• Show Notes
• Podcast
• Index
• Bonus Video

Show Notes

Margaret Jackson from Amnesty International‘s local KW chapter Group Nine talks to Bob Jonkman about this year’s Write For Rights campaign, describes some of the cases that are being written about, the petition to BC premier David Eby about the criminalization of the Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders, and gives some info on joining the Group Nine chapter.

Previous episode on Write For Rights: CKMS Community Connections for 6 December 2019 with Sandee Lovas of Amnesty International Group Nine

Website: https://amnesty.ca/ (Amnesty International Canada)

Upcoming Events

• Amnesty International KW Chapter (Group Nine) Write For Rights
  

  • When: 11:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday 9 December 2023
  • Where: Kitchener Public Library, Meeting Room D
  • Location: 85 Queen Street North, Kitchener, Ontario Map 1
  • E-mail: groupnine9@gmail.com
  • Package: Case letters for 2023 (PDF file, 172 kBytes)

Podcast

Download: ckms-community-connections-2023-12-08-episode148-Amnesty-Internationals-Write-For-Rights-with-Margaret-Jackson.mp3 (53 MB, 57m50s, episode 148)

Index

Time	Title	Album	Artist
0m00s	Theme for CKMS Community Connections ccc	CKMS Community Connections	Steve Todd
1m12s	Joy To The World	(single)	Jamie Bonk
4m45s	Margaret Jackson tells us about Write For Rights, focusing on ten cases for this campaign, sending a blitz of letter to government and other people involved in human rights abuses. This has been quite effective; half-a-million letters for each case can’t be ignored. Margaret tells us the details of some of this year’s cases. In some cases the letters get sent to the individuals directly, sometimes they go to a local Amnesty office and are forwarded to the recipient. These letters are always appreciated.
24m38s	Margaret reads her letter to David Eby, premier of British Columbia and former KW resident, to express her concern over the criminalization of the Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders.
32m03	Christmas Comes By Rail	A Merry Little While	Onion Honey
35m08s	Margaret tells us how the Write For Rights works. It’s at the Kitchener Public Library, downstairs in meeting room D. People can sign pre-printed letters, add an illustration or other artwork on a postcard. The Group Nine chapter will take care of mailing them out.
39m05s	This year Margaret wrote the standard letters, based on ideas of what should go in the letters from the Amnesty International campaign. Margaret adds that these letters come from Kitchener-Waterloo, and adds some information about each case to help the people who come in. The last in-person Write For Rights was in 2019, the past two years it was held as a ten-day e-mail blitz. The letters were printed, signed, and dropped off in a mailbox at a member’s house. This year there’s an e-mail letter sent to the government of Tunisia. Letters don’t have return addresses, but people are encouraged to sign their name, city, country, and postal code.
43m53s	For people who can’t come to the library there are online petitions at https://writeathon.ca, all of the information is available there. You can contact local chapter Group Nine at groupnine9@gmail.com and they can send you a package of case letters. The mailbox is still available at the member”s house until 15 December 2023.
47m32s	Margaret tells us that the letters are generally received well, because Amnesty International has a good reputation world-wide; people trust the information they get from Amnesty. There is nothing Amnesty can do in the way of applying economic pressure or sanctions; but perhaps local chapters can apply pressure to their local governments to act.
50m08s	Group Nine meets regularly on the first Tuesday of the month at Conrad Grebel college. There are speakers, either from Group Nine or from other agencies. Group Nine also participates in local events, like the Multicultural Festival and the Waterloo Pow Wow. Group Nine consists of about twelve core people, another 20 who help out at events, and a large number of people who are signed up for their e-mail list. People can get involved by sending an e-mail to groupnine9@gmail.com to come to the meeting. There is no cost, but people who make a donation become Amnesty International members and get to vote at their annual general meeting. Group Nine was the ninth group in Canada, now there are hundreds of groups. Margaret gives a bit of history of Amnesty International.
56m45s	Margaret recaps the info for Write For Rights and Bob gives the end credits.

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Bonus Video

Download: CKMS Community Connections for Friday 8 December 2023, 204.6 MB

Show notes and podcast interview content is Copyright © 2023 by the participants, and released under a Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders.