Write for Rights

Thanks to everyone who turned out for our Write for Rights events – at Castlepoint and Moordown Community Centre. We sent about 80 cards to the various human rights defenders featured.
Write for Rights finishes at the end of January.  There is an update on this blog post, which gives details of how the campaign has impacted. There is also a link at the end of the post if you still want to send cards – whilst focussed on December it has no actual link with Christmas.
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/blogs/campaigns/writing-rights-2017

Library Exhibition

During 2015, members of local Amnesty groups in the South (including us!) designed and embroidered  panels – each of which depicted one of the articles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR).  These were then stitched together to create a large patchwork wall hanging, our Tapestry.

The aim was to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215 and to highlight the continuing importance of the protections afforded by the UNDHR. The Tapestry spent 6 months adjacent to the Magna Carta at Salisbury cathedral. Since then it has travelled to other venues around the south.

We are in the process of organising an exhibition at Bournemouth Library featuring the Tapestry. This will be during April, this year, and also feature 30 photographs from AIUK’s current “Refugees Welcome” campaign.

The photographs document some of the issues surrounding refugees over the past 70 years, from the mass upheaval and displacement of the post-war years to the present-day crisis in Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan.

Watch this space for more information about the exhibition – hit reply if you would like to get involved in any way.

South America Newsletter

The January edition of the South America Regional Newsletter is now on the blog. Our group has focused on South America since its inception, which is also reflected in our case file – see below. The 3 volunteers who run the network for AIUK – and produce the newsletter – do a huge amount of work on our behalf.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

The plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is ongoing, despite heightened media focus and various rumors of imminent release before Christmas. Fortunately the scheduled new trial has been cancelled. But the fact remains she is still in prison. Ask the Iranian authorities to urgently free Nazanin.
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/help-get-nazanin-home-iran-prisoner-british-mother

Jorge Lázaro Samba Nunes dos Santos

A case file is an AI action that focus on one individual or situation. This long term narrow focus ensures a constant pressure on authorities to take action. We have been writing to authorities in Bahia State, Brazil on behalf of Jorge Lázaro, for about two years now.

Two of his seven children have been murdered. Jorge Lázaro has been under huge pressure since the first murder in 2008 : he is seeking justice for the killings of his sons, trying to keep himself and his family safe, and providing necessary minimum living conditions such as a home and food.
To add to the tragedy of two murdered sons, on July 10^th 2016 Jorge’s youngest son, Denilson was shot whilst walking home.  Luckily Denilson survived and is currently recovering.
There are downloadable letters you can adapt on our take action page.There is also a link so you can send him a message of support via AIUK.