UGA Amnesty International

Flash Page Added

2007-04-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

This Weeks Focus

2007-04-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

This weeks topic is U.S. schools and human rights in education. Since this is a new topic for Amnesty, we'll just be discussing how we might get involved in the future. The action we'll be writing instead is on behalf of a deathrow inmate who is now presumed innocent and is going
to have a re-trial.

We'll also have officer elections for next year, so come out and discuss the future of our organization!

Amps For Stamps

2007-04-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

This Weeks Focus

2007-04-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

Former Street boy from Kenya and Documentary Screening
TUESDAY, APRIL 10
7:30 p.m.
SLC 248

International Student Life, Anthropology Society, and Amnesty International are teaming up for this event! Michael Mungai, a former street boy from Kenya, will be coming to screen a documentary about growing up in Kenya amidst all the struggles of a homeless child. There will be a reception beforehand with food a drinks provided, and then the screening, and then time for discussion!

Left Behind is a 34-minute documentary that reveals the devastating effects of AIDS on Kenya's children by exploring the lives of HIV-positive orphans at Nyumbani Children's Home; why the virus spreads in the poverty-ridden slum of Kibera; and the struggle for survival of homeless children in nearby Dagoretti who lost their parents to AIDS.

Through the eyes and voices of the children themselves, as well as prostitutes, slum dwellers and those infected with HIV, Left Behind dramatically exposes the enormity of the challenge that faces all those who seek to help the victims and prevent the collapse of a continent.

Check out www.leftbehindfilm.com for more information or simply search more on "Michael Mungai." He has now come to the United States and lives in Philadelphia, attending classes at St. Joseph's University. He is also involved in other projects and started an NGO
working with AIDS orphans in Kenya (www.dagoretti4kids.org).

This Weeks Focus

2007-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

This week we will have our regular meeting and be advertising for the Battle Against Poverty concert!

The Battle Against Poverty, a battle of local bands and rap artists to raise awareness of poverty in Athens, will be April 7th at Legion Field and is FREE! See http://www.battleagainstpoverty.com for more details.

A message from James, who will be leading our meeting on 04/03 in SLC 267:

We will be talking about racial profiling, one of the few domestic issues that Amnesty USA works on. We will be writing our senators asking them to support Senate Bill 2138 to make racial profiling illegal and to create a process to investigate victims' complaints. In addition to more well-known biases, we'll discuss the newer occurrence of profiling people of Middle Eastern descent since September 11.

National Week of Student Action: Darfur

2007-03-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

This is our National Week of Student Action on Darfur! We kicked off the week with tabling around campus and collected a bunch of signatures to pressure both the US Congress and China.

The other events this week (notice the time change of our Tuesday meeting):

Tuesday March 27
"Darfur Awareness: Lecture and Action"
Discussion of past genocide, the current situation in Darfur, and
letter writing campaign to support humanitarian action. Special guest
drumming performance by Athens group!
6:30pm, SLC 267

Thursday March 29
"Darfur Documentary Screening"
Sponsored by Amnesty International and International Student Life,
with question and answer period following.
7:30pm, SLC 101

We'll also be tabling at the Patchwork of Cultures event in the Brumby Rotunda on Thursday from 4:30-7:30pm. If you can't make it to any events, sign the petition here .

This Weeks Focus

2007-03-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

After a hopefully relaxing spring break, we'll be returning to our regular meeting- Tuesday at 6pm in SLC 267- with an equally relaxing letter writing pizza party! We'll write an Urgent Action for a prisoner of conscious and discuss human rights in the news. We'll also be signing up to help with the National Week of Student Action on Darfur and planning our upcoming trip to the Annual General Meeting in Milwaukee.

Once again, everyone is welcome to join us for FREE FOOD and in writing a few letters in support of human rights around the world!

New Pictures

2007-03-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

These are some new pictures from the Activities Fair in January sent in by our V.P. James Lee. If you have any UGA Amnesty related pictures, please send them to samir@uga.edu.

This Weeks Meeting

2007-03-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

Congratulations on a great success! A few weeks ago we wrote letters in support of Environmental activist Andrei Zatoka, who had been imprisoned for his peaceful work. He was just released!! This is just one case among many others that illustrates how your pressure on governments to observe human rights really works!

This Tuesday, March 6, at 6:00pm in Room 267, Harita will be presenting on the Stop Violence Against Women Campaign (SVAW). We'll be focusing on domestic violence, killings of women Ciudad Juarez Mexico, and women in armed conflict. Join us to learn more about SVAW, hear a speaker from a local women's shelter, learn more about the situations around the world, and participate in an action! For more info, check out the Amnesty SVAW websites and the 2006 issue report.

Annual General Meeting in Milwaukee

2007-03-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT AGM INFO! Contact Tiffany (tiffh@mindspring.com ) if you still want to the Annual General Meeting in Milwaukee. We will be purchasing plane tickets and finalizing hotel reservations early this week.

This Weeks Focus

2007-02-26T17:29:00.000-08:00

This week we will write an emergency action for the Southern Region Focus Case, a Eritrean journalist named Fessahaye Yohannes. We have been writing letters to support him for several years now, but recent reports indicate he died in prison. Come out to SLC room 267 at 6pm on Tuesday to join us in reminding the Eritrean authorities that he is not forgotten!

For more information see the Amnesty report and an Additional article.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Jubilee Partners. The trip was really inspiring and we plan to work more with the refugee program there more in the future. Keep checking our website to see pictures of our tour and talk with Don Mosely, co-founder of Habitat for Humanity!

This Weeks Focus:

2007-02-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

This week we will be discussing "Child Soldiers". If you saw one the showings of "Invisible Children," please bring any ideas or questions that you might have to the meeting. If you have not then you should make an effort to see the film HERE. It covers the plight of "Child Soldiers" in Northern Uganda at the hands of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). "Child Soldiers" are not just limited to Africa, but can be found on every continent and every corner of the world. Please come out and join us this Tuesday the 20th for an important topic of discussion.

Movie Trailer for "Invisible Children"

Quick Intro to Child Soldiers

This Weeks Focus: Shareef Cousin

2007-02-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

This Weeks Focus: Turkmenistan

2007-02-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

This week we will have another country focused action on Turkmenistan.
Shannon be giving a brief presentation on the countries situation since the fall of the Soviet Union and the dangers posed by the recent death of the authoritarian dictator. We will write a letter and plan a creative action for environmental activist Andrei Zatoka, who was detained on December 17, as he was traveling to meet fellow activists, and is believed to be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

If you can't make it to the meeting, you can complete the action online Here!

Darius Goes West Screening

2007-02-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

Don't miss your chance to go see the documentary that all of Athens is talking about. There will be a screening of Darius Goes West @ the Tate Center Theatre this Tuesday the 6th @ 7:00 p.m. This is an inspirational movie that follows Darius Weems, a 15-year-old with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, who had never left Athens, GA. In the summer of 2005, he and a group of fellow UGA students traveled across the U.S. to test accessibility in America. Along the way, they found joy, brotherhood, and the knowledge that life, even when imperfect, is always worth the ride. Tickets are $5 and will go towards Charley's Fund that helps to fund research of DMD. Come out for a great movie and a great cause! Go to the Website for more information on the film.

View The Trailer

Shareef Cousin: Spread The Word

2007-02-01T15:39:00.000-08:00

Spread the word! Death row exoneree Shareef Cousin will speak February 8, 2007 at 5:30 in the University of Georgia Chapel. Shareef Cousin received a death penalty conviction in Louisiana at age sixteen for a murder that took place while he was at a league basketball game. It took three years to correct the wrongful conviction of the innocent teenager. Cousin, now a Morehouse college student and employee of the Southern Center for Human Rights, will speak about his experiences ith the capital punishment system. The talk is free and open to the public. For more information contact Laura Kagel (laura.kagel@gmail.com).

Jubilee Partners

2007-02-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

Also, on February 24, 2007 anyone interested is invited to visit Jubilee Partners in Comer, GA. Jubilee is an organization that helps to acclimate refugees to life in the United States and they have graciously offered to give us a tour and lunch! For more information look HERE and come sign up at the next meeting.

Amps for Stamps: Help Needed

2007-02-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

We are still planning our annual concert fundraiser for UGA Amnesty International. "Amps for Stamps" is how we pay for all the writing material and postage that we use during our meetings and activities. The event itself is also great, with bands like Hope for agoldensummer and Dubconcious already interested in playing at the 40Watt! If you are interested in helping plan the event, contact Maria Doerr (mdoerr@uga.edu).