National Pioneering Committee [Baha'i] Letter about Relocating to Bophuthatswana, 1983

Interesting and uncommon 11-page typescript copy letter, including map and visa application, letter dated August 1983, from the [Baha’i] National Pioneering Committee, Bophuthatswana, Southern Africa.    The letter describes the pros and cons of pioneering to Bophuthatswana for a person in the Baha’i faith.  Very good condition with horizontal folds. (The shaded places on the map are just from the scanner; all pages are clear and very good.)

Bophuthatswana was a never-internationally-recognized republic and homeland for the Tswana people of the Republic of South Africa.  The Tswana had settled in the area around 1600 and became self-governing in 1972 as one of South Africa’s non-independent Bantustans (territories set aside only for Blacks in South Africa as part of apartheid).  When the apartheid system was abolished in 1994 Bophuthatswana was dissolved and incorporated into South Africa.  (Britannica Online Encyclopedia).

The letter describes the country and its capital (Mmabatho) and s major centers, the opportunities there and the pros and cons.  The most pressing occupational needs in 1983 were teachers (particularly at higher grades) and for doctors and nurses. At the time there were only 60 pioneers there and the letter describes the country as having little in the way of cultural or entertainment activities, no wildlife, and with a poor standard of education for school-age children.  Interestingly, the letter advises people searching for employment there NOT to mention they are Baha’i or that they purposely want to come there to pioneer.  Three of the pages are guidelines for pioneers who do decide to go.

The letter’s recipient, Iraj Motazedian (1948-2013) was born in Iran.  He attended graduate school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in range management, and moved to Corvallis, Oregon with his wife.  Eventually he earned a PhD in rangeland resources at Oregon State in 1984.  Apparently Iraj explored a number of overseas opportunities around the time he got his PhD and moved his family to Zimbabwe for several years to help farmers in rural impoverished regions.  In 1989 he returned to Corvallis to a full-time faculty position. He was a seasoned world traveler.  He was a dedicated member of the Baha’i faith and was committed to living by the Baha’i principles, as evidenced by having spent years to try to advance agriculture in developing countries and volunteering with international programs in his later life to rural regions of under-developed countries such as Afghanistan.