Amnesty International, Eastern PA

Amnesty International is holding a special meeting on Saturday, March 20, for Amnesty International supporters and groups from all over the Delaware Valley. The meeting will include sessions on immigration detention and the death penalty, as well as a choice of workshops.

More Information and Registration

Group #531 (Allentown, PA) met last Tuesday evening with four activists in attendance, including one new member, who was active with Moravian College’s AI group.

We disussed upcoming events, including Death Penalty week, the March 20 gathering of Eastern PA AI activists, the lobbying event beginning the last week of March, and the AGM, April 9-11 in New Orleans. We sent letters invidually to the Prime Minister and President of Haiti concerning the problem of human trafficking, particularly of women and young girls, and will follow this problem with action in regard to other countries in the future. We agreed to support Group #347 (Bethlehem, PA) as they adopt a POC, beginning with their next meeting we hope. And we discussed the US Senate bill, informally called the International Violence Against Women Act, and noted that Sen. Casey is a cosponsor. We hope that Sen. Specter will also get on board with this important legislation. The Senate bill is S.2982 and the companion House bill is HR 4594.

Dan Laxar, Coordinator, Group #531

Group #531 met on Dec.22 for its bimonthly meeting with four members in attendance. We briefly discussed the the newest Secretary General, Salil Shetty, and the upcoming fundraiser at Barnes and Noble. We sent letters in support of PA Senate Bill 1110, the bill that would launch a study of the death penalty in Pennsylvania, and impose a moratorium on executions pending the findings of that study. We also sent two letters each to Iran on behalf of POC’s there, and letters to our U.S. Senators in support of CEDAW. At the suggestion of a member, we will work on the problem of human trafficking, particularly of young girls, in Haiti and elsewhere. Our next meeting will be Feb. 23. Dan Laxar, Coordinator, Group #531 (Allentown, PA)

Join us at NoChe, 1901 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia for human rights happy hour! Friday July 31 7:30-9:30 pm.

Wristbands will be available for a donation of $3 or more, and may be used for these specials: $5 Bud Light Pitchers, $2 Bud Light Drafts, $4 Well Drinks, $4 Finlandia Drinks, $5 House Wines, $4 Nachos and 1/2 Price Pizzas.

100% of wristband proceeds will go to Amnesty International USA. Become a member of AIUSA and receive a wristband free.

Information about Amnesty International will be available, as well as petitions for current human rights cases.

Amnesty International supporters in Bethlehem held a vigil on May 15 in support of Troy Davis. Thanks to Dan Laxar, Allentown group coordinator and PA legislative coordinator, for sending these pictures.

From the AIUSA Blog:

“We’re happy to report that American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was freed from prison in Iran!

Roxana had been given an eight-year prison sentence on trumped up charges of “espionage” following a brief closed door trial in Tehran last month. Amnesty International had issued an urgent action calling for her release. Over 26,000 messages were sent to the Iranian government demanding her release.

Thanks to all who took action with us. While Roxana may be free, there are still countless other prisoners of conscience languishing in prison cells around the world. Please take a moment to take action on their behalf so they can join Roxana in freedom.”

Thanks to Gabe for this recap of the Villanova University Amnesty International meeting last night.

• Urgent action appeals were handed out and letters written concerning the case of three prisoners of conscience imprisoned in Zimbabwe despite their poor health.
• Several members of Amnesty received responses to the letters we sent to Senator Casey regarding the International Violence Against Women Act. Sen. Casey informed us that although he supports the legislation his hands are tied because the legislation expired on the expiration of the last Congress and the legislation has not been reintroduced. VUAI is looking into getting an appointment with Senator Casey to lobby him in person.
• VUAI is co-sponsoring the showing tomorrow night of The Rescue of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers. It is produced by the same people who produced Invisible Children, which highlighted the kidnapping of children by the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group in Northern Uganda responsible for years of strife and misery. The showing will be from 6:00-7:00 PM in Bartley 1010, and admission is free. We hope to see you all there!

Members of Amnesty International Center City Group 112 will be meeting together with representatives from Darfur Alert Coalition to discuss the possibility of a joint fundraiser in June. The meeting will be next Monday, April 20, at 7:00 pm at the Philadelphia Ethical Society, on Rittenhouse Square near 19th Street, Philadelphia. Any Amnesty supporters who are interested in helping plan this joint fundraiser are encouraged to attend.

There are a number of inspiring Amnesty International events in Pennsylvania and New York this week.

On Monday, members of the Villanova University Amnesty International group will be visiting Graterford State Prison in Collegeville, to speak to inmates and tour the prison. The group has been conducting several visits there.

On Tuesday, the Bethlehem Amnesty International group will be holding a fundraiser at the Friendly’s Restaurant at 3099 William Penn Highway, Easton. To help, just come to dinner at Friendly’s between 5:00 and 8:00 pm. If there are 100 or more customers during that time, the group will receive 10 percent.

Also on Tuesday at 6:00 pm, the Millersville Amnesty International group will host “Darfur: An Intimate Look” at Bolger Conference Center - Lehr Dining Room. They will be showing the film “The Devil Came On Horseback.” The film will be followed by speaker Gretchen Steidle Wallace, who is a producer of the film as well as co-author of the book of the same title along with her brother, Brian Steidle. Gretchen will speak about her recent work in Chad with the Darfuri refugees.

On Wednesday, two local Amnesty chapters will hold their regular meetings. At 7:30, the Chester County group will hold its monthly meeting at Chester County Books & Music, Paoli Pike and Route 202, West Chester. And the Haverford College Amnesty group will hold its weekly meeting at 9:00 in Ryan Gym.

Finally, this Friday, April 17 marks the 14th Annual Get On The Bus to New York City. Join more than 1,000 Amnesty student/youth activists as they converge on New York City to demand justice from rights repressive-governments in China, Burma, Guatemala and Sri Lanka . For more information and to register please visit: gotb.org

For more information about these and other events, please see our Google Calendar.

Tomorrow afternoon, LV CASK (Lehigh Valley Committee Against State Killing) and PA-Amnesty International are hosting an interactive discussion about the death penalty and different religious perspectives.

Where: Maginnes 260, Lehigh University
When: April 2
Time: 4pm
Cost: Free - open to the public

Refreshments will also be provided. If you have any questions please contact CalvinJohn Smiley, Pennsylvania death penalty abolition coordinator, at cjs719@gmail.com

Death Penalty and Religion Panel Flyer [Word format]