Following the release the Honorary Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, Taner Kilic, after more than fourteen months behind bars, Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International’s new Secretary General said:
“We are overjoyed at this news. It has taken us more than a year of campaigning and struggle to get here. Taner has finally been freed and is safely back in the arms of his wife and daughters.
“But beneath the smiles of joy and relief there will be sorrow, anger and a steely determination. Sorrow for all the things Taner has missed during his cruel incarceration. Anger that the baseless charges against him and the Istanbul 10 have not been dropped. And determination to continue our fight for human rights in Turkey and for the release of all those human rights defenders, journalists and others who have been unjustly jailed in the vicious crackdown.
“Today we take a moment to celebrate, but tomorrow our struggle will continue, re-energized by the example set by Taner himself: a man who knows the importance of human rights and is willing to dedicate his life to defending them.”
Associate Professor Munjed Al Muderis fled Saddam Hussein’s Iraq after refusing to cut off the ears of army deserters. Today he is one of Australia’s – and the world’s – pioneering orthopaedic surgeons. Story as told to Annika Flensburg.
A young doctor in Iraq
I was 27 years old in 1999, living very happily in Baghdad. I was a young doctor at Baghdad University Hospital and everything was fine. But then one day, when I was doing my usual rotation as a surgical resident, things changed.
I was confronted with three busloads of army deserters escorted by republican guards and Baath [political] party members. They ordered us to mutilate the soldiers by cutting their ears off. The head of the department refused and they put a bullet in his head in front of everybody.
“It was the most challenging point in my life. I didn’t want to leave Iraq.”
It was the most challenging point in my life. I didn’t want to leave Iraq, but I had to make a decision: obey the orders and live with guilt for the rest of my life, violating every principle I was brought up on; or refuse and end up with a bullet in my head like my boss.
I didn’t follow the orders – instead I hid for hours until most of the soldiers had left. I never went home that day – after defying orders it was too dangerous. I left the hospital in a taxi; the only option now was to leave Iraq.
Seeking asylum
Within a few weeks I arrived at Christmas Island on a fishing boat. There is one moment that I will never forget. I started interpreting for the Federal Police and there was one official who asked, “When was the last time you spoke to your family. Do they know whether you are alive or dead?”
I said no, so he told me to sit on the ground. He pulled out a satellite phone from his pocket. “Don’t tell anyone because I am going to put my job on the line and I’m breaking the law. Call your family and tell them that you are safe and that they may not hear from you for many years to come.”
That was the most important phone call in my life. I am forever grateful to this person; I’ve never met him again – I don’t even know his name. There is a lot of goodness inside everyone in Australia.
“That was the most important phone call in my life. I am forever grateful to this person; I’ve never met him again.”
Coming to Australia
But there is also another side. When I came to mainland Australia I was put into Curtin Detention Centre (in the Kimberley, Western Australia). I was stripped of my human identity and marked with the number 982 on my arm. That was my name for the rest of my time there.
The excuse was that there are a lot of ‘Mohammeds’ and a lot of ‘Alis’. My response to that is there are a lot of ‘Johns’ and a lot of ‘Smiths’ and that is not an excuse to dehumanise a person and call them by a number.
I was singled out as a troublemaker. I was very outspoken and documented what happened inside the detention centre. I witnessed people being beaten, spat at, harassed – treated like animals.
The stories I am telling happened to me and they happen to many people, again and again. But they come across as fictional because nobody would imagine that such atrocities can happen in a country like Australia.
Australia’s top orthopaedic surgeon
I was brought up to be strong and to look at the glass half full. Life is too short to hold grudges and feel sorry for yourself. The minute I walked out the doors of the detention centre, released into the street, alone, I took a bus from Derby to Brisbane, Brisbane to Perth, Perth to Adelaide, Adelaide to Melbourne and Melbourne to Sydney.
Throughout the journey, whichever city I passed through I went and knocked on doors looking for a job. My first job in Australia was toilet cleaning and it is an honourable job. I was brought up to understand and believe that work is an honour, a view shared by many people.
In the end I arrived in Sydney and I was absolutely disorganised. I did not have any help, I had to fend for myself. To become a doctor in Australia I had to go through the formal registration process to get recognised as a medical practitioner.
