Testimonial letter from Carla Cerrini

This letter is one of a remarkable series of over 2650 letters amassed in 1983 to support Osho's attempt to get permanent resident status in the US at the time of the Oregon ranch. The image is reproduced here with the kind permission of The Oregon Historical Society. Information about their collection of these letters and other supporting material -- the "Jeffrey Noles Rajneesh Collection", named for Osho's immigration lawyer Jeffrey Noles, who compiled them in 1983 and donated them to the OHS -- can be found at this page. The wiki is grateful to the OHS for making access available for these documents. For more information and links to all the letters, see Testimonial letters.

This letter is from Dr. Carla Cerrini. It is "Exhibit A-1853" in the Noles collection.

The text version below has been created by optical character recognition (OCR), from the images supplied by OHS. It has not been checked for errors but this process usually results in over 99% correct transcription. Most apparent "errors" are correct transcriptions of typos already in the original.

The original letter, written in Italian, appears first, followed by its English translation. The image on the right in the text box links to a pdf file with the whole original letter, the translation and a notary statement attesting to the validity of the translation. It has 2 pages.

20 luglio 1983 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Doti. Carla Cerrini, nata a San Remo il 19 dic. 1948, laureata in biologia presso 1'Università di Firenze. Svolgo da 8 anni l'attività di citopatologa presso il Centro Per lo studio e la prevenzione oncologica di Firenze, membro della Società Italiana di citopatologia. Mi occupo di prevenzione precoce del cancro del collo dell'utero e della tiroide. Il mio lavoro è sempre stato imperniato su due aspetti, quello scientifico da un lato e quello sociale dall'altro, in quanto il cancro è riconosciuto malattia sociale. Tre anni fa ho avuto modo di conoscere il lavoro del Maestro spirituale Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh tramita una mia carissima amica di ritorno da un viaggio in India. Questo incontro ha inciso profondamente su molti aspetti della mia vita, non ultimo quello professionale. In questo senso ho trovato grande sollievo e un nuovo impulso nello svolgere la mia attività, proprio nell'affrontare la frustrazione che colpisce costantemente chi si batte contro un male così infido e inesorabile come il cancro. Ho apprezzato immensamente il coraggio e la determinazione con cui vengono affrontati i problemi dell'inquinamento e dell'approvvigionamento energetico nella nuova comune di Rajneeshpuram, che ho avuto modo di visitare personalmente e conoscere il Maestro, proprio alla fine di un soggiorno di studio presso il Montefiore Hospital di New York dove ero stata inviata dal CSPO per affrondine i miei studi, marzo aprile 1982. In fede [signed] translation 20 July, 1983 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Dr. Carla Cerrini, born in San Remo on December 19, 1948 and graduated at the University of Florence with a Doctorate Degree in Biology. I have been working for eight years as a cytopathologist at the "Centreo per lo Studio e la Prevenzione Oncologica" (Center for the Study and Prevention of Cancer) in Florence, Italy. Member of the Italian Society of Cytopathologists. I deal with the early prevention of the cancer of the cervis and of the thyroid. My work has always been concerned with both the scientific and the social aspect, since cancer is a recognized social illness. Three years ago I came to discover the work of the spiritual Master Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh through a dear friend who had just returned from a journey to India. This meeting profoundly influenced many (not only the professional) aspects of my life. I was greatly relieved by it and found also in it a new inspiration in carrying out my work as I was confronting the usual constant frustration that is present when one fights an illness so unrelenting and treacherous as cancer. I have come to immensely appreciate the courage and the determination with which the new commune of Rajneeshpuram faces the problems of energy and pollution. I personally had occasion to visit this commune and meet the Master at the end of my studies at the Montefiore Hospital of New York, where I was sent by the C.S.P.O. to deepen my studies (from March, to April 1982) In faith (signed) Carla Cerrini

(Please note: We assume that the above letter is still copyrighted, but we regard its historical interest to constitute a Fair Use exception for publication in this wiki.)