Saturday, June 21, 2008
7:00 pm
Virginia Evans Theater at the Please Touch Museum, 210 N 21st St., Philadelphia PA
*Not an Amnesty International event
Call 215-991-7642 to order
The improbable bravery and beauty of victims of torture in Abu Ghraib Prison is told through the eyes of Jennifer Schelter, founder of Yoga Schelter. Inspired by interviews of Iraqi prisoners of war, these powerful tales uncover the best of friendship, justice, art, and even dating advice.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
7:00 pm
*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
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
4:30 pm
*This is not an Amnesty International event, but may be of interest to AI supporters.
The Nightmares of Interrogation
DATE: Wednesday, April 9
TIME: 4:30pm
LOCATION: Bartley 1001, 4:30 pm
Eric Fair will speak about his experiences while serving as an interrogator in Iraq at Abu Ghraib in early 2004. He will address the corrosive effects abusive interrogation has on those who wield it as a tool as well as the irrevocable damage it has done to our nation and its institutions. Ample time will be provided for questions from the audience.
ABOUT ERIC FAIR: In 2001, Mr. Fair was hired as a police officer in Bethlehem, PA. He left the department in 2003 in order to be a part of the war effort in Iraq. He was hired as an interrogator by CACI and worked in Baghdad, Abu Ghraib, and Fallujah. He resigned this position in the summer of 2004, was hired by the National Security Administration (NSA), and returned to Iraq in 2005 as an intelligence analyst. Mr. Fair left government service in early 2006 and published an op-ed in The Washington Post in early 2007 about his experiences with coercive interrogation. He is currently a student at Princeton Theological Seminary pursuing an MDIV and seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Sponsored by the Ethics Program, College of Liberal Arts, Villanova University
Saturday, April 12, 2008
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
This is not an Amnesty International event, but may be of interest to Amnesty supporters.
GLOBAL CONSTITUTION FORUMS PRESENTS
IRAQ:WHAT TO DO?
April 12, 2008 (Saturday), 9-5.
National Constitution Center, Kirby Auditorium
525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Our approach: We hope to address the above question in a manner that is (1) nonpartisan, covering a spectrum of viewpoints, and (2) committed to a freewheeling yet respectful dialogue focused on solutions rather than debates about past mistakes.
SPEAKERS [subject to change]
Prof. Sohail Hashmi: Author of “An Islamic Solution [to the problem of Iraq].”
Robert Dreyfuss: Author of “Getting Out.”
Col. Paul Hughes (U.S. Army, Retired): Author of “Consolidating Gains in Iraq.”
Gareth Porter: Author of “The Third Option in Iraq: A Responsible Exit Strategy.”
Bill Pace: Contributor to: A United Nations Emergency Peace Service.
Ivan Eland: “The Way Out of Iraq: Decentralizing the Iraqi Government.”
Prof. Joseph Schwartzberg: “A New Perspective on Peacekeeping.”
Prof. Nabil Al-Tikriti: “Social & Political Forces in Iraq: An NGO Primer.”
Special “observer” category: Current and recent policymakers (congressmen; State Department officials, UN Missions, retired ambassadors; etc.); those who influence policy; Iraq war vets; & families of soldiers who died in Iraq.
COST: $25 (includes box lunch) with advance registration. $35 at the door. Students and Iraq vets free, assuming seat availability. Only 180 seats.
MAJOR SPONSOR: Newman’s Own Foundation. Promotional Sponsor: National Constitution Center. Co-sponsor: Citizens for Global Solutions (Philadelphia).
MORE INFO & PRE-REGISTRATION: www.globalconstitutionforum.org
or contact jamestranney@post.harvard.edu or 215-849-9165
Ask Senators to Support the Security Contractor Accountability Act
Posted November 7th, 2007 by April | Allentown, Take Action
At their last meeting, the Allentown Amnesty International group discussed AI actions to support the Security Contractor Accountability Act (S.2147). This important bill would demand accountability for U.S. government and military contractors such as Blackwater.
“In this environment, serious allegations of contractor involvement in human rights violations–including the torture at Abu Ghraib and hundreds of shootings, sometimes lethal, of Iraqi civilians–have emerged, yet Bush administration officials have made virtually no effort to hold contractors accountable or compensate victims.”
Dan from the Allentown group notes that the bill “has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, of which our own Sen. Specter is Ranking Minority Member.”
Find out more about Amnesty’s position on the Security Contractor Accountability Act (S.2147). Then, take action!
You can also read the bill at the THOMAS website (Library of Congress).
AIUSA is supported in the effort to get this bill passed by Working Assests. You can also send a message using their website.
Action files for October 22, 2007
Posted October 23rd, 2007 by April | Take Action
AIUSA issued 2 new actions yesterday:
Save Kurdish Family in Turkey from Forcible Return to Iraq (UA 269/07) - The Turkish Authorities are preparing to forcibly return an Iranian-Kurdish family, who are recognized refugees, to Iraq, where their lives would be in danger. Please send appeals by December 3, 2007.
Stop Employment Discrimination - Call your Representative today to support a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 2015–a federal bill that would make it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or promote someone simply on the basis of the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The vote is today - call now!
