Learning lessons for Goan Diaspora In the Jan-Feb 2008 issue of the monthly magazine, "The Indian-American", there was an extensive article about Parsis in America. For those Diaspora Goans who do not know this community, they originally are from Persia (now Iran). They left their country in 936 AD and first moved east to India (Gujarat and Mumbai), when their land was conquered by the Muslims. The Parsis are followers of the Zoroastrian faith. They are the most progressive and affluent minority group in India, and now across the world. However, I am getting ahead of myself.
The article starts with highlighting a high school student named Jasmine Bhathena whose home is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jasmine is an all-American girl. Yet, to quote the article, "she always knew she was a little different. Bhathena never left home without wearing a soft cotton undershirt and a hand-woven wool cord - external symbols of her Zoroastrian faith. And every evening, while her classmates were finishing their math home-work or watching their favorite sitcoms, Bhathena joined her family in lighting a floating candle and reciting ancient Persian prayers as her ancestors have done for centuries in Iran, where Zoroastrianism, the world's oldest monotheistic religion, originated" some 3500 years ago. To maintain their culture and their close knit community, the Parsees send their children to Zoroastrian summer camps in Chicago. And in adolescent, the children undergo a Navjote ceremony in which they are formally introduced into the faith (confirmation ceremony). Their New Year is called Navroze. The Parsis encourage their children to marry a Parsee; as intermarriage and conversion is not part of their religion. The Parsee population world wide is 124,000. They are distributed like the Goan Diaspora, with immigrant groups spawning more transplants. The Parsee distribution world wide is: India (75,000), USA (11,000), Canada (6000), UK (5000), Australia (2700), Persian Gulf nations (2200). The challenge is how does the Goan Diaspora maintain their identity? The answer from the Parsis (and others) is through their daily, monthly and annual links to their original roots. Like the Parsis, the Goans have come a long way. The challenge facing us, (in Goa and our Diaspora) is whether we can build on the progress we have made. If we wish to also maintain our identity, the Parsee community that has survived more than 3000 years, away from their original homeland, may have some clues for us. Most Parsis do not speak their original language, rather speaking and being educated in the local language of the region they live in. The Parsis have been very adept to blend and be very successful in their new environment, without being assimilated. They have maintained their community links, both locally, nationally and internationally. Kind Regards, GL
