Archive for April, 2008
Guantanamo Bay Cell Tour – Philadelphia Stop
Posted April 16th, 2008 by April | Mid-Atlantic Region
Experience Guantánamo in Philadelphia
Dilworth Plaza, 1400 JFK Blvd., Philadelphia PA
May 30, 1:00 – 7:00 pm
May 31, 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
June 1, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Visit Amnesty International’s replica of a Guantánamo cell and join us in calling on the U.S. government to charge detainees and give them fair trials, or release them. Indefinite detention without charge or fair trial is illegal and violates American principles of justice.
There will also be a special event on Saturday, May 31st from noon to 2pm. Details are forthcoming. Free admission to the exhibit and the special event.
Guantanamo Bay Cell Tour – Save the Date!
Posted April 16th, 2008 by April | Amnesty News
Volunteer to help with the Philadelphia Cell Tour Event
The lack of human rights and the assaults on human dignity present in Guantanamo Bay must end. This year Amnesty International’s Denounce Torture Campaign will be traveling the United States with a life size replica of a Guantanamo Bay prison cell to raise awareness about the torture and abuse that takes place and to demand an end to Guantanamo Bay. The event will give participants the opportunity to enter the cells experience the conditions of isolation and then comment on your experience.
The Philadelphia stop will be between May 27- June 2. Volunteers are needed to help plan smaller events leading up to the cell tour stop in Philadelphia to help educate the community about this issue and to help with the actual cell tour stop in Philadelphia (final location details coming soon).
If you’re interested in volunteering either to help plan a pre-tour event or during the cell tour stop, please e-mail Jen Horwitz at jhorwitz@aiusa.org
Global Day for Darfur DC Wrapup
Posted April 16th, 2008 by April | Amnesty News
Here is a report about last weekend’s Global Day for Darfur from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office staff.
Global Day for Darfur – This April marks 5 years of crisis in Darfur. Children have grown up knowing violence, displacement, and unrest as a normal way of life. On Sunday, April 13th, Amnesty International USA joined in a global day of action for Darfur.
Here are a few highlights from the day:
- More than 1,000 people walked through Displaced, Amnesty International’s human rights exhibition.
- Darfuris and activists came from all over the east coast to participate in the day of action.
- Approximately 500 people stopped what they were doing to hear the inspiring words of Larry Cox, Mohamed Yahya, and others Darfuris and activists.
- Over a thousand petition signatures were collected and hundreds of students and young people used their hand prints to call on the Bush Administration to use their authority to end the violence in Darfur.
- MARO Director, Folabi Olagbaju, got an op-ed printed in the Richmond Times.
Take action for Darfur in your community
See pictures from the day on Flickr
The power of the flower
Posted April 16th, 2008 by April | Take Action
Turn flowers into power for Native American and Alaska Native women. Tell the incoming Indian Health Service (IHS) Director that we need to ensure that survivors of rape and sexual assault receive the proper healthcare they deserve.
Take Action!
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Organic Bouquet
For every ten emails sent, Amnesty International USA will send a flower to Robert G. McSwain, who any day now will step into the official role of IHS Director. Our goal is to fill the IHS office with so many flowers that IHS officials recognize that their actions (and lack thereof) to protect Native American women are being observed by hundreds of dedicated advocates around the country. Take meaningful action and ensure proper healthcare for Native American and Alaska Native women. -
Get Crafty!
A fun way to send a message for women’s human rights is to make paper and origami flowers! Get your friends together and get creative. Learn how to make flower-themed crafts and help women’s rights bloom.
University of Delaware AI Group Meeting Notes
Posted April 9th, 2008 by April | Student Groups, University of Delaware
The University of Delaware Amnesty International group held its most recent meeting on Tuesday, April 8. A few notes from that meeting:
- Some of the members of the UD group will be traveling to the Global Day for Darfur event in Washington, DC on Sunday, April 12.
- UD group members will also join the members of the Wilmington Amnesty local group for their upcoming meeting, Tuesday, April 15 at 7:00 pm at Borders Books and Music, Concord Pike, Wilmington.
- The group will also be meeting for dinner at an Indian buffet on Sunday, April 20.
- Finally, UD group members will be traveling to DC for the upcoming Annual General Meeting, April 25-27.
For more information about the University of Delaware Amnesty International chapter and its upcoming activities, please contact Jenn, Delaware Student Area Coordinator, at jloy@udel.edu.
Center City Philadelphia Group Table at Rittenhouse
Posted April 9th, 2008 by April | Philly Center City
Amnesty International Center City Group 112 will hold a table at Rittenhouse Square Park this Saturday, April 12 from noon to 4:00 pm. They will have information and a petition on the Violence Against Women Act and other information, as well as homemade candles for sale to benefit the work of the organization. Please stop by and support the work of this great Amnesty chapter.
Public Forum on the Death Penalty (Bethlehem)*
Posted April 9th, 2008 by April | Bethlehem, Other Human Rights News
*This is not an Amnesty International event, but may be of interest to AI supporters.
From State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator Maria:
I hope you will consider attending the following event organized by two Lehigh students who have interned this semster with the Lehigh Valley Committee Against State Killing as part of their class on Community Activism and Democracy.
Sunday, April 13, 7PM at Lehigh University, Maginnes Hall, Room 101 there will be a public forum on the death penalty sponsored by the Black Student Union, the College Democrats, the College Republicans, and the Lehigh Patriot.
This debate/discussion will feature attorney Jim Moreno and State Rep. Doug Reichley.
Jim Moreno is a capital defense attorney with the Defenders Association of Philadelphia. He lives in Macungie and was one of Dennis Counterman’s appellate defense attorneys. Jim was instrumental in having Dennis’ capital conviction overturned, and in having Dennis released from prison.
Doug Reichley is a state representative from Emmaus. He is also a former DA, and represented the state of PA against Dennis Counterman at the appellate level.
This is a great opportunity to take part in a thoughtful and informative discussion of the death penalty. Hope to see you there!
AI New Member Night and Darfur Info Session in Malvern
Posted April 8th, 2008 by April | West Chester
Come join us for Amnesty International Chester County’s next meeting!
Amnesty International New Member Night & Darfur Information Session
Wednesday, April 16 at 7:30pm
NEW LOCATION!
Saxby’s Coffee
60 Lancaster Ave., Malvern PA
610-812-6640
Our April meeting will be dedicated to welcoming new members and honoring our returning veteran members, and will also focus on the human rights crisis in Darfur.
In our next meeting we’ll…
- welcome new members and present them with their fabulous “welcome premiums”
- enjoy an Amnesty International fashion show by America’s Next Flop Model Jeff Singleton
- taste complimentary Saxby’s coffee and desserts
- begin planning for spring and summer tabling events
- discuss recruiting strategies
- see brief video presentation of Darfur atrocities and testimonies from Darfur survivors produced by SaveDarfur.org
- hear a brief summary of Amnesty International’s new report on the displaced people of Darfur
- sign a petition to Secretary of State Rice concerning delays in deployment of peacekeeping forces in Darfur
- send letters that press some of the most powerful companies in the world, 10 of the top investors in Sudan’s oil industry, to use their influence to help end the human rights catastrophe in Darfur
- send letters to our Senators and Congressmen urging them to co-sponsor important resolutions to protect civilians in Chad and the Central African Republic
Hope to see you there!
The Iraqi Refugee Crisis: Reports and Responses from the Field (Villanova)*
Posted April 4th, 2008 by April | Other Human Rights News
*This is not an Amnesty International event, but may be of interest to AI supporters.
The Iraqi Refugee Crisis: Reports and Responses from the Field
More than 2 million Iraqi refugees and 2 million internally displaced:
- who they are
- why they fled and where
- what they face
- response to the crisis and actions needed
Tuesday, April 8, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Bartley Hall, Room 1011
Villanova University
Speakers:
Najla Chadha, Director, Caritas Lebanon Immigrant Center
Chawla Elia, General Secretary, Caritas Iraq
Michele Pistone, Director, Villanova Law School Clinical Program and Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services
Dina Habeb, Villanova Student
Sponsored by the Villanova/Catholic Relief Services Partnership, Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, Center for Peace & Justice Education, Honors Program, Institute for Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Theology & Religious Studies Department
Group 342 member’s letter printed in The Kennett Paper
Posted April 3rd, 2008 by April | Amnesty News, West Chester
I would like to belatedly draw attention to the good work of Fiona Allison, a member of Amnesty International Group 342 (West Chester/Chester County). Her opinion letter regarding the President’s veto of the Intelligence Authorization Bill appeared in The Kennett Paper on March 12. The letter is reproduced below. Thank you, Fiona, for spotlighting this decision.
Bush should not have vetoed ban on waterboarding
The Kennett Paper
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Recently, the U.S. House and Senate rejected the use of torture – a tactic rubber-stamped by high-ranking Bush administration officials – by passing the Intelligence Authorization Bill. The bill includes an important stipulation in the conference report that limits interrogators to the techniques permitted by the U.S. Army Field Manual. This would prevent the CIA and other U.S. agents from using waterboarding, sexual humiliation, dogs and other techniques that amount to torture and ill treatment. But President Bush vetoed the Intelligence Authorization Bill. Here’s one more mark on his administration’s shameful human rights record in the war on terror. Is the president confused? To affirm the ban on torture and prosecute U.S. agents responsible for its use is not surrendering to terrorists. But we can be certain that anything less than denouncing torture and cruel treatment is surrendering American values. The world needs to know that his veto does not represent my views on torture. Americans must send a clear, resounding message to this president and the next – do not torture in our name.
Fiona M. Allison
Pennsbury Township