Above, Local Group 356 had a booth present in International Peace Day activities in Putnam.
February 2009
Welcome to Our Group on the WWW
We are a dedicated group with an active membership of 35 based in Webster, MA and affiliated with the Northeast Regional Amnesty International Office. We work toward the goals of Amnesty International by letterwriting to free prisoners of conscience, sponsoring a prisoner of conscience, campaigning for human rights issues, co-organizing events with local colleges, fund raising, non-violent protest, and much more. Our call to action is directed from Amnesty International USA.
Active in 2008
Emanuel Asrat of Eritrea. who was jailed with other journalists in 2007 is still imprisoned. We have no further information at this point as information from Eritrean authorities are few and far between. We do believe he is still imprisoned and is still thought of as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International Our Special Focus Case, Mesfin Woldemariam was released into the welcoming hands of his family. Not all of the journalists who were detained with Mesfin were released though. We were then given the case of Fathi-El Jahmi, a political reformist who was detained twice and is now held in a prison hospital under supervision. His health is deteriorating and his family is very concerned.Actions and Events
Here are some actions and events that our group participated in in 2008:- Summer Postcard Campaign & Banned Books Action - mailed over 100 postcards
- Screened AI film Justice Without Borders, about the International Criminal Court at Jacob Edwards Library, Southbridge, MA
- Participated in the International Peace Fair in September in Putnam, CT
- Celebrated December International Human Rights Day at the home of Dr. Alex and Duchy Mahendran hosting our annual AI Holiday Greeting Card Party, sending over 250 seasonal greeting cards directly to prisoners of conscience around the world
- Members attended the Northeast Regional Conference held at Boston University in November
