot afford to lose young men and the Zarathushti community, to write about our genetic women in their prime of life to prevent able diseases. profile and how that profile is affecting the future fabric We need to take charge of our lives of our community. We have been urged to sensitize the community for regular mammography as a preventive tool for Breast Cancer. We have young doctors who So in keeping with the mission of the Journal to have worked in the trenches and seen the result of the educate we decided, to explore the field of health in collapse of the health system, and in some cases, all its aspects specially the health of the Zarathushtis. there is no health system, to write about their This issue also coincides with the 63rd Annual UN experiences. We have the real life poignant story of a Dept of Public Information, Non-Governmental grieving son who looked after his mother when the Organization Conference in Melbourne, Australia, health system could no longer cope with providing August 30-September 1 2010. At the core of the services to the frail and the elderly. We have been United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 are the introduced to the concept of health care vs sick care Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015, (pgs 78-79) Maintenance of health and prevention of which recognize that global health is a priority agenda illness is the new paradigm we need to work towards. for the twenty-first century. Achieving the MDGs is essential for world peace and economic stability, and for addressing the critical issues of human rights, And finally we have the most iconic Parsi figure of equality, and equity. modern medicine profiled, What is the score card of our health? Read on. There was a significant Zarathushti presence at this conference (pages 37-41) which also had two firsts to our credit. For the first time we had a Zarathushti reporter from Melbourne, accredited by the UN and it was for the first time that Zarathushtis of the diasporas got together for a joint project, Australia , North America and India, If we are to strengthen our community without borders then we need to get together more often to create positive global impact instead of generating negative feelings in isolation. 2 FEZANA JOURNAL — Fall 2010 afezanajournal-fall 2010-part1_v11_p1-98.qxp 10/18/2010 7:27 AM Page 3 A Message from FEZANA President North American meeting - CTR information and discussion All persons interested in the preservation, perpetuation and prosperity of our world wide community, and especially those in leadership positions in FEZANA, the FEZANA Associations and Small Groups, are invited and encouraged to participate in a meeting to be held preceding the Congress in Houston, for information exchange and discussion pertaining to the "Coming Together Roundtable (CTR)": Date:Monday, December 27, 2010 Time: 2:00 to 9:00 pm with dinner Place: Intercontinental Hotel, Houston Registration. Please be sure to contact FEZANA Administrator Zenobia Damania at [email protected] if you are coming. There is no registration fee.but a fee for dinner. Discounted room rates at the hotel will include December 26th and 27th. For information on Accommodations visit www.zah.org. for the CTR visit www.zoroastrians.net (category "Round Table). Background of the CTR. Realizing the urgency of keeping our global "Community without Borders" connected, the "Coming Together Roundtable" was conceived as a legacy of the eighth World Zoroastrian Congress in London in 2005. Since then, we have met every year (in Mumbai in January 2007 and 2008, Houston in Dec 2008 and Dubai in 2009) to use the forum of the CTR for information sharing, dialogue and collaborative action. The key operative here being that "Dialogue brings minds together and Action beings hearts together". The Vision for our community is: "To nurture a caring, compassionate, altruistic, harmonious, observant, esteemed and prosperous worldwide Community with respect for diversity, so that we may move Ahura Mazda's Creation towards Frashokereti." Each word is weighted to enshrine our Zarathushti ethos the world over. The Mission is " To come together and work together in hamazori for the Zarathushti and global communities." A legacy of the Dubai Congress, was the transfer of ownership of the CTR from a group of concerned individuals to the elected world leaders. The chair of the Indian Federation (India region), the president of FEZANA (NA region), president of ZTFE (UK/Europe region) and the Zarathushti MP in the Majlis (Iran), representing 90% of the world's Zarathushti population, have consensually agreed to assume ownership and responsibility for the CTR and set future direction. In time representatives from the smaller pockets - Middle East, Pakistan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Africa would be worked into the structure. As a very encouraging follow-up, the leaders have taken the initiative to organize the next CTR, in Mumbai in January 2011. Objectives for the Houston Meeting. We need to collectively gather input from the North American region for our representative to present to the CTR meeting of world leaders in Mumbai. A starter set of discussion items are: "Form and Structure of the CTR. , Socio-communal projects (World wide Zarathushti demographics, Future directions for the Next Generation, Community health and welfare organizational Infrastructure (National Center, Associations.) " Spiritual/Religious Infrastructure (dar-e-mehrs, mobeds Intellectual projects (Zarathushti identity, Duties, Rights and Responsibilities of the mother countries and the diaspora communities Educational/Cultural projects (Rel Ed., Interfaith work,) Your thoughts on the meeting, and suggestions for agenda items, are solicited. I look forward to a productive meeting, with participation from FEZANA officers, Association leadership and all interested Zarathushtis. Bomi Patel FEZANA JOURNAL – Fall 2010 3 afezanajournal-fall 2010-part1_v11_p1-98.qxp 10/18/2010 7:27