Urgent Action files for October 17, 2007
Posted October 17th, 2007 by April | Take Action
Four new Urgent Actions were issued yesterday evening, on behalf of persons in Belarus, Iran, and Iraq:
Rectify Ossanlu’s Medical Concern in Iran (UA 08/06) - Without urgent hospital treatment, the Evin prison doctor has told Mansour Ossanlu he may lose his sight within 2 weeks. The prison authorities have claimed, falsely, that he has been given treatment. Ossanlu is the Head of the Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company and is considered a prisoner of conscience. Please send appeals by November 27.
Denounce Imminent Execution of 3 Men in Iraq (UA 160/07) - ‘Ali Hassan al-Majid, Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Ta’i & Hussain Rashid al-Tikriti, all former senior officials under the government of Saddam Hussain, were sentenced to death for their roles in the so-called Anfal campaign of 1988 in which some 180,000 Iraqi Kurds died. Please send appeals immediately.
Save Koktysh from Forcible Return to Belarus (UA 264/07) - Igor Koktysh is threatened with extradition from Ukraine to Belarus, where he allegedly was tortured in an effort to have him admit to the murder of a close friend’s relative. There, he may also face an unfair trial which could result in the death penalty. Please send appeals by November 27.
Protest Torabi’s Imminent Execution in Iran (UA 263/07) - Ali Mahin Torabi has been convicted of a murder committed when he was 16 years old and is now at risk of imminent execution. He is held in Reja’i Shahr prison in Karaj. His death sentence could be carried out at any time. Please send appeals immediately.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
10:00 am
Schuylkill Friends Meeting
37 North Whitehorse Road, Phoenixville, PA
This is not an Amnesty International event, but may be of interest to AI members.
Eyes Wide Open Across Pennsylvania Is Coming To Phoenixville
October 13, 2007, 10:00am-dusk
The impact of the Iraq War on Pennsylvania is the focus of the exhibit Eyes Wide Open Across Pennsylvania. This exhibit features over 170 pairs of combat boots memorializing the US soldiers from Pennsylvania who have died in the Iraq War. In addition an Iraqi exhibit of 50 shoes and posters raises awareness of the huge number of Iraqi civilian causalities. Since the spring of 2006 Eyes Wide Open Across PA has been traveling around the state in urban areas and small towns, bringing awareness of the human cost of this war. The national death toll is now over 3,600 U.S. military casualties.
Schuylkill Friends Meeting is sponsoring the exhibit as one of the events marking its 200th anniversary. Eyes Wide Open Across PA is free and open to the public, although donations will be accepted. Further details of the exhibit can be found at www.afsc.org/pittsburgh
We need your help!
For more information contact Barbara Quintiliano of Schuylkill Friends Meeting at 610-519-5207 or the AFSC Pennsylvania State office in Pittsburgh at 412 371 3607 or swahrhaftig@afsc.org
Sunday, October 14, 2007
4:30 pm
University Lutheran Church
3637 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
This is not an Amnesty International event, but may be of interest to Amnesty supporters, particularly those interested in issues of asylum. This invitation was sent by the Brandywine Peace Community.
This Sunday, October 14, there will be a rare opportunity to hear an Iraqi and political analyst with a deep knowledge of what has happened in Iraq as a result of the U.S. occupation, including what is considered the worst refugee crisis in the world.
Crisis in Iraq: Politics, Oil, and Refugees
You Are Invited to hear Raed Jarrar, Iraqi political analyst and Iraq Oil Law expert, speak at the Brandywine Peace Community Monthly Potluck Supper & Program, 4:30PM, University Lutheran Church, 3637 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA. (*Bring main dish, salad, or dessert to share.)
Raed Jarrar, currently based in Washington, D.C, is an Iraqi political analyst and consultant to AFSC’s Iraq Program. After the U.S.-led invasion, Jarrar returned home to become country director for CIVIC Worldwide, the only door-to-door casualty survey group in post-war Iraq. He then established Emaar, (meaning “reconstruction” in Arabic), a grassroots organization that provided humanitarian and political aid to Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs). Emaar delivered medicine and food as well as helped initiate micro-enterprise projects for IDPs, with specific concern directed towards women and children. Additionally, Emaar engaged in political advocacy on behalf of populations displaced due to ethnic discrimination.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
7:30 pm
First Presbyterian Church
Miner and Darlington Streets, West Chester
This is not an Amnesty International event, but may be of interest to AI members.
West Chester group member Marlou encourages everyone to go see the film, “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.” For more information about the film, please see the HBO Documentary website.
Acclaimed filmmaker Rory Kennedy investigates the psychological and political context surrounding the torture that occurred at Abu Ghraib through interviews with both Iraqi victims and the guards directly involved in the torture at the prison. Through these interviews, the film traces the events and the political and legal precedents that led to the scandal, beginning with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sep. 11, 2001. “How could ordinary American soldiers come to engage in such monstrous acts?” Kennedy asks. “What policies were put into place that allowed this behavior to flourish while protections granted to prisoners under the Geneva Conventions were ignored?”
Presented by the Chester County Religious Campaign Against Torture.