My first job as a doctor was in Mildura, Victoria. I have a lot of friends from the detention centre who are also doctors and a lot of them are now rural doctors, serving their communities.
“I have a lot of friends from the detention centre who are also doctors and a lot of them are now rural doctors.”
But I came from a war-torn region where people regularly lost limbs. For some people this is worse than dying, because it fundamentally changes their lives; there is a fear of being dependent on others, not being able to work and provide for yourself.
So today I am a pioneering orthopaedic surgeon, helping people who have lost their legs to walk again. When Prince Harry visited Australia he asked to meet me because I operated on one of his best friends who had surgery to both legs after serving in Afghanistan. He came to the hospital I work at and visited patients with me. It was a great recognition.
Rebuilding a life
Australia opens its arms to people because the majority of Australians are good people.
Programs like community sponsorship, where individuals and communities can contribute towards a refugee’s placement in a new country, are brilliant. I would be more than happy to sponsor a refugee if the government allows it.
Right now, the government places refugees in congested, low socio-economic areas in Sydney and Melbourne, and that is not a solution. Instead we should place people where they can prosper, integrate into the community and have a positive impact. Armidale and Shepparton have thrived in using this system.
If Australia copied Canada’s program it would help get people away from the terrifying conditions they are living in.
Refugees here should be seen as a benefit too, like they are in Canada.
The end of July brought some amazing good new stories about human rights defenders across the globe. Check out the latest wins and updates that you helped make happen.
Three great wins!
Sadat I. was released from detention in Texas. His case for asylum has been reopened and he now has a chance to live in safety.
Sadat fled Ghana in November 2015 after being beaten by members of the vigilante group ‘Safety Empire’. Sadat was identified as gay by the group after they beat and interrogated his partner and posted a video of the beating on Facebook. This publicly exposed Sadat as a gay man in a country where homosexuality is illegal. Sadat was detained when he arrived at the US-Mexico border and claimed asylum in January 2016.
Seventeen year old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimiwasreleased following her wrongful imprisonment in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Ahed Tamimi and her family faced frequent violence from the Israeli army for protesting against the theft of their land and loss of water as result of Israeli settlement – a war crime stemming from Israel’s 50-year occupation of Palestinian land in the West Bank. Ahed was arrested on 19 December 2017 after her mother posted a video showing Ahed slapping and kicking two Israeli soldiers in her home village of Nabi Saleh on 15 December.
Political cartoonist Zunar and lawyer N. Surendranhave beenacquitted of all changes under Malaysia’s Sedition Act. Zunar was charged with nine sedition charges in 2015 for allegedly insulting the judiciary in tweets relating to then opposition leader.
Hope for more good news soon.
After more than 1,000 days since lawyer Wang Quanzhang went missing in China, his family received confirmation that he is still alive. He has been able to see his lawyer. These developments happened in July because you took action – please keep up the good work and continue to take action.
Tibetan language rights activist Tashi Wangchuck reports feeling supported, knowing that people are working with him to end his imprisonment. He has been reading lots of Buddhist scriptures, continues to study Chinese, and has started learning English. Tashi and his lawyer are working on a request for appeal against his five year sentence for “inciting subversion”. Please let authorities know that we want Tashi out of prison by taking action.
Learn more, and take action.
You can keep up to date with case updates, and take action for brave human rights defenders like these here.
Solitary confinement of children should be ended in Western Australia, an inquiry into allegations raised by Amnesty International Australia has found today. The recommendation is one of five in the WA Inspector of Custodial Services’ report, which WA Corrections Minister Fran Logan must implement immediately, said Amnesty International.
The WA Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services’ today released its report ‘Directed Review of Allegations made by Amnesty International Australia about ill-treatment at Banksia Hill Detention Centre’, examining alleged mistreatment of two young people.
The report found the young people were ‘probably’ held in conditions that constituted solitary confinement under international law and, if so, the Department of Justice was in breach of the UN Convention against Torture.
Amnesty International welcomes the report’s five recommendations, addressing the main allegations raised by the organisation.
WA law fails international standards
Most significantly, the report finds that WA laws governing confinement of children ‘are obsolete, outdated, and inconsistent. They fail to meet international standards.’
