UAIS Amnesty International:

January Newsletter

A Right Delayed is A
Right Denied
-Martin Luther King
Jr.

Welcome to UAIS
Amnesty Internationals
January newsletter!
Amnesty International is
an organization of
people, like us, that
campaign for a world
where human rights are
enjoyed by all. We have
been busy with the
district wide Write and
Art for Amnesty Event
which took place on the
6th. Currently we are
talking about Human
Trafficking.

We hope that you will all

help us in our dream of
helping the world! If you
have any issue that you
would like to talk about
please do contact any of
our board members with
your ideas on how to
present it to the club J 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, President
Magda Wojtara, Vice President, Newsletter
Dina Qiryaqoz, Secretary, Meeting Minutes
Meghan Biernat Global Relations (Urgent Actions) Rep.
Lauren Pietryga Public Relations Rep.

Write and Arts for Amnesty: Cases

Amnesty Write and

Arts for Rights
Event Cases and
Photos

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 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.
This event we had on the 6th also helped our area raise awareness on
the cases via Art. Here are some photos from the Art for Amnesty
portion:

Write and Arts for Amnesty In Review

As youve seen in previous newsletters Art for Amnesty is a creative way to

support Human Rights through many mediums! Whether it is through cartoons or
hands-on workshops, arts for amnesty aims at using various artistic forms to
promote human right causes and create an awareness for current issues! We had
an event which had ways for everyone to participate. People could write letters to
get people freed, write letters of support to the people involved or create artwork
that raises awareness for the cases and for Amnesty Internationals work. There
was an amazing turnout for this years event and we hope to continue to grow! We
have even inspired some other schools to start THEIR own chapters. Needless to
say we are very proud to have worked alongside everyone at this event and we
hope to see them continue to be advocators of human rights. Pictured Below:
Some of our Write for Rights and Art for Rights Committee.

Amnesty Write and

Arts for Rights
Event and Photos

Write and Arts for Amnesty In Review

Amnesty Write and

Arts for Rights
Event and Photos

Pictured Above Left (Shelby Host) and Above Right (Meghan Biernat and Adelle Sievert)

Above (Juniors Hard at Work) Below (some attendees pose for a photo by concessions)

2016: Was it all that bad?

I encourage all of you to visit Amnestys website for their recent updates on Human Rights and
specifically their year in review work. It is amazing to be able to see what all of us played a part
in whether it was directly through an event such as Write for Rights or in other ways.
A lot of people have taken to social media saying that 2016 was a horrible year. But, 2016 was a
successful year for human rights as there were many people that have been helped by Amnesty
International and its constiuents around the world.
For a more comprehensive list that this was based off of visit Amnestys Website
25 REASONS WHY 2016 WAS NOT ALL THAT BAD, All these people and cases below are
now Amnesty International Successes! :

Amnesty Year in
Review: 2016

1. Albert Woodfox, USA: 43 years spent in Prison

2. Mazen Mohamed Abdallah, Egypt: Confession was Extracted
3. Kostantyn Beskorovayni, Ukraine: Released from Secret Detention Facility
4. Mahmoud Hussein, Egypt: Arrested for wearing a shirt that said Nation W/o
Torture
5.Phyoe Phyoe Aung, Myanmar: Previous Write for Rights Case Released
6. Maria Teresa Rivera, El Salvador: Prison sentence for a miscarriage
7.Jose Marcos Mavungo, Angola: Jailed for Peaceful demonstrations
8.Khadija Ismayilova, Azberaijain: Journalist Freed
9. Yecenia Armenta, Mexico: Freed after being forced to confess
10.17 Angolan Youth Activists, Angola: Jailed for forming a Reading Group
11. Ildefonso Zamora Baldomero, Mexico: Environmental Activist
12. Belen, Argentina: Sentenced to Prison for a miscarriage.
13.Fred Bauma & Yves Makwamba, DRC: Previous Write For Rights case
14.Homa Hoodfar, Iran/Canada: Womens Rights campaigner
15. 31 peaceful protestors, Gambia: Jailed for Peaceful Protest
16. 293 people freed, Iraq: Many held without charge and abused in detention
17.100 people freed, Nigeria: Detainees included many children under the age of
6.
18.World Football (FIFA) will now be monitoring working conditions at World
Cup Venues
19.Chad War Criminal Convicted
20. Alireza Tajiki, Iran: He was saved from being executed
21.Maldives and Indonesian executions averted
22.Ghina Wadi, Syria: 10 year old who was evacuated and given life saving
surgery
23.Burkina Faso passes laws eradicating child and forced marriages
24.Malawi: new laws protecting people with Albinism
25.Canada and Australia: Step forward for Indigenous Rights

Human Trafficking Statistics

A topic that we will be introducing at our meeting in January is the issue of
Human Trafficking. Here is some background information and statistics for
everyone to see the true magnitude of this issue.

Human Trafficking is a crime, it involves an act of recruiting, transporting,
transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or
other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. (US Federal Law excerpt
found on caseact.org)
There are approximately 12.3 million victims (US Department of State)
The average age of entry is 12-14 years old (via caseact.org)
California is a hot sport for domestic and international human trafficking due to a
large population, international borders, large economy, extensive ports and
metropolitan regions (via caseact.org)
Human Trafficking is the 2nd LARGEST CRIME in the world today. Second only to
drug trafficking. (according to US Department of Health and Human Services)
1 in 3 runaways end up captured and sold into this industry within 2 days of
living on the street. (via caseact.org)
Human trafficking is not human smuggling! Trafficking removes freedom of
choice! ( via caseact.org)

Art 4 Rights: Cindy Shermans Untitled Film Stills

This series portrays the artist as different characters in movie

stills. The artist has stated that this is a feminist work.

Art 4 Rights

Her work enacts female clichs from 20th-century pop culture & asks us
to examine how women are portrayed in the media.

Art 4 Rights: Cindy Shermans Untitled Film Stills

This project of hers began in the fall of 1977. It is comprised of 70

photographs. Her work can be found at the MoMA.