Group Newsletter July 2019

Welcome to the latest newsletter.
The next meeting  is on Thursday 11th July, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre. We don’t meet in August so the agenda will focus on the forthcoming events – BourneFree, Speaker, Quiz Night, Schools conference. Plus some letter writing.
For the 5th year running we will be holding a stall, and taking part in the parade, at BourneFree. Its this Saturday 13th July. This is Bournemouth’s LGBTI Pride event and the stalls are in Bournemouth Gardens. In many countries the LGBTI community are persecuted and, sadly, there are always cases we can feature. Unlike some events we do, its relatively easy to get cards signed and have conversations about Amnesty International and the work we do.
You can read more about last years event here   https://amnestyat50.co.uk/bournefree-2018
We are still desperate for more people to help run the stall or take part in the parade.  We have to cover from 8am till 5pm, so any help – even just an hour – will be very welcome. Please reply to this newsletter if you would like to help in any way.

Marielle Franco
At BourneFree will we be highlighting the case of Marielle Franco. She was born and raised in a favela in Rio, Brazil. An elected councillor, she worked tirelessly to promote the rights of black women, LGBTI and young people.Marielle inspired many people. She refused to stay silent about police killings and continued to speak out against injustice right up until hours before her brutal killing in March 2018. A car pulled up beside hers, and Marielle was shot four times in the head. Her driver Anderson Pedro Gomes was also killed.People who defend human rights in Brazil, like Marielle, are often attacked or threatened. The authorities do not respond adequately – and most of these crimes go completely unpunished. Two ex military policemen are currently under arrest, but we need to maintain the spotlight on her case.
You can take different actions and read more about Marielle Franco on our letters page.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/letters
AmnesTea
Thanks to everyone who supported the AmnesTea last month. We raised £167.62. Thanks especially to Lucy Freeman for hosting and all the work she did to prepare. For details here https://amnestyat50.co.uk/amnestea-june-2019
South America Newsletter
The July edition of the South America Regional Newsletter is now on the blog. Our group has focused on South America since its inception. The 3 volunteers who run the network for AIUK – and produce the newsletter – do a huge amount of work on our behalf.
The team report that in Venezuela Gilber Caro, who was arbitrarily detained and held incommunicado for almost two months, was released on 17 June – just before the visit of The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet! They also brings attention to the staggering statistic that in Columbia, 25 human rights defenders were killed in the first quarter of 2019.
And we haven’t mentioned Brazil….
Advanced notice that we have booked this for Friday 15th November 2019. Yes we are getting organised. We have a new venue – the Liberal Club in Parkstone – but I’m afraid the same deadly duo of Sally Hawsworth and David Rogers will still be setting and asking the questions. More details nearer the time.