By Paul Desailly
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03 Sep, 2021
THE INNOVATION FACTORY: 60 Halifax Street . Adelaide. Australia: https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/business/support-resources/co-working-spaces/the-innovation-factory/ Esperantlingve aperas resumo sur la lasta paĝo. A synopsis appears in Esperanto on the last page. In Australian society Councillor Arman Abrahimzadeh OAM is a tragic and compassionate figure much admired by Esperantists in 120 countries for his support of Esperanto’s internal idea, the promotion of world peace. One month after the 82nd World Congress of Esperanto in 1997 in Adelaide’s famous Convention Centre on the Torrens River, Arman and his sisters, in the care of their parents, arrived in Adelaide as refugees from Iran. The entire family prospered socially and financially such that all five family members soon enjoyed respect from the whole community. Sad in the extreme however was the family’s home life in that the deranged father frequently and mercilessly beat his wife and children. Amid a spectacular event for lovers of Persian culture an appalling culmination occurred in 2010 in the same magnificent Convention Centre in which 1,200 Esperantists from abroad had liaised, almost to the day of Arman’s arrival in Australia. In front of family members and the 300 Iranian Australians enjoying what should have been a nice night Arman’s mother was viciously and repeatedly stabbed to death - by his own father! Arman Abrahimzadeh - Australian of the Year https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-14/arman-abrahimzadeh-plans-to-visit-father- who-killed-his-mother/100213252 That unspeakable tragedy moved Arman to dedicate himself to eliminating violence against women and to pacifying the world. To that end, nine days ago, the Councillor for the Central Ward of the City of Adelaide opened for Baha’is and for the public a school for teaching Esperanto gratis in the city centre: Baha'i & Esperanto Education Services. The president of the Australian Esperanto Association, Sandor Horvath, also officiated in the ceremony; he describes the touching event in his own words: “There are many ways to promote Esperanto. Once again, our Paul (‘not the apostle’) surprised us. He organized the rental of space in ‘The Innovation Factory’ to teach Esperanto to Bahá'ís and the general public. The site is organized by the Adelaide City Council and Paul is in good company with many young dynamic people working there on various start-up projects. I very much hope that this new initiative will attract some more people to Esperanto.”