Amnesty International urges Minister Logan to immediately implement the report’s recommendations to amend the Young Offenders Act 1994 and the Young Offenders Regulations 1995.
“It’s a stain on Western Australia that these domestic laws don’t meet the standards of international law. The previous Government began a review into the Young Offenders Act and regulations, but the review has stalled under this Government. It’s high time Minister Logan finalise this review and brings these laws up to standard, so that no WA child is ever held in solitary confinement in the future,” said Tammy Solonec, Amnesty International Australia’s Indigenous Rights Manager.
In response to allegations that young people were excessively handcuffed, the report noted poor record keeping regarding the use of handcuffs and recommended that all uses of physical and mechanical restraints are recorded, including reasons for their use.
Regarding allegations that children were forced to ‘earn’ their bedding each night, the report recommended any removal of a young person’s bedding from their cell happens only when the young person is at risk or in a short term holding cell, and that both the removal and reason for removal are recorded.
Responding to concerns that young people were regularly either self-harming or threatening self-harm, the report recommended that children’s caregivers be notified whenever a young person has self-harmed, or attempted or threatened self-harm. It conceded that ‘due to weaknesses in notification procedures and recording’ they could not confirm when the detainee’s mother was contacted, how often or why.
The report also recommended the Department of Justice prioritise allegations of misconduct, abuse or poor treatment for internal assessment and investigation.
Inadequate record-keeping, CCTV deleted
Throughout the report, the Inspector acknowledges that inadequate record-keeping makes it impossible to substantiate some of the allegations. It was noted that Banksia Hill deletes CCTV footage after 28 days, footage that would have been crucial in proving or disproving the allegations.
“It shows how poor the record-keeping is when even the Inspector, who has unfettered access, cannot gather the evidence to conclusively examine these allegations,” said Tammy Solonec.
“These children are in the care of the Department, which must keep thorough records and retain CCTV footage of children’s treatment.”
FOI request refused, transparency needed
Amnesty International’s Freedom of Information requests into further allegations at Banksia was recently refused, a decision now being examined by the WA Information Commissioner.
“The children of WA deserve better. It’s time for Minister Logan to be transparent and address what’s going on inside Banksia prison and in WA’s broken youth justice system. Fundamentally, he must shift the WA youth justice system from the current punitive model that places vulnerable children at risk, towards a therapeutic approach that supports children and their families so they don’t offend in the first place.”
Indigenous children are the most at risk in WA’s youth justice system, being 32 times more likely to be locked up in WA than non-Indigenous children. Many of the children at Banksia have disabilities, with a recent report showing one in three have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and one in nine have some form of neurological impairment.
The Inspector notes this is the seventh report on Banksia Hill in six years, due to the ongoing problems in the centre. Without Government action, the inspector warns Banksia Hill “will again descend into chaos and dysfunction.”
The Malaysian authorities have acquitted and dropped all charges against political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar “Zunar” Ulhaque, alongside lawmaker R. Sivarasa and civil rights lawyer N. Surendran.
Zunar, a political cartoonist, has been targeted numerous times by the Malaysian authorities as a result of his political cartoons
In 2015 Zunar was charged with nine sedition charges for allegedly insulting the judiciary by criticising the jailing of then-opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Twitter.
This wasn’t this first time Zunar was targeted for expressing his opinion. Zunar had already been detained twice, and five of his cartoon books had been banned by the Malaysian Government on the grounds that their content was “detrimental to public order”.
His office was raided many times throughout the years, and three of his assistants were arrested in 2014 for selling his books. The online gateway that handled purchases of Zunar’s books online was forced to disclose to the police a list of customers who had bought his books.
Despite the arrests, charges, and detention, Zunar continued to draw, challenging the government’s crackdown on dissenting voices. In 2015, he was awarded the Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Malaysia’s Sedition Act
Zunar was charged under the Sedition Act, a law that stifles freedom of expression under the guise of protecting national security. Amnesty International has continually expressed concern about the use of this colonial-era law, which was originally used to target people calling for Malaysia’s political independence.
Since 2013, Malaysian authorities have made increasing use of this draconian law to silence dissenting views. In 2015, amendments to the law were passed in Parliament, expanding its reach to cover electronic media. This granted authorities sweeping powers to arrest, lock up and impose harsher penalties on critics.
