"Write for Rights" Potluck, Dec. 6th

Join in the Amnesty International “Write for Rights Global Write-A-Thon” at a potluck dinner on Sunday, Dec. 6th, 6pm at Unitarian Universalist Church West, 13001 W. North Ave. Brookfield, WI. Sponsored by UUCW and the Candlelight Coalition, a local peace group.

Enjoy good food and fellowship while engaging in a very positive project to support global peace and human rights.. Every December, Amnesty International organizes an intense letter writing campaign on behalf of 10 human rights activists from around the world who are imprisoned or under threat for their actions. The hundreds of thousands of letters generated during the two week Write for Rights alerts the governments holding or abusing these individuals that the world is watching. Every year, Amnesty is able to report that a number of these prisoners of conscience are released and for others the conditions of their detentions improved.

Bring a dish to share, about 10 non-denominational greeting cards, a pen, and friends. Open to the public. Upper elementary, middle school, and high school students are encouraged to attend.

Some of the human rights activists included in this year’s campaign are:

Aung San Suu Kyi – Myanmar. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate under house arrest for nearly two decades who continues to be a beacon of hope and change for her country.

Azam Farmonov and Alisher Karamatov –Uzbekistan. Members of the independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) who were detained in 2006 as they defended the rights of local farmers. After an unfair trial and torture, they were sentenced to nine years in prison.

Rita Mahato –Nepal. A women’s human rights defender, she has received threats of death, rape and kidnapping as a result of her work assisting women who have suffered from acts of violence. The police have failed to provide Rita with protection, or investigate the threats, and she fears for her life.

Shi Tao –China. In 2004, journalist Shi Tao used his Yahoo! email account to send a message to a U.S.-based pro-democracy website. Police charged him with "illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities." Authorities used email account holder information supplied by Yahoo! to convict him and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Read the stories of all of this year’s activists and how you can help them at http://www.amnestyusa.org/writeathon/cases.php

Questions? Contact Ann Heidkamp, 414-771-8099 or heidkama@wi.rr.com