Jamnesty

After lasts years success, we are holding another Jamnesty on

Saturday 7th September at Chaplin’s Bar

Last year was our first Jamnesty, but we still had a fantastic day with 11 bands and 6 poets – and we raised over £1600! This year we don’t have to contend with the Air Show and can build on what worked best last year. Cakes will again feature – please get in touch if you would like to make/donate some.  Details of the performers, etc are on our Events page. Please contact us if you would like to help on the day.

Please write to your Member of Parliament

Apologies to those living in Christchurch, but most of you are still getting used to having a new MP.  And, hopefully, one with a much more progressive outlook than the person they replaced. Our group last met on election day, so we will discuss how to build relationships with the new MPs at our next meeting.
But as an Amnesty International supporter you can help. Let your MP know you want them to commit to supporting and defending human rights in this country and internationally. You can download this pre-forma letter to edit and send. Please personalise as much as you can.
If you are not sure of your MP, check here- https://www.theyworkforyou.com/ – you can also send them a message via this site. But some of us still believe posting a letter has more impact. MPs do reply!
Still write if your MP hasn’t changed – lets remind Sir Christopher that many of his constituents don’t share his views on the treatment of refugees…
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Template-for-post-election-letter-to-MP.docx

South America Newsletter

The latest South America Newsletter has updates on Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador and Brazil. This was published just after the election in Venezuela, and there already there were protests as President Maduro claimed victory. Now the  authorities have carried out mass arbitrary arrests of demonstrators. Over two thousand people were arrested for protesting or being seen as critical of the government. Most of the detainees are young people, including at least 105 aged between 13 and 17. At least 16 people with disabilities, such as visual or hearing impairments, remain in detention. Credible allegations of incommunicado detention and denial of legal counsel persist, leading to a high risk of ill-treatment and torture. Please act on this Amnesty Urgent Action (its a letter, but you can email it), urging the authorities to release all those detained for exercising their rights.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/south-america-newsletter-august-2024
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr53/8396/2024/en/

Europe Newsletter

The latest Europe newsletter has updates on Türkiye, France, Poland, Greece and Finland.  “Pushbacks”, the unlawful practice of summary and violent returns at the border, are increasingly used in different European countries to prevent people in need of protection from reaching their borders. Poland continues to use “pushback” tactics to expel migrants and asylum-seekers. They get trapped in forests outside a no-entry buffer zone along Poland’s  border with Belarus. And the Finnish Government’s proposal for an emergency law on migration is also seen as a green light for violence and pushbacks at their border with Russia.
There is also a report on the awful conditions in an EU-funded refugee centre on the Greek island of Samos.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/europe-newsletter-august-2024