How did you respond?
Amnesty supporters have campaigned for three years for the charges against Zunar to be dropped.
In 2015, Zunar was featured during Write for Rights, our annual letter-writing marathon. Millions of supporters sent letters to people in power during Write for Rights to demand that they create a more just world. Over 18,000 Australians emailed Malaysian authorities asking them to drop the charges against Zunar, and all of those actions have finally helped secure his freedom.
Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Amnesty International’s Malaysia Researcher, said:
“Zunar, Sivarasa and Surendran have shown great courage in shining a spotlight on injustices such as corruption and abuse of power. Their acquittal is a positive development but the Malaysian authorities must do more to protect people who dare to speak out.”
“The new government must take this opportunity to usher in a new era for human rights by fully restoring freedom of expression and abolishing the 1948 Sedition Act, an archaic piece of legislation which has been repeatedly used to target dissenting voices. The authorities must also drop any other charges under the Act and, pending its repeal, ensure that no one else is arrested, investigated, charged or imprisoned under its draconian provisions.”
Ahead of a planned “Unite the Right 2” rally in Washington DC and the anniversary of the Charlottesville tragedy on August 12, Amnesty International USA’s executive director Margaret Huang, said:
“Failure from our leaders to denounce racial and ethnic hatred has only emboldened those who wish to normalise discrimination.
“When President Trump persists in promoting policies that target and imperil the rights of people of colour, immigrants, refugees, Muslims and others, it is more important than ever that people take action against institutionalised discrimination.
“Last year we saw the tragic results of what happens when authorities fail to ensure the safety of those targeted by the hateful ideology of white supremacy.
“The right to protest should not be used as license to intimidate, harass and harm others.”
From gun violence and police brutality to sexual violence and harassment, young people — in all their diversity — around the world are living violent realities. Yet, in a new wave of human rights activism, these young trailblazers are rising up, taking action and calling for change, while juggling school, university and jobs.
AMERICAS
“The only way to heal was to take action” – Jaclyn Corin, 17, USA
I never imagined it would happen to me. Parkland was labelled the safest community in Florida, but when tragedy hit and a mass shooting took place at school, I knew the only way to heal was to take action.
When my friends and I came together, we didn’t have a plan. We literally started work on a living room floor. Being young worked in our favour. We weren’t adults trying to guess what worked for young people and we weren’t asking for permission. Other kids from across the nation saw what we were doing and felt they could do it too.
Being survivors of a school shooting meant people listened to us. We were angry and loud. The reaction to what happened to us helped build our movement faster than we could have imagined. It is amazing to see the impact we’re having, but there’s also a sense of guilt, as this has arisen out of something so horrible.
We created March For Our Lives because our friends who lost their lives would have wanted us to take action. We’re doing it for them.
I am inspired by… the kids who are doing something to make a difference – the girl who is running for school board, or the others running March For Our Lives. It’s the people and the present that inspires me.
There are two sides to life in a favela. On one side, there’s a strong sense of community. On the other there is police violence, fuelled by inequality and racism. Every day people are violently murdered because of the colour of their skin.
I’ve seen a lot of violence in my life, with many young people imprisoned or murdered. Others are forced into the criminal underworld just to survive. In Brazil, there’s a national discourse around the drug problem and how the authorities are choosing to combat it through violence. In my community, 12 people have been murdered in the past two months.
I don’t want to sit by silently. As a human rights activist, I am determined to campaign against the ‘war on drugs’ and call for an end to violence in my community. We’re holding demonstrations in the street and staging street theatre to get our message across. I firmly believe these small actions will get our message across to a wider population.
People used to stay silent when someone was killed, but that’s not the case now. Every day, we fight for our lives. It’s a violent reality. My tattoo reads ‘Believe’. Even though it’s hard to have faith, my tattoo is a reminder of how far we’ve come.
I am inspired by… simple down to earth people, such as my mother, father and friends. They’re living the same reality, but are continuing to fight to improve things. Despite the hardship, they still smile. That’s a real inspiration.
March For Our Lives was created because something had to change. The Parkland shootings marked my sister’s birthday, Valentine’s Day. She was at school. When I heard about the shooting, I tried to contact her, but she wasn’t answering. I went to her school, trying to figure out what had happened. My sister survived, but in that moment, I knew the situation had to change.
