Student Activism

Thank you to all of those who participated in Amnesty International USA's Darfur rally on Sunday, April 29^th.  More than 1500 groups of people from Amnesty International, and many other human right organizations and activists gathered at the White House and demanded that the Bush administration protect civilians in Darfur and get UN peacekeepers on the ground. We all believe that your effort and concern can make a positive effect on Darfur. Keep continuing working on the issue of Darfur. Together, we can make a difference!

Best,

wook

Thank you to all the students who participated in Amnesty International's National Week of Student Action. The Darfur rallies were a great success and we had many Amnesty members and student participants that came out and spoke for the people of Darfur. Check out an article on the New York City rally here!

Keep doing what you guys are doing! This work is great and it's a great asset to the human rights world!

Best,

Nausheen

On April 24^th, Amnesty International successfully released a report on sexual violence against Native American and Alaska Native women. This report was based on interviews with victims, health workers, and law enforcement staffs in Alaska, Oklahoma, and the Dakotas. According to the report, Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to be raped and sexually abused than women in other ethnic groups in the U.S. Sexual violence against women is not only a criminal or social issue; it is a human rights abuse. None of this is inevitable or irreversible. The voices of indigenous women throughout this report send a message of courage and hope that change can and will happen. Visit http://amnestyusa.org/women to learn more about this issue and join voices with Native Women to stop the violence.  

Best wishes,

wook

Hey Student Activists,

Here is a great opportunity to get involved in a human righst action. This is for those of you living in the DC metro area. If you aren't in the DC metro area try organizing a similar event in your community! Don't hestitate to ask us for any help or more information by e-mailing us at youth@aiusa.org or nsypintern@aiusa.org.

DIGNITY MARCH

For the Dignity of Girls and Women

Japan Must Apologize

When: April 26 (Thursday) at 12:30 pm.

Where: Outside the White House (Lafayette Park side)

Special guest: Former "Comfort Woman" Young Soo Lee.

On Thursday April 26th as 12:30 PM, Amnesty International USA and 121

Coalition will gather in front of the White House to call upon

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to acknowledge the role of the

Japanese government in organizing the enslavement and rape of 200,000

girls and women during WWII. The victims were referred to as "comfort

women," but they were mostly school girls under eighteen, with some as

young as twelve. During their years of captivity, these girls and

women endured gang rape, mutilation, disease, and brutal violence.

Many did not survive.

Over the decades, Japanese officials have issued ambiguous statements

that fail to acknowledge the historical record. They have never made a

clear apology. Recently, Prime Minister Abe has alarmed the

international community by launching a campaign to deny that the

government was directly involved.

On Thursday April 26th, Prime Minister Abe will meet with President

Bush at the White House. Meanwhile, at 12:30pm, we will gather in

Lafayette Park to honor the courage and hear the testimony of Young

Soo Lee, a survivor of a WWII Japanese military rape camp. We will

also give voice to other survivors by reading aloud their testimonies.

At 1pm, we will begin our Dignity March: a silent, peaceful walk in front of the

White House for the dignity of the "comfort station" survivors and

girls and women everywhere who have suffered or are now suffering from

rape, violence, and human trafficking.

We are also calling on citizens or world to participate in Dignity

Marches or candle light vigils and stand with us for truth, human

rights, and global peace.

We hope to see many of you guys out there! Please pass this information along to your friends, classmates, and teachers.

Best,

Nausheen

Thank you for all those who participated in 2007 Get on The Bus in New York City, NY on Friday, April 20^th. GOTB is such a great opportunity to get involved in human right issues with your friends and community and make your voice is heard. We hope all of you had fun and learned something that you never knew before. Do you have pictures or comments of GOTB that you want to share with us? We want to know how GOTB went. Please send us some photos, comments, suggestions for next year of GOTB, at youth@aiusa.org. It's always good to hear from you!

All the best,

wook

Get on the Bus is only a day away! As we mentioned before, this year's GOTB will take place on Friday, April 20^th in New York City, NY. It is now the largest volunteer-run Amnesty International USA's annual event. Last year, we had more than 1,200 students and volunteers that participated and learned about human rights issues Amnesty International was working on.  Don't hesitate to go and make your voice is heard! This will be a tremendous experience you will remember a long time to come. For further information, visit by going to http://www.goth.org/ or http://www.amnestyusa.org/ to take action.

 All the best,

wook

Hey Bloggers,

You can now find the National Student and Youth Program on multiple web pages!

Our most frequently updated and user friendly page is our amnesty page. You can visit by going to www.amnestyusa.org/youth.

We have also created a student page on both Facebook.com and Myspace.com so student bloggers can easily access and partake in online actions and activities.

To visit our Myspace page simple go to www.myspace.com/amnestyyouth. You can check out upcoming events, Amnesty actions, human rights related music and videos all on our page. We also have hundreds of other human rights group friends.

Our facebook page includes recent news and online actions as well. Simply go to groups and search for Amnesty International.

Are you ready? Amnesty International's Get On the Bus (GOTB) campaign will take place on Friday, April 20th in New York city, NY. During GOTB, activists travel to New York City for a full day of human rights action and education. This is such a wonderful opportunity to get involved with other activists and to let your voice be heard. Here are this year's actions.

-Darfur: Protesting the killings and displacement of millions in Darfur; Calling for an end to the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, and for an increase in the number of African Union forces to protect civilians

-Guatemala: Working to end impunity in Guatemala by bringing former Guatemalan dictator, General Efrain Rios Montt, to justice.

-U.S./Guantanamo: Protesting the U.S. government's use of torture against detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and other U.S. human rights violations during the so-called "War on Terror."

