Student Activism

Dear activists,

 Today is the first day of the National Week of Student Action!!!! We hope you're all planning some great events for this week. Please please please tell us about your events. You can post them on the NWSA website.

If you need help or ideas for your events, check out our organizing kit and website for helpful hints. Remember, your actions this week are vital to our cause! We need all of you to help wake up Congress and get our representatives to make a change!

In Solidarity,

 The NWSA team 

Since May 2007, Senator Harkin's bill to close Guantánamo has had no activity. The bill would require the closure of Guantánamo with 120 days of its passage, and require that the U.S. either charge detainees with crimes or return them to their home countries.

Urge your Senators to co-sponsor this bill (S. 1496)! Call, email, write them; whatever you have to do!!

We need your support to make change happen!!

Hey all!!

 Check out the latest YouTube Contest entries!!

Say No to Torture
What is Guantánamo?

You guys are doing an AWESOME job!!

 Keep it up!

Poems from Guantánamo, published in August 2007, is a collection of poetry from 17 of the detainees at Guantánamo. It took the hard work and diligence of pro-bono attorneys to get the work published.  Below is poem by Sami al-Hajj, whose case Amnesty International has been working on.

HUMILIATED IN THE SHACKLES

When I heard pigeons cooing in the trees,
Hot tears covered my face.
When the lark chirped, my thoughts composed
A message for my son.
Mohammad, I am afflicted.
In my despair, I have no one but Allah for comfort.
The oppressors are playing with me,
As they move freely about the world.
They ask me to spy on my countrymen,
Claiming it would be a good deed.
They offer me money and land,
And freedom to go where I please.
Their temptations seize my attention
Like lightning in the sky.
But their gift is an evil snake,
Carry hypocrisy in its mouth like venom.
They have monuments to liberty
And freedom of opinion, which is well and good.
But I explained to them that
Architecture is not justice.
America, you ride on the backs of orphans,
And terrorize them daily.
Bush, beware.
The world recognizes an arrogant liar.
To Allah I direct my grievance and my tears.
I am homesick and oppressed.
Mohammad, do not forget me.
Support the cause of your father, a God-fearing man.
I was humiliated in the shackles.
How can I now compose verses? How can I now write?
After the shackles and the nights and the suffering and the tears,
How can I write poetry?
My soul is like a roiling sea, stirred by anguish,
Violent with passion.
I am a captive, but the crimes are my captors'.
I am overwhelmed with apprehension.
Lord, unite me with my son Mohammad.
Lord, grant success to the righteous.

You can find the book at most major bookstores! Check it out if you're interested!!

Hey everyone!  An amazing event is coming to a city near you!  Amnesty International is launching a multi-state tour to bring a life-sized replica of a Guantánamo prison cell to cities across the country, stopping in key congressional districts and media markets to stiffen Congress' resolve on critical issues of torture and Guantánamo Bay.

Guantánamo has become a symbol of what has gone wrong with the U.S. led "war on terror" including waterboarding and other forms of torture.  Every day the facility remains operational, the more damage it does.

The cell tour will help to pressure Congressional legislators who are on the fence to take a stand and close Guantánamo for good.

Keep an eye out for key dates and locations when the cell tour comes to a city near you.

Keep up the great work!

Justin

p.s. Here is a link to a podcast from Amnesty International's observer to Guantánamo

Hello all,

As NWSA draws nearer, I hope you're all taking some time out to write letters and send urgent actions.  An important component of generating change after NWSA is to write letters to your representatives to urge them to take action on issues you care about.  Letter writing has been AI's most important activism tool since it's creation in 1961.  Governments and officials simply cannot ignore an issue if they are being flooded with letters urging them to do something.  It shows that people around the world care and it's almost impossible to ignore. 

So this year, our NWSA focus is closing Guantánamo.  Let's write letters to our officials and get them to close this abomination to human rights and stain on our record.  Your letter, combined with thousands of others will make a difference.

What are you waiting for? Get started!! Scoot!

-Michelle

Hey guys,

We hope you're all planning some great activities for the National Week of Student Action.  It's only a few weeks away!!

NWSA is a great opportunity for you to work with other groups, especially on topics you're passionate about.  Collaborating with other groups will bring bigger audiences to your events and acquaint you with other groups/activists you may want to work with in the future.

Check out AI's Coalition Building Tips on the National Week of Student Action page.
Start contacting groups today!! Together, you can host some awesome, successful NWSA events.

Yay!

Hey everyone,

We need your help!!

On Saturday, President Bush vetoed a bill that would restrict CIA interrogation techniques to those listed in the Army Field Manual.  In short, the bill would have outlawed waterboarding and other techniques that constitute torture.  The veto against the bill means that these techniques are still "permissible."

This is unacceptable!!! I urge to you to PLEASE write a letter to your local paper or media outlet expressing your concern and/or outrage.  You can find talking points on AIUSA's website if you need help getting started.

Kudos to all for your awesome support,

Michelle

GET READY FOR THE NATIONAL WEEK OF STUDENT ACTION

If you haven't received the Organizing Guide for the NWSA you can download it here. In the guide you can find plenty of ideas on events you can plan for your week of action. Among other things you can find a teach-in guide which is full of tips on how to organize a teach-in to raise awareness on the issue and learn more about it yourself! AIUSA also provides you with the opportunity to get speakers to come to your events and share their expertise on the issue! Keep your eyes open for the Speakers List that will be available soon on our web page! Getting an interesting person to come and share their experience in the field and/or talk about their first hand experience can make more people interested in standing up against torture! Good luck with your planning! We hope you're all excited - we definitely are!!

~ Malin

Hello activists!

As you all know, Kenya has been having a rough year.  The violence that followed the presidential elections left 1,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. 

On February 27, activists around the world held rallies and vigils for Reach Out for Kenya day. Activists in Washington DC held a vigil in front of the Kenyan Embassy. For more information about events around the world and the crisis in Kenya, click here.

The disputing parties have reached a power-sharing agreement, but there is still much to be done before peace can take hold. We still need to Reach Out for Kenya, today!!!

Click here to take action for Kenya's human rights defenders.   

You guys rock!

-Michelle

Amnesty International is announcing a YouTube video contest where Amnesty Groups submit a video that expresses their views on Guantanamo! Videos will be shown on our YouTube channel and will be shown across the country with a touring exhibit of a replica Guantanamo Cell.  The top 5 will also be shown on the Amnesty USA website and the Amnesty USA '08 National Conference.

Here is a quick introduction on what is required of the video:

Please remember that the deadline is fast approaching (March 21^st to be considered for the top 5) so start making yours today!  This is a great opportunity to express your group's creativity while influencing those around you.

For rules and information regarding the contest take a look at the YouTube video contest flyer

 -Justin

UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Learn more about the legal framework against torture to understand why and how the international community has condemned all forms of torture! One of the most important international legal instruments is the UN Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The UN Convention Against Torture advises states to take measures to prevent torture and forbids states to return people to their home country if there is a risk that they will be tortured. The convention was adopted by the General Assembly on December 10, 1984 and came into force on June 26, 1987 when the 20^th state party ratified the Convention. The three first articles of the Convention are some of the most important ones; article 1 defines torture, article 2 defines among other things what responsibilities the states that have ratified the Convention have to prevent torture and article 3 specifies that a state cannot send people home to a country where they risk being tortured. The two last parts of article 2 is interesting; they state: ii. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. iii. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture. Check out all the details of the Convention and learn more on what the international community has agreed on!

Because the Convention went into force on June 26, this date is now considered as the International Day in Support of Torture Victims. Keep your eyes open for actions for June 26 this year - more things will be posted on our website when the day comes closer!

~ Malin