Everything we’ve done since February 14 has been based on what we think is right. So far, it’s worked. We’ve organised trips to lobby state representatives, held a student town-hall with CNN, where numerous young people came together to speak out, and organised the March For Our Lives, which saw over 800 marches take place in numerous countries.
Lots of people want to make out like we’re something special, but we’re just normal kids willing do something about this problem. It’s crazy to see the tangible difference we are making. So far, we’ve seen 25 new laws passed across 15 states. It’s one thing to see a shift in mentality, but to see something being done to actually save lives is on a different level.
We’re not afraid, because we know what we’re doing is right. We carry on because many people who died in the Parkland shooting made a conscious effort to save someone else. We’re just trying to perpetuate that.
I am inspired by… other students who take a stand, such as Jaclyn. There’s a wonderful senior named Caitlin who organised a protest in Ocala, Florida, an area where there’s loads of gun stores. More supporters attended her rally than the governor’s.
Twitter:@MattxRed
“I have a voice and I am not afraid to use it!” – Zachir Enrique José, 18, Chile
Young people are constantly told they don’t know their own reality. It’s very frustrating. I identify as non-binary. People don’t know who we are. We don’t exist in language or everyday life. We’re assigned a gender by force, but we don’t get a say in it. When I told my family I was non-binary, they didn’t understand.
I want to make sure young people know their sexual and reproductive rights. Through workshops, festivals, books and fanzines, I am educating young people about their rights. It’s not for everyone, but most people thank me after the workshop. These issues aren’t often spoken about in Chile and when we do speak about them, it’s done in a way that makes them happy.
As a human rights activist, I will continue to raise my voice. I am resilient. Yes, I’ve experienced difficulties, especially as so many people treat sexuality as a joke, but there are people with empathy, so we will continue to empower each other. I have a voice and I am not afraid to use it.
I am inspired by… activists across my network!
“Sexual violence happens so often in Peru, people think it’s normal” – Yilda Paredes, 23, Peru
Behind our smiles, there is fear. A fear of living a life filled with violence.
In Peru, girls and young women are unprotected. We’re not allowed to have an abortion, apart from in exceptional circumstances. Just recently, a man burned a young girl alive in a bus. This happened near to my house.
I have been a victim of harassment. My ex-boyfriend used to stalk me. He threw rocks at my house, followed me everywhere and started rumours. I was forced to change my mobile number and the way I live. I even considered dropping out of university.
I found strength through my friends as well as my work with Amnesty International. When people found out about my situation a lot of girls and women started coming to me for advice, saying they’d experienced similar situations. Sexual violence happens so often in my country, people think it’s normal.
I am now training be a lawyer and I am a human rights activist, campaigning on issues such as women’s rights, LGBTI rights and indigenous people’s rights. There are many of us who want to see a change in our community. We deserve to have our voices heard and respected.
I am inspired by… women such as human rights defenders Maxima Acuna, from Peru, and Marielle Franco, from Brazil, who was shot dead earlier this year. They both fought for our rights.
Becoming a human rights activist was a natural process. I’ve been interested in social justice issues since I was 12. From 1973 to 1990, Chile was under the Pinochet dictatorship and there were a lot of human rights violations. Learning about the history of my country inspired me to become a human rights activist. Now I work on issues such as youth, migration and sexual and reproductive rights.
In Chile, girls and women are not allowed to have an abortion and many have died because of it. Last year, the National Parliament passed a ruling, stating abortion would be allowed in some circumstances. It was a great victory, but right after the bill was passed, a new government came into power and limited its impact. Amnesty International is educating young people on this issue through its My Body, My Rights campaign and it’s having a huge impact. It’s beautiful to see how it’s developed.
Nowadays, I work on human rights education, teaching children about their rights. It fills my heart and gives me motivation. Everyone deserves this opportunity. As part of Amnesty International’s Youth Collective, I am working on youth issues at a global level. It’s inspiring, as I’ve met so many people and made so many new friends, which means our work reaches new places.
I am inspired by… my friends, those who I met through this work and along the way. My friends who work on My Body, My Rights, are younger than me, but they’re so strong and passionate. They travelled to remote areas of Chile to educate people. It’s very inspiring.
