FEZANA developments

"Building a unified North American Zarathushti community” is Bomi Patel’s top priority. To do so the sixth president of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) feels it is necessary that "member associations… voice their opinions, thoughts and concerns to the FEZANA executive so that we can work collectively on mutually agreed objectives… For now, I am requesting all member associations and corresponding members to contribute at least one thought or opinion that they would like to see as part of the FEZANA agenda.”

Hitherto vice president of FEZANA and chair of its congress committee, Patel was voted in as president of the organization at its annual general meeting on May 9, 2008 at the California Zoroastrian Center.

In an e-mail response to Parsiana, Patel, a considerably younger incumbent of the community’s top office in North America as compared to its previous leaders, writes that he has formed an ad hoc committee for external affairs to work with the FEZANA executive and other global Zarathushti organizations. He hopes thereby "to spread greater awareness about our own North American community by participating and contributing towards community issues… FEZANA has been working together with NAMC (North American Mobed Council) and WZCC (World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce) since their inception. I look forward to continue working closely with WZO (World Zoroastrian Organisation), NAMC, WZCC and other federations,” he notes.

"Empowering the youth, as they truly represent our future and revisiting the Strategic Plan to ascertain whether its aims and objectives have been met,” are other priorities exercising Patel’s mind. A strategic plan was first evolved in the 1990s under FEZANA’s second president Dolly Dastoor.

"I strongly believe that our youth hold the key to our future. Knowing this, it is imperative that we take action to make sure that our youth are ready when opportunities arise. How we treat, guide and embrace our youth in the present time will determine how they will lead us in the future. It is time to involve the younger generation with FEZANA activities and induct them into the executive and other committees. I urge the chairs of all committees to encourage our youth to co-chair with them, so that they can be mentored and become the successful leaders of tomorrow. This will ensure smooth succession at a later stage.” To that end he says he has appointed Ava Afshari, Carl Irani, Ferzeen Chhapgar and Dr Susan Kaboly-Zadeh, whom he describes as "four excellent youth co-chairs from the USA and Canada. I am sure they will spare no effort to lead our youth to unity and progress and into a new dimension. Being born and/or brought up in North America, they have the capability to lead in a unified way as the cultural differences among them would be minimal as compared to what has been observed or experienced by their elders.”

FEZANA’s new office in Chicago

Commenting on "Next Gen — a body of young adults… started in 2007 in Chicago with the objective of encouraging them to take interest and participate in FEZANA and other community activities,” Patel notes that FEZANA has offered them the opportunity to become a separate ad hoc committee within its larger framework so that they can work independently to achieve their goals as well as have the full infrastructural support of the North American community. Their leadership is said to be considering whether to join FEZANA or to remain as a separate entity.

Patel is also in the process of appointing a committee to revisit the five and 10- year strategic plans to review what has been achieved, what needs to be modified and to map out the next five/10 years based on past successes and future requirements.

At the XIV North American Zoroastrian Congress in Toronto in 2007 Patel, then chair of the congress committee, had hinted to this reporter that a change in the congress’ terms of reference were required: "Parsis are Zarathushtis, but not all Zarathushtis are Parsis… FEZANA is very positive that we are all Zarathushtis,” he had noted in the context of the need to be evenhanded between Parsi and Iranian participation in the development of the organization and the community and in the presentation of events. He now notes in his missive that the new terms of reference for the North American Zoroastrian Congress (NAZC) are in the final editing stage with Daraius Bharucha of Toronto as the new congress committee chair. Once satisfactorily completed, they will be sent to all member associations for ratification.

"In North America we use the term Zarathushtis for all,” Patel emphasizes, adding, "Our committees are a wonderful way for us to be united and work towards a common theme. We encourage individuals from various backgrounds who are willing to give their time and energy and who come forward to help. I am optimistic about having a good, harmonious North American Zarathushti community by maintaining a balance, keeping an open mind and providing equal opportunities to all deserving persons.”

The 21-year-old pan-American organization inaugurated its own office in Chicago on August 31, 2008 in conjunction with the silver jubilee celebrations of the Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Chicago’s (ZAC) darbe meher. The push for the office had been initiated by Patel’s predecessor in office, Dr Rustom Kevala. Hitherto FEZANA had functioned from the Chicago home of its founder president Rohinton Rivetna. It is anticipated that the formal office with Zenobia Damania as administrator aided by assistant secretary Nahid Dashtaki, will facilitate the day-to-day operation of FEZANA, help coordinate communications to/from member associations and corresponding members, and lend support to the FEZANA executive board and committees, as per their press release. Simultaneously their website www.fezana.org has also been revamped and made more user friendly. FEZANA information can also be accessed by contacting Damania on admin@ fezana.org

R to L: Scholar winners Farzad Kamyar, Bahareh Abadian and Yasaman Demehri with FEZANA VP Rashid Mehin (ext L)

A prayer invoking divine blessings for the community’s progress, prosperity and perpetuation was led by Dr Kersey Antia of Chicago, with seven mobeds, the write-up from Damania describes the event attended by 200 people. After Antia’s benediction, Jim Engineer introduced the five past presidents of FEZANA who had gathered for this milestone in the life of the organization — Rivetna, Dastoor from Montreal, Framroze Patel from New Jersey, Firdosh Mehta from Texas and Kevala from Florida — as well as current president Patel from California. All of them had a few inspirational words to share on the occasion. Patel and Kevala then cut the ceremonial red ribbon and the gathered assembly joined the ZAC choir in singing the festive Mubarak, Mubarak, Mubarak song accompanied on the keyboard by Adi Tamboli. A festive lunch of pulao dal, sali gos, mango kulfi and more, prepared by ZAC families, endorsed the auspicious occasion.

A month later the FEZANA Academic Scholarship Program Committee headed by Dastoor announced the winners for 2008-2009. The 25 applications received were judged by five independent judges in two categories: graduates and undergraduates, she states in her report posted on the Zoroastrian News Agency (ZNA).

Parisa Javedani of the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine has been adjudged the FEZANA Scholar for the year, receiving the $ 5,000 Mehraban and Morvorid Kheradi Endowed Scholarship.

Behroz Nowrojee studying Special Education at the University of Florida received the $ 4,000 FEZANA 20th Anniversary Endowed Scholarship.

FEZANA Scholarships amounting to $ 3,000 were awarded to Farzad Kamyar of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine; Jimmy Antia of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; Shabnam Rostamirad studying biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of British Columbia; Bahareh Abadian and Yasaman Demehri, both pursuing biology at the Orange Coast College, California; and Meherazade Sumariwalla studying biochemistry, Wesleyan University, Connecticut

The Khorshed Panthaky Endowed Scholarships for Undergraduate Studies amounting to $ 3,000 each went to Fariba Khoshnasib-Zeindabad for applied mathematics at the University of Texas at Dallas and Benaz Colabewala for graphic design at Fullerton Union High School, California.

Kainaz Mis­try received the Banoobai and Maneckshaw Kapadia Endowed Scholarship for Undergraduate Studies worth $ 1,000 for psychology at McGill University.