Amnesty International
I can't say enough good things about Amnesty. It's so easy to get involved and it does so much good. Basically, Amnesty is a grass-roots human rights organization. They work to promote human rights awareness and assure human rights for all people. Each year they focus on several campaigns in different countries -- from women's rights to the death penalty to religious rights. They also have weekly urgent actions in which they will focus on political prisoners and prisoners who are being tortured and ask you to write letters to the governments of the countries in order to get the prisoners released. You can read about all the people who have been freed because of the letters. They've redesigned the website so you don't even have to write your own letters anymore. Just go to the site, pick a case that interests you, and there will be a form e-mail for you to send. It's so easy, and you will help so many people.
Free Leonard Peltier
Mr. Peltier is an Indian rights activists and was involved in the American Indian Movement and many of their protests during the 70s. In 1975 he was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Many things went wrong in his trial, including the withholding of evidence that would have proven his innocence. And now he has been in prison for 25 years and all the avenues of appeals have been exhausted, so Amnesty International is asking that he be given clemency. Yes, it's a tragedy that two FBI agents were killed, but countless Native Americans have been killed in the history of this country -- and many were killed during the same shootout in which these FBI agents were killed -- and no one has been punished for their deaths.
More to come!