AFRICA
“Seeing people take action feels good” – Haafizah Bhamjee, 22, South Africa
Period poverty exists, especially at university. You can’t even talk about menstruation, let alone whether you can afford sanitary products, so girls suffer in silence. It’s dehumanising.
My friends and I are trying to change this, through our #WorthBleedingFor campaign. Most people think university is a luxury for the rich, but it’s not. Poor people go to university too. Some students sleep in the library, others line up to receive grocery packs, while lack of access to sanitary pads is a real problem. We’re pushing for universities to install sanitary pad dispensers in bathrooms, we’ve contacted the local government to provide free pads for girls in schools and we’re encouraging girls to speak about their experiences.
Seeing people take action feels good. The change is gradual, but it’s exciting. Just recently, a group of girls made a video about #WorthBleedingFor showing our campaigning work. Knowing we’d reached out and had an impact was amazing.
I am inspired by… Winnie Mandela. She was fiery, driven and never stopped campaigning.
Student fees are continually rising, and it is systematically excluding bright young minds. This is why, like thousands of other young South Africans, I was part of #FeesMustFall protests – the largest student-led movement in South Africa since the Soweto uprising of 1976, where black school kids stood up to protest against apartheid. In October 2015, we embarked on a systematic shut down of our university system.
Over the course of two years (2015-2016), we experienced police brutality, victimisation and demonization. My friend, and successor as Student Representative Council President, Shaera Kalla, was shot in the back 13 times, at close range by policeman firing rubber bullets. She was unable to walk for almost six weeks. Another student, Kanya Cekeshe, was sentenced to eight years in jail. Hand-grenades were thrown at us and tear gas was fired. I still bear the psychological scars of what I experienced.
Even though our call was eventually met with a favourable response and tuition fees were not increased, it left me feeling agitated and angry. Change is not an event, it is a process and this process is not happening fast enough. Young people need to be at the forefront of shaping change. For too long youth issues have been on the periphery while leaders have been fixated with power and holding on to it. When the youth realize that we have the power and agency to shake the core of the system, we could be an unstoppable force for social justice
I am inspired by… the youth activists who rebel against a system that ignores and excludes them. It’s these young people who give me hope and make it clear our struggle must continue. As long as there are young people who are going to sleep hungry, can’t afford to go to school or are unable to access their most basic rights, our work must continue.
I used to think human rights advocacy was just for professionals with a strong legal background. It’s not.
At university, students aren’t listened to. When I was a student, I advocated for students to have an active, powerful voice on issues that mattered to them. Campaigning for youth rights was fun and inspiring. As a young person, I wanted to campaign for positive change.
We go to university to carve successful career paths. However, students are confronted with harsh realities of joblessness, corruption, discrimination and a host of other injustices. I experienced this first hand when I left university. Instead of giving in to hopelessness, I volunteered with social justice initiatives.
I am 28 now and a year into my first stable job. Now I have a job, I feel as though I need to hold on to it and I’m grateful my current role complements my volunteering work. In a way, human rights activism saved me.
Seeing the impact my work is having makes me feel good and it encourages me to keep going. If people try to bring me down, I smile and ignore them. I know my story and I know where I want to go.
I am inspired by…. Amnesty International Kenya’s Country Director – Irũngũ Houghton. Since he joined the team this year, my work ethic has shifted. He constantly coaches me to challenge myself as a human rights defender and young leader.
At least half a million people were massacred during the 1965 tragedy in Indonesia, and it’s my job to document stories of the survivors. I organise community survivor groups and bridge the gap between generations. It’s important young people understand our country’s past. As a human rights activist, I don’t want to see injustice. I want to work with others, share knowledge and take action, but being a human rights activist isn’t easy in Indonesia.
Last April, I was part of a cultural event alongside numerous other human rights defenders. I was Master of Ceremony. A violent group came and barricaded us into the building for eight hours. It was terrifying. More than 200 people were trapped, including children. They used rocks to smash the glass, we were fired at and were at risk of being beaten. After we were released, my face was splashed all over the media.
The whole incident was very traumatising. I work so hard to make change possible, but that’s not how it’s perceived. I’ve learnt to deal with what happened and I want to educate people about my work. If people have an issue with it, I want them to talk to me and have an open discussion. Standing up for what you believe in doesn’t make you a bad person. We just want justice and equality.
Through Amnesty International, I’ve met and worked with other human rights defenders from across Asia and it’s good to feel part of a global network. It’s an opportunity to share the work we’re doing, as well as our problems and the lessons we’ve learnt. By standing together, we can inspire each other.
I am inspired by… an Indonesian activist called Munir. He was so inspiring, brave and always told the truth. He stood with the people.
When I speak out, I feel empowered. Making my voice heard was something I struggled with growing up. I told my parents I was gay when I was 19. Compared to some of my friends who came out, I am lucky, as I am still able to live at home.
It’s not always easy, though. My parents don’t approve of my sexuality and it’s hard to find common ground. Most of the time when I go home, I don’t talk to anyone.
I’ve found hope through human rights activism. When I talk about issues I am passionate about, I feel appreciated, as though I am making a difference.
Youth human rights activism plays a huge role in my life. Alongside my role at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), I am also part of Amnesty International’s Youth Collective. So many young people face similar struggles and it’s an opportunity to share my story with others and tell them it gets better – and once it does, it’s a responsibility to ensure other queer people everywhere enjoy their freedom as much as you do. It takes a long time to know yourself, but it helps when you find people who you want to talk to; they become your chosen family. When you find that group, you see things from a different perspective and feel much more appreciated.
I am inspired by… the LGBTI community. Many people had it much harder, and I wouldn’t be able to be myself if it wasn’t for them.
Women’s rights are violated every day in Morocco. I know people who have been harassed and assaulted, whose right to freedom of expression has been violated, and those who have faced unfair trials. That’s what makes me want to fight for human rights.
After I graduated, I started working with Amnesty International at a local level on its Brave and I Welcome campaigns.
My aim is to create an environment where people are tolerant, open-minded and there’s an understanding of human rights. Through I Welcome, I encourage people to see beyond the refugee label and listen to the stories behind it.
I mostly work with other young people on these campaigns. It’s an opportunity to meet people who have had similar experiences. By taking part, young people tell me they feel a lot less lonely and part of something important. Many of us have also used the skills we’ve gained to educate people at home, about issues such as women’s rights.
I am always thinking about ways I can make a change and have an impact. For me, it’s a hobby. Even when my parents tell me to rest, I tell them that promoting the importance of human rights makes me feel good!
I am inspired by… Nelson Mandela. He inspires us all. I also seek inspiration from people from my hometown. They motivate me to make a difference.
EUROPE
“We can change the way someone looks at the world” – Mariana Rodrigues, 22, Portugal
My dad is a bit of a revolutionary. He taught me to think outside the box, so when I see something I want to change, I do something about it. All my activism is based around this.
When I went to university, I was approached by an Amnesty International fundraiser. The organisation’s work was so inspiring, I decided to become a face to face fundraiser after I graduated.
Fundraising provides an opportunity to change the way people think and to educate people about what’s going on in the world. I talked to a lot of people who had different ideas about refugees. After we spoke, they realised the importance of welcoming people into Portugal. It proved that most of world’s problems stem from a lack information. It is possible to overcome hate
It’s possible to change the way someone looks at the world and Amnesty, as well as my sustainable clothing project, provides a way of doing this. It’s incredible to be part of a youth network that provides an opportunity to meet activists from all over the world.
I am inspired by… people who continue to speak out in places where it’s hard to do so.
New Aussie film, The Merger and Amnesty International today announced an exciting partnership to highlight the positive welcome communities can offer refugees and take a strong message of inclusivity to cinemas around Australia.
The Merger is a tale of a struggling, small town footy team that recruits refugees to survive. Director Mark Grentell and producer Anne Robinson have joined with comedian/actor/writer Damian Callinan to adapt to the screen his award-winning, stage show of the same name.
“By presenting the refugees as part of the solution to Bodgy Creek’s problems, our hope is that those who deem them opportunistic outsiders, see that they have more in common than they previously thought.”
Damian Callinan, who also stars in the film in the lead role of coach Troy Carrington.
“By presenting the refugees as part of the solution to Bodgy Creek’s problems, our hope is that those who deem them opportunistic outsiders, see that they have more in common than they previously thought,” said Damian Callinan, who also stars in the film in the lead role of coach Troy Carrington.
Amnesty International’s My New Neighbour campaign is seeing communities across Australia standing with refugees and calling on the Australian Government to expand and improve the Community Sponsorship program so that more families can rebuild their lives in safety.
“It’s a neighbourhood-led solution to helping people who are in need of protection and a new home and fits seamlessly with the welcoming message of the film,” said Shankar Kasynathan, Refugee Campaigner at Amnesty International, who along with his parents and sisters found refuge in an Australian town not dissimilar to Bodgy Creek.
“Every day communities around Australia welcome new neighbours into their neighbourhoods. Sometimes those new neighbours are refugees and the role sporting clubs like the AFL play in welcoming them so that they can rebuild their lives in safety is crucial.
“As someone whose family has benefited personally from the goodness of our neighbours and new community, and now standing with the broader Amnesty community, we’re all really excited to be joining forces with The Merger to take this message to audiences around the country.”
Shankar Kasynathan – Refugee Campaigner at Amnesty International
“As someone whose family has benefited personally from the goodness of our neighbours and new community, and now standing with the broader Amnesty community, we’re all really excited to be joining forces with The Merger to take this message to audiences around the country.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Amnesty on The Merger,” said Director Mark Grentell.
“When we set out to make the film we always hoped desperately that it would speak beyond itself as a film and to the refugee cause more broadly. Amnesty is the perfect partner to help us make that happen and their #mynewneighbour campaign is a wonderfully positive initiative that connects the film in a very direct way.”
Director Mark Grentell.
“When we set out to make the film we always hoped desperately that it would speak beyond itself as a film and to the refugee cause more broadly. Amnesty is the perfect partner to help us make that happen and their #mynewneighbour campaign is a wonderfully positive initiative that connects the film in a very direct way,” said Director Mark Grentell.
The Merger will have its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 11 August at the Comedy Theatre, a national launch in Wagga on 28 August, and then open in the rest of the country from 30 August.
Background
Community sponsorship is a model where ordinary members of the community are able to sponsor visas for refugees, who wish to begin the process of rebuilding their lives in safety in Australia. However currently the community sponsorship program in Australia is capped at only 1,000 places this year and for every privately sponsored refugee, the government takes a space away from the annual humanitarian intake of 13,500.
Amnesty International Australia has been working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to defend Indigenous rights for over a decade. August 9 isInternational Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, and we think it’s the perfect time to look back on the significant contributions and progress Amnesty has been part of, together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
2007
July: A motion was passed at the Amnesty Western Australia Annual General Meeting (AGM), then at the National AGM to undertake domestic Indigenous rights work in the Northern Territory, following the ‘Little Children Are Sacred’ Report.
2008
January – July: Noongar activist Helen Ulli Corbett appointed as Amnesty International’s first Aboriginal National Board member. Ulli was replaced by Ngadju Noongar woman Sheena Graham (July 2008 – Nov 2010) and then re-appointed July 2010 – June 2013.
2010
Amnesty International’s first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) was launched, largely focused on human rights education of our staff and Board. We set up a RAP project team to ensure ongoing progress on the goals and commitments set out in our successive RAPs and other reconciliation plans.
Amnesty hosted rights-holders Barbara Shaw, Richard Downs, Janine Gertz and Stephen Ross to advocate and host a side event on the Northern Territory Intervention, focusing on the income management and homelands.
2010 – 2015: Amnesty worked with volunteers, interns and law firm Clayton Utz to review the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) and shared the findings with the Change the Record Coalition, who host the work on their website.
2011
Amnesty worked with impacted communities in Utopia in the Northern Territory and launched the Homelands campaign, advocating for their right to remain on their ancestral homelands. Amnesty Secretary-General Irene Khan came out to Australia to launch the report, and later that year the team took rights holder Rosalie Kunoth-Monks to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
March: The Commonwealth and Territory governments committed to supporting NT homelands, announcing $221 million dollars in funding over the following 10 years, ensuring basic services like clean water, garbage collection and sanitation.
2013
We successfully campaigned to have children in Western Australia moved from the Hakea Adult Prison.
2014
We campaigned alongside many other organisations to #SaveTheRDA when amendments were threatