Once living in a tight-nit community, working as goldsmiths or flourishing in academia, Mandaeans now find themselves separated from their relatives and friends by thousands of miles. Mandaean parents are watering nearly withered morals and values during increasingly boisterous times. They are in a state of rebuilding, holding bouquets of faith and hope.
Inside the homes of the followers of John the Baptist, things are no longer the same. Some families have their children go to work to pay the rent, while others invest in the future by sending their children to college. Some Mandaeans open small businesses, while others work for minimum wage. Mandaeans do not have that safe, predictable future they used to have in their homeland. They need guidance, and assurance. Their children need gardens of answers to their questions about religion, careers, and more.
Slowly, Mandaean parents are coming together, and small communities across the globe, from Worcester to Stockholm, are blossoming. The brightest future may not yet be guaranteed, but Mandaean-run non profit organization, like the Mandaean Community of Massachusetts, are taking steps in the right direction with small events to bring the community together, educational lectures, and open office doors to discuss all kinds of community problems.
\|\> Osamah Mandawi