June 03, 2007
Hamzeh SHAFIEE
The Japanese Esperanto Institute is issuing a special invitation to 23 Asian Esperanto activists to take part in this year's World Esperanto Congress in Yokohama. In the April issue of the Japanese magazine La Revuo Orienta JEI has published statements by each of these people. I am reproducing them here, in English translation, one by one.
The next listed activist is Hamzeh SHAFIEE of Iran. Shafiee is a 40-year-old telecommunications engineer.
Esperanto and I
In 1986, when I was a student in a technical college, one day I noticed a classified ad about Esperanto in which an Esperanto textbook was presented. I sent a letter to the address with a lot of questions about the language. Happily the answer was very logical and attractive. So, after some correspondence, I bought a textbook and began to read it. The language was so interesting that I read it to the end without stopping. Afterwards I reread it and very quickly began to seek and find pen pals, and so entered into the [Esperanto] movement.
Starting when I was learning Esperanto, it was, is and will remain not just a simple language like others, but a part of my life occupation. It makes up a large part of my friends, relationships, studies and way of passing time. In Esperanto, I find a value which is meaningful to my life and ideals. My utopia is being built on the columns of Esperanto.
World Esperanto Congress and After
During the months before the World Congress, I will consider what I can present and offer to the host country. I will be a representative of the Iranian Esperanto movement; so I will take steps to give information about Iranian life, culture, and its evolving Esperanto movement. It is my occupation before the Congress to collect information and consider how to present it.
During the World Congress, I will have to carry out two different acts: first giving information, and second collecting information and experiences. The Iranian Esperanto Association is very young. It needs to make use of the experiences of foreign associations to speed up its progress. Organization and planning are very important but weak sides to our activity. I will take steps to collect information and seek experiences to use later in my country.
After the World Congress, I will return to Iran with more strength and self-confidence. The prupose will be to make use of the experiences to advance the movement. Holding courses and meetings more regularly, informing more intensely and recruiting members are the most important steps.