Our last
meeting was a workshop on terrorism, security and human rights with
Caroline Butler, our regional Amnesty trainer.
The
evening focused on how to respond to questions such as “why does
Amnesty defend terrorists”. It was a really interesting and interactive
evening with plenty of discussion and debate.
If
anyone is interested in similar workshop-type meetings next year please
let us know as Caroline is happy to come back.
Group
Meetings
Our next meeting is the Christmas
social at Paul and Naomi’s house at 8pm on Monday December 8th.
From January we intend to
trial a slightly different format to our meetings, to encourage more
involvement. At our public meeting on the second Monday of each month,
we will start at 7.30pm with a news update and a discussion around a
given topic (for example the meeting programme, fundraising ideas or
a specific campaign). The speaker for the evening will start around
8pm
We also have a planning/campaigning
meeting on the fourth Monday of the month at Paul and Naomi’s
in Whitchurch. We intend to try and bring more focus to these meetings
by choosing a different topic for the evening. In November for example
we had an evening of letter writing
Protect
the Human Website
Amnesty International UK
has set up a new campaigning website at www.protectthehuman.com.
The site has campaigning actions, videos and plenty of interactivity
and is well worth a look.
The latest action is asking supporters to e-mail the UK government,
urging them to protect the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
June
Meeting Report
At our AGM in June Jennie
Pickstone and Voirrey cThorstein stood down as chair and treasurer respectively
and we thank them for their contribution to the group.
Stuart Cane
was elected as the new chair and Megan Mandizha as treasurer while Janice
Foxley continues as secretary.
We also had
an excellent talk from Simon Braybrook about his recent trip to Israel
and the Occupied Territories.
May
Meeting Report
Our May meeting introduced
the China campaign which is calling on China to keep its promises it
made to improve human rights when it was awarded the Olympics.
Amnesty is not calling for
a boycott to the games, but is calling on China to ensure that the Olympics
offer a positive legacy, not just sporting, social and economic but
also for human rights.
Instead
China is using the Olympics to make the situation worse by targetting
human rights defenders, using detention without trial to clear the streets
and increasing the suppression of free speech on the internet and by
journalists.
Our April meeting focussed
on two of the group’s ongoing campaigning work in North Africa.
Sudan
Firstly Linda gave an update
of the situation in Sudan. Sunday 13th April marked the latest Global
Day for Darfur, which this year highlighted the plight of children in
Darfur. Of the 4 million people affected by the situation in the region,
1.8m are children, of whom 1 million have been displaced from their
homes.
On the positive side, the
UN has established primary schools in the refugee camps and 28% of the
children now attend primary school, 46% of them girls. However there
is no secondary schooling and many youths end up in armed gangs or as
child soldiers.
African Union troops were
finally deployed at the end of 2007 but they remain under-resourced
and under-equipped so have little effect. The Sudanese government continues
to arm the Janjawid militia with weapons supplied by China and a resolution
seems a long way off.
Amnesty is calling on the
UN Security Council to insist that the Sudanese government immediately
disarm the Janjawid militia, arrest them and prosecute them for the
war crimes they are committing.
Algeria
Naomi then gave an update
on Algeria. Amnesty’s main focus for 2008 on the entire region
is around the response to the “war on terror.” Many terror
suspects face torture at the hands of government agencies, such as the
military police (DRS) in Algeria.
Despite this, the UK continues
to deport terror suspects to Jordan, Libya and Algeria on the basis
of “diplomatic assurances” that torture will not be used.
Amnesty believes that these are unreliable, unenforceable and undermine
international agreements that prohibit torture.
We also continue to call
for information about Djameleddine Fahassi, a journalist who “disappeared
in Algeria in May 1995. We ending the meeting by signing cards for his
wife and daughter Safia and Myriam.
China
Campaign
Our next meeting in May will
be on the China campaign. When China was awarded the Olympic Games,
it promised to improve human rights. Time is now running out and China
is failing to keep its promises. In fact the human rights situation
is deteriorating because of the Olympics as China clamps down on human
rights defenders and censorship of the internet.
To get involved with the
campaign please come along to the next meeting on May 12th.
The Amnesty Cardiff site
is now available in Welsh with grateful thanks to Peter Bradley. Please
note this site may not be viewable in Internet Explorer 6 (please use
IE7 or another browser such as Firefox, Safari or Opera).
November
meeting report In
the year which remembers the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery,
our November meeting about the trafficking of women in the UK was a
solemn reminder that for many people slavery is still a horrible reality.
Basing her talk on the recent Amnesty International report 'Under the
Covers' , we were privileged to have Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru Assembly
Member, to speak to us.
• 'Trafficking in human
beings' means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring
or receipt of people, by means of the threat or use of force or other
forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception,... for the
purpose of exploitation.
• In the UK, there is particular evidence of cases of trafficked
victims in sectors such as the hospitality and catering trade, domestic
labour, care sectors, agricultural and food processing sectors, construction
and prostitution
• It was shocking to learn that within Cardiff and Newport at
any one time there are 60 or 70 women from overseas forced to work in
prostitution, lured to the UK on the promise of work, easy to trap by
unscrupulous but very organised gangs, by their alone-ness and sometimes
lack of legal status.
October
2007 meeting report Our
guest speaker in October
was Mike Lewis, Chief Executive of the Welsh
Refugee Council. He spoke of the organisation's work with assylum
seekers and refugees in Wales who face destitution, withdrawal of medical
treatment and deportation to unsafe countries once their applications
are rejected, In many cases this is because of a process that makes
it nearly impossible for many to comply.
The Group also marked the
International Day against the Death Penalty (10th October) by lighting
22 candles to signify the estimated 22 people executed in China every
day (reliable estimates put the annual total at over 8,000 people, more
than the rest of the world put together.
September
2007
September
meeting report Our first
meeting of the season got off to a good start with our guest speaker
Bernard O’Hear who Amnesty’s China coordinator. He gave
a very interesting talk on the human rights situation in China, which
leads the world in death sentences and executions. An estimated 300-400,000
are held in detention. The death penalty can be used for minor offences
and economic considerations drive the death penalty in China.
He also talked about:
• Fallon Gong;
• the one child policy which since 1979 has led to forced sterilisations
and abortions, as well as the killing of new born babies by "birth
control officials";
• the organ transplant industry - worth 10 million dollars annually.
Although the West appears
unwilling to criticize China because of the economic opportunities contact
with the country offers, Bernard felt public pressure would influence
the government and the Olympics offered an opportunity to do just that.
Amnesty's campaign will run
until after the Olympics and concentrate on 4 main areas
• death penalty;
• human rights defenders;
• freedom of expression;
• freedom of information.
Sponsored
Walk Thank
you to the (disappointingly) small band of walkers who ventured to the
Brecon Beacons this month for our annual sponsored walk.
We expect
to have raised over £400 and will look to ways to encourage more
walkers next year (any ideas are welcome!).
China
Campaign Our main campaign
over the next year will be to highlight the human rights abuses in China,
running up to the 2008 Olympic Games.
At our October meeting we
will be lighting 22 candles to signify the 22 people executed every
day in China - according to reliable estimates, up to 8,000 people every
year, more than the rest of the world’s executions put together.
We will be photographing
the event to send to the local press to publicise the International
Day against the Death Penalty on 10th October.
July
2007
September
9th - Sponsored Walk
After a disappointing turn-our for our poll (see below), the walk this
year will return to Pontiscill. Full details are available on the information
sheet which includes a sponsor form.
AGM
We are pleased to announce that Janice Foxley and Jenny Pickstone are
the new secretary and chair of the Group following the AGM. Many thanks
to Linda for her tireless work as secretary! Voirrey cThorstein continues
as treasurer.
June
2007
Sponsored
Walk
This year our annual sponsored walk will take place on 9th September.
Last year we raised over £1,000 and to encourage sponsors once
again we will be offering bottles of wine and other prizes to some lucky
sponsors who are picked out of the hat.
We would also like to throw
open the choice of walk to the members.
Option 1 - Cefn Onn Country
Park
The first option is a local walk, starting at Cefn Onn Country Park
near Thornhill. The 8 mile walk takes in views of Cardiff and varied
countryside through Caerphilly Common and Rudry.
Option 2 - Pontiscill
Reservoir
For those who fancy something further afield, this 9 mile walk starts
at the Pontiscill Reservoir with the spectacular backdrop of the Brecon
Beacons. The walk has no significant climbs and includes a stop for
lunch.
Option 3 - Ogmore or
Southerndown
We have walked both of the previous options in recent years so the third
option is something new, a coastal walk near the fabulous beaches of
Ogmore or Southerndown.
Vote now!
Please e-mail your vote by 30th June to amnesty.cardiff@btopenworld.com.
We will let everyone know in July where the walk will be taking place
and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.
Sleep Out
There are hundreds if not thousands of people who have come to Wales
seeking sanctuary and are forced into destitution. Amnesty International
is involved with the Still Human Still Here campaign, and will be supporting
Sleep Outs across the UK to protest against government policies that
force people into abject poverty. The Sleep Out in Cardiff is on 6th
July. Please e-mail wales@amnesty.org.uk if you would like to be involved.
New Office - New
Team?
Amnesty Wales have moved to Temple Court, a former synagogue in Cathedral
Road. They are also about to advertise a new part-time position and
new volunteer positions - all of which will be on their website (www.amnesty.org.uk/wales).
Do keep checking if you are interested in working or volunteering for
Amnesty International.
e-zine
Make sure you sign up for the Wales members e-zine. e-mail sct@amnesty.org.uk
to ensure that you are getting the monthly update especially for Welsh
members.
April
2007
Trafficking
Amnesty Wales have been working on a report on human trafficking for
the sex trade in Wales, which gives a shocking insight into a fairly
widespread industry. They hope to publish this report in May, and will
then develop a campaign to ensure that victims of trafficking in Wales
receive better support.
Some of you
may also have read about the Slave Britain, the photographic exhibition
currently on view in St Pauls Cathedral. We are hoping to bring this
exhibition to Cardiff in May, in conjunction with the Church in Wales.
More details to follow.
Refugees
and Asylum Seekers
The focus in the run up to the elections has been on getting something
practical agreed by the parties to improve access to services for refugees
and asylum seekers, and you can see what has been achieved at www.keepawelcome.org.uk
Wales e-zine
Cathy and her team have recently published the first Wales version of
the members e-zine. Its an edited version of the e-zine that goes to
all members, with an update on specifically Wales-based events.
To sign up
join My Amnesty on the AIUK website (www.amnesty.org.uk), or e-mail
sct@amnesty.org.uk, and request that you receive the Wales e-zine. The
more members registered with e-mail addresses, the easier it will be
to contact people in Wales to support Wales-based campaigns and events.
Joan Baez Concert
We are delighted to report that Amnesty were invited to collect money
at a concert by Joan Baez in March and raised a staggering £669
just by shaking a few buckets!
In
the year which remembers the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery,
our November meeting about the trafficking of women in the UK was a
solemn reminder that for many people slavery is still a horrible reality.
Basing her talk on the recent Amnesty International report 'Under the
Covers' , we were privileged to have Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru Assembly
Member, to speak to us.