From ‘Amnesty International’….. From the John Rae Society…...’Tombs of the Isles’ Report & Poster….
by Bernie Bell - 08:30 on 30 May 2024
From ‘Amnesty International’…..
“On this day in 1961, Amnesty International was founded. To celebrate, I want to share the story of our ‘birth’.
In 1961, British lawyer Peter Benenson was moved after reading the story of two Portuguese students who were jailed for raising a toast to freedom.
He rallied a group of like-minded lawyers, writers and more, and organised the Appeal for Amnesty. The rest, as they say, is history.
On 28 May 1961, Peter published an article in The Observer, a popular UK newspaper at the time, titled ‘The Forgotten Prisoners’. In it, he shared a sentiment that may resonate today;
'Open your newspaper any day of the week and you will find a report from somewhere in the world of someone being imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government. There are several million such people in prison . . . and their numbers are growing. The newspaper reader feels a sickening sense of impotence.
Yet if these feelings of disgust all over the world could be united into common action, something effective could be done.
Peter Benenson, The Observer'
Peter Benenson’s dream of uniting people from around the world to take action against injustice came true and, with over 10 million Amnesty International members today, it has likely exceeded anything he could have hoped for.
In the 63 years that Amnesty has existed, human rights defenders have been freed, governments committing human rights abuses have been held to account, and our campaign against the death penalty has seen the number of countries that have abolished it grow from 16 to over 100 since our activism began.
Although officially nearing senior citizen status (bring on that gold card!), Amnesty International is not slowing down. The lifesaving mahi Amnesty carries out is needed now just as much as it ever was, with conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine and the Occupied Palestinian Territories leading to widespread undermining of human rights.
It is urgent that Amnesty International continues to stand with humanity, and your support is what will make that possible.
No matter how long you’ve been a supporter, you are part of the reason that this organisation has been able to continue fighting for human rights for over 60 years. I want to take the opportunity of Amnesty International’s 63rd birthday to say thank you so much for all that you do.
Without you and people like you, nothing we’ve achieved over the last 63 years would have been possible.
Shaun Greaves (he/him)
Executive Director
Amnesty International"
Would you like to play your part?...
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/giving/join/join-amnesty
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From the John Rae Society….
News of a talk…
And my many, many tuppenceworths….
https://theorkneynews.scot/?s=John+Rae+Bernie+Bell
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’Tombs of the Isles’ Report & Poster….
FREE to download,,,
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2024/05/28/toti-downloads/
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