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Interview Portuguese Spanish    
Year 4 - N° 196 – February 13, 2011
ORSON PETER CARRARA 
orsonpeter@yahoo.com.br 
Matão, São Paulo (Brasil)
Translation
Leonardo Rocha - l.rocha1989@gmail.com

 
Interview: Francisco Francinaldo Rafael de Oliveira
 

A good example from the Northeast of Brazil
 

Our interviewee in this edition is Francisco Francinaldo Rafael de Oliveira (photo), a Spiritist since the year 2000. He was born in the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraíba, but has spent the last 27 years of his live in neighbouring Rio Grande do Norte, in the city of Mossoró. Our Spiritist friend has a degree in Accountancy and is currently studying Journalism. He is linked to the Spiritist Centre Allan Kardec, where he works in the Public Relations department. In this interview, he talks about the traditional Spiritist Week of Mossoró, as well as a number of other subjects: 

First of all, tell us a bit more about the city of Mossoró. 


It was the first city in the state of Rio Grande do Norte to free its slaves – five years before the official end of slavery in Brazil, which happened in 1988. Mossoró is very proud of that historic event, and the date is celebrated every year. September 30th is a local holiday. Another important event in our history is the Women’s Uprising. On September 4th 1875 300 women took to the streets to protest against the conscription of their sons and husbands. They stormed the Army office and destroyed all the conscription cards. Mossoró is also proud of having been the city where a woman voted for the first time in Brazil. Celina Guimarães Viana, a teacher and football referee, became the first female registered voter in Brasil in 1928. One year earlier, the city was the stage for another historic feat. The city, then with a population of 20,000, was going through a prosperous period, with expanding industry and trade. It produced more salt than any other city in the country and had an important cotton industry. The well-known criminal, Lampião, became aware of that and threatened to attack Mossoró. To spare the city, he demanded a huge ransom. The mayor at the time rejected the blackmail and called on all the men in the city to defend it from an attack. And so they did. They chased away Lampião and his nasty gang.

Mossoró is now the second biggest city in the state, with 260,000 inhabitants. The city has been growing strongly. Its economy is based on oil and salt production and on the production of fruits. 

How many Spiritist groups are there in the city and which one was the first to open? 

There are nine Spiritist groups and in the city. The Spiritist Society of Mossoró was the pioneer, founded by Antônio Pereira on March 19 1977. 

How were the first days of the Spiritist Movement in Mossoró? 

By the time we had three Spiritist Centres working in the city, we realised we needed a concerted action to disseminated the Doctrine and the services we offered. But I would say that the Spiritist Movement in Mossoró began really with the first Spiritist Week we organised. 

When was that, how did it happen? 

Four Spiritist workers from the city attended the International Spiritist Conference in Brasília, in 1989. They came back with the idea of promoting a Spiritist Week in Mossoró. Two other Spiritist friends joined them in their efforts and Mossoró managed to host its first Spiritist Week in that same year, 1989. 

You’ve now organised more than 20 events like that. What is the main lesson you’ve learned? 

It is to understand that every Spiritist group in the city must be united in order to have a successful event. Union is paramount. We have also realised that the event attracts other people, non-Spiritists. That is evidence that we have the achieved the respect of everyone by doing a good, professional and serious job. 

When is the next event due? Have you already chosen the main theme? 

It will be from the 24th to the 29th of October 2011. We are still discussing what the main theme will be. 

It is a major achievement the fact that all Spiritist institutions in the city agreed to suspend all their activities during the Spiritist Week, every year. How did you achieve that? 

All groups agreed on that since the first edition of the event, as one of the goals of the Spiritist Week was exactly to encourage camaraderie and union between the Spiritists in the city. We had no problem with that, and that is how it remains to this day.  

During the Spiritist Week of Mossoró, how many people normally attend every lecture? And how do you choose the themes to be discussed? 

We tend to get about 400 people per night. A group made up of four volunteers chooses the themes. We get together and in a friendly atmosphere come to an agreement. 

Why did you come up with the idea of hosting the event in a hotel, in the city centre? 

The main reason was to provide more comfort to everyone. 

What are the most memorable moments of the Spiritist Week in more than 20 years? 

There are several occasions when you have to sort out last-minute problems, such as finding the bags of one of the lecturers, replacing someone who cannot attend at short notice… But what really makes our day is when someone comes to us and says that what they heard in the event changed their lives, soothed their pain. And it is such a wonderful atmosphere, the whole week, so much joy and that incomparable feeling of having achieved something important. 

Anything else you would like to add? 

It is never too late to remind everyone that a long journey begins with the first step. Once we came to the end of the 22nd Spiritist Week of Mossoró, we realised how far we had walked, and also how much road we still have ahead of us. But our energy is constantly renewed by knowing that we have, ahead of us and in our command, our Master Jesus.

 

 


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