What Does It Mean to Be “Successful”? Religion, Family, and Economic Prosperity among Iranian Bahai Migrants in Brazil

Abstract The present article proposes to examine the 1985 and 1986 arrival in Brazil of Iranian Bahai forced migrants who left their homeland claiming religious persecution. The article presents original research undertaken with this group and aims to contribute to the limited body of research on migrants from the Middle East, and especially from Iran, in Brazil. The Bahai community of Brazil had been established decades earlier by pioneers from different countries, including Iran and the United States, working to bring their religion to Brazil. The arrival in 1985–86 of Iranian refugees was made possible by mobilization of the Bahai community of Brazil. Joint efforts were made with governmental and civil society groups to receive and welcome Bahai families to Brazil, facilitating their integration into Brazilian society. Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, I analyze here the trajectory of several of these forced migrants who had been living in Brazil for almost forty years. They provide a diverse set of perspectives on notions of “success” and enable a consideration of economic prosperity and family and religious support networks, as well as the forced migrants’ perceptions regarding Brazil as a choice of host country.