-Bhopal: Targeting TIAA-CREF to pressure Dow Chemical to address the health, environmental, and social concerns of the people of Bhopal, India, 22 years after the massive gas leak.

If you need more information, go to www.gotb.org or visit www.amnestyusa.org to take action!

Best,

wook

The 2006-2007 school year is coming to a close and we hope that all of you had a very succesful year for your Amnesty group. We wanted to remind you that registration for the 2007-2008 school year is now open. Please visit www.amnestyusa.org/youth to register your Amnesty group.

We hope that all of you have a great summer and leave this school year well prepared for the next. We recommend electing next year's student leaders now so that they may be properly trained to lead the group in September or August. Feel free to e-mail us at youth@aiusa.org about any questions or concerns.

Best,

Nausheen

 Dear Amnesty Students Activists:

We need your help - in April.   Please circulate and mail in the attached petition calling on the US to support an Arms Trade Treaty, and to indicate its support in a report due to the UN Secretary General by April 30, or June 28 at latest.   (Yes, we know that's odd-don't you wish all your papers had flexible due dates?)

In 2003 Amnesty joined forces with Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms to call for an Arms Trade Treaty.  Many of you added your picture to our Million Faces Petition (thank you!).  In December 2006, 153 Member States of the United Nations General Assembly reached a landmark decision, voting overwhelmingly in favor of taking the first steps towards a legally-binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).  The ATT would ensure comprehensive and effective regulation of international transfers of conventional arms such as automatic assault rifles and other arms, hand grenades and cluster bombs.  States are now requested to submit their views on the feasibility, scope and parameters for a legally-binding ATT to the UN Secretary-General by April 30, 2007 or June 28, 2007.

The United States was the ONLY member state of the United Nations General Assembly to vote against moving forward with the process to develop the ATT, despite the fact that the US already has strong export controls.  The UN process is advancing, and it is important for the US to provide some constructive comments on a possible ATT.  Sign the attached petition and insist that the United States support the creation and adoption of a comprehensive and effective legally-binding ATT and reflect this commitment in its report to the UN Secretary-General on the feasibility, scope and parameters of a legally-binding ATT that it will submit at the end of this month.

(See attached Background sheet and http://www.controlarms.org/ for further information.)

It would be great to have a tally of signatures collected.

Your university _____________________

How many signatures did you collect? __________________

Please send in your count to controlarms@aiusa.org . Thanks!

Are you ready for this year's Get on the Bus? It's just a few weeks away and we hope that you're preparations and plans are in place. This year's GOTB 2007 campaign will be held on Friday, April 20th in New York City, NY. Amnesty International local group 133 is hosting the event. This will be GOTB's 12th year, with over 1,000 students gathering in New York for a day of human rights action. This year's GOTB will feature speakers and actions on human rights in Darfur; the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India; impunity in Guatemala; and US rendition, torture and detainee abuse.

If you guys can't make it to this year's GOTB, we encourage you to organize your own event. For more info on how to do that please email us at youth@aiusa.org.

Best,

Nausheen

As we mentioned before, Amnesty International USA and Warner Bros record will release a compilation album: Instant Karma, the campaign to Save Darfur on June 12th. One of the groups that participated recording in this album, Green Day, announced their upcoming album and music video release to benefit the Save Darfur campaign through their website http://www.greenday.com. Amnesty International encourages every one of you to buy this album and have a great opportunity to help Save Darfur. For more information about Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur, please visit http://www.instantkarma.org or www.amnesty.org/noise.

Best Wishes,

wook

The National Week of Student Action's Make Some Noise: Save Darfur lobbying week will take place on April 9^th through the 13^th. We will be asking Representatives and Senators to press China to use its significant influence in Sudan to help protect civilians in Darfur. Here are some kind lobbying tips to help your voice is heard.

ACCURATE: to build a working relationship and get action, you need to be a credible source of information. Never bluff. If you don't know something, just say so. Tell them you will find out and get back to them. Call Amnesty's Grassroots Lobbying office in Washington D.C for help finding the answers at 202-544-0200. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate to your legislator's staff person that you will follow up!

BRIEF: Members of Congress and their staff are incredibly busy (and so are you). Most Members of Congress represent over 6000,000 people. They appreciate it when you get to your main point and respect their time. Because your meeting or call might be interrupted, get to your main request in the first few minutes. Also, remember that many staffers are already very knowledgeable about Darfur and many not need your whole presentation.

COURTEOUS: Always, always be courteous. A "How are you?" after the initial hello works wonders! On the other hand, being abrasive is almost always counterproductive, and it provides a good excuse to ignore your request.

If you have any questions or need helps, please don't hesitate to contact us at youth@aiusa.org. Good luck to all!

Best,

wook

This year's get on the bus 2007 campaign will be held in New York City, NY. Amnesty International local group 133 is hosting the event on Friday, April 20th. This will be GOTB's 12th year, with over 1,000 students gathering in New York for a day of human rights action. This year's GOTB will feature speakers and actions on human rights in Darfur; the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India; impunity in Guatemala; and US rendition, torture and detainee abuse.

 Are you interested in going?

 Price: $10 + Transportation

If you can't make it to this event...organize your own event on April 20th or even another day! If you need help...don't hesitate to contact us at youth@aiusa.org

Best,

Nausheen

How was the National Week of Student Action week? We really appreciate all of your hard work and effort for Amnesty International USA's Make Some Noise: Save Darfur campaign. As you might know, last Friday, March 30^th, there were rallies at Chinese Embassy in D.C, United Nation Mission in New York and consulates in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco to press China to protect civilians in Darfur and it went well. Here are some awesome pictures from the D.C rally we would like to share with you. We want to know how much your group did. Let us know how it went, what you learned, and what you like to see in the future. We are more than happy to hear from you!

All the best,

wook