Volume 1 | Issue 2

November 2016

If we have no peace it
is because we have
forgotten we belong to
each other.
-Mother Teresa

UAIS Amnesty
International:
November Newsletter
Hello Everyone! Welcome to the November edition of UAIS Amnesty
Internationals monthly newsletter! Amnesty International is an
organization of people, like us, that campaign for a world where
human rights are enjoyed by all. We have opened up more positions
such as Heads of Campaigns and also another board position! This is a
great way for people passionate about causes that are of significance
to them to inform the club! We will hopefully be having a fundraiser
soon! We hope that you will all help us in our dream of helping the
world! We had interviews at our last meeting. Thank you to all those
who applied and congratulations I would also like reiterate that you
do not have to agree with Amnestys stance on every issue, do not feel
like you are being forced to believe something as we do respect that
people have different opinions.

Meet our Board!

Elina Arbo, Junior, President
Magda Wojtara, Junior, Vice President, Newsletter
Dina Qiryaqoz, Junior, Secretary, Meeting Minutes
**NEW POSITIONS: Meghan Biernat Relations(marketing) Rep.
Lauren Pietryga

Public Relations Rep.

Recent Accomplishments

Recent Successes

Domestically:
Execution Blocked: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of
execution to Jeffery Wood, who was scheduled to be executed in Texas He
was sentenced to death in 1998 for a murder committed during a robbery
of a convenience store in 1996. He was sitting in a truck outside the store
when the murder took place.
Execution Blocked: The United States Supreme Court issued a stay of
execution in the case of Ernest Johnson shortly before he was due to be
put to death in Missouri on 3 November.
Death Sentence Commuted: The Governor of Missouri commuted the
death sentence of Kimber Edwards to life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole four days before he was due to be put to death.
Internationally:
Released from Solitary Confinement: Canadian-Irish-Iranian citizen Dr
Homa Hoodfar, a prominent professor of anthropology, was released on 26
September and flown out of Iran to Oman. She had been detained in
solitary confinement.
Released: Mohamedou Slahi who has been held in Guantanamo without
charge and without trial since 2002 has been transferred back to his home
in Mauritania.

North Dakota Pipeline: What you need to know.

North Dakota Pipeline

There is a pipeline that is being suggested to be placed on Sioux land. This

pipeline is a violation of a treaty that was put in place many years ago by the
Federal Government. Native Americans are not the only ones who are opposed to
this: Farmers, ranchers and landowners are opposed as well because their land is
being taken against their will and given to the pipeline. A woman was arrested for
protesting the pipeline on her own farm after the Dakota Access LLC claimed it
against her will. The pipeline would threaten entire ecosystems and the water
supplies for countless people in that area.
This is not the first time that the federal government has broken a treaty with the
Sioux. In 1868 land was given to the Sioux peoples by the Treat of Fort Larmie.
Only 11 years later the US government waged the Great Sioux war and
renegotiated a new treaty with the starving Sioux. The Sioux had to cede much
land that was believed at the time to contain gold.
Violence is occurring at the protest site but not from the protesters. The pipeline
police along with the national guard and sheriffs have turned this peaceful protest
into a violent standoff. The protestors have endured being pepper sprayed, tear
gassed and violently arrested. Early reports of the protestors being armed have
been proven false. They are being attacked for their peaceful right to protest.
There are some ways that YOU can help them! You can send them supplies and
donations through these links. http://sacredstonecamp.org/supply-list/ and
https://www.gofundme.com/sacredstonecamp
You can call the North Dakota governor: 701-328-2200. Please remain
professional when stating thoughts and opinions.
Sign the petition to ask the White House to intervene:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-construction-dakota-accesspipeline-which-endangers-water-supply-native-american-reservations
Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-28/5-things-you-need-knowabout-dakota-access-pipeline-protests

Write for Rights : 1st/2nd week of December

We will again be hosting a Write for Rights day at our school! We welcome all
people from our school, including staff members, to join us in helping to change
lives. (at the bottom there are pics from last years event)

Write for Rights

Last year we wrote close to a hundred letters. This year we hope to make an even
bigger impact, but, we need YOUR HELP! So, mark your calendars and come to
our Write for Rights event! We will be supplying postage and also some examples
of what to write. If you cannot make this event but would like to participate,
please contact any of our board members so that we can give you deadlines and
more information! There are 12 cases this year. Here are brief descriptions of
them and if you would like to learn more visit Amnestys official write for rights
website.
Egypt: Shawkan- Photojournalist jailed for doing his job
Malawi:Annie Alfred & others- Child with albinism hunted for her body parts
Peru: Mxima Acua- Attacked by Police for speaking out
Cameroon: Fomusoh Ivo- Facing 20 years in prison for a TEXT
Canada: Peace River community- Indigenous people are struggling to save their
ancestral lands
US: Leonard Peltier- jailed over 40 years after unfair legal process
Iran: Zeynab Jalalian- taking her eyesight away due to Torture after jailing her
Azerbajjan: Bayram and Giya- students tortured and jailed for graffiti
China: Illham Tohti- professor serving life sentence for fighting discrimination
US: Edward Snowden- pardon whistleblower and not traitor
Turkey: Eren Keskin-lawyer arrested over 100 times for speaking out for human
rights
Indonesia: Johan Teterissa- teacher tortured and jailed for waving a flag.

Syrian Refugees in Greece put their tent on Airbnb

A group of Syrian refugees say they have been living for 3 months in a tent
refugee camp in Ritsona, north of Athens.
The post writes:

They promise
scorpions,
dehydration and
broken promises.

This is a real opportunity to experience life as a Syrian refugee. While EU

politicians talk about refugees, you can have an authentic refugee experience
tents, wood-fire cooking, 41 degree heat, marginal sanitary situation, friendly
scorpions, broken promises, even dehydration. There is free parking as well as
portable toilets used by 600 refugees. If you are lucky you might get one of the
two hot showers. There is a large vacant lot where the toilets are, which
children use as a playground. Please join in the games. Medical help is rarely
available but should be fine for a short term stay; just imagine if you had to
stay here for months.
This post really reflects the way of life for the lucky ones. Often if they did not
die back in their war-torn, politically unstable homes they die on the journey to
these camps. But, these camps are not a solution and becoming a refugee is
not a choice. Refugees are often moved to these registered camps set up by the
government while they are working on resettling them. Aid groups criticize the
camps for being so unhygienic, poorly-equipped and inappropriate for the
prolonged stay.
The EU came up with a plan to resettle 160,000 asylum seekers stuck in Greece
and Italy (just these two countries alone) but so far only 2,400 have been resettled
after months.
In another deal that has been passed in March, migrants would be sent back to
their home countries but the migrants have challenged this plan citing it is
inhumane and illegal. One plan states that refugees be sent to turkey, however:
Turkey is not a safe place for refugees we have documented
cases of refugees, including children and pregnant women, being
returned to Syria. The legal safeguards are not in place. As
some migrants were sent back to Turkey, others arrived on
dinghies from the Turkish coast. (via telegraph.co.uk)

Art 4 Amnesty: GREEN LIGHT by Olafur Eliasson

The geometry of Green light was developed with Einar Thorsteinn as part of his
long-standing research into fivefold symmetry.

Green light is an
act of welcoming,
addressed both to
those who have
fled hardship and
instability in their
home countries
and to the residents
of the cities
receiving them. I
hope Green light
Shines light on
some of the
challenges and
responsibilities
arising from the
current refugee
crisis in Europe
and throughout the
world.
-Olafaur Eliasson

Olfaur Eliassons Green Light project is meant to draw attention to and donate
money towards refugees and migrants. Individuals purchase a Green Light lamp
and the proceeds go to non-governmental organizations that help refugees and
migrants. The green lights are made from recycled and sustainable materials and
can function on their own or be combined into more complex structures.
Participants work together to build complex structures from these lights in a
communal environment. It is not a single piece of artwork but rather a project
that was conceived by Olafur Eliasson.
There are two workshops for this project on the website:
http://olafureliasson.net/greenlight/
Moody Center for Arts, Houston
24 Feb.-May 2017
TBA21- Augarten, Vienna
12 March- 29 July 2016
Here are some photos from the TBA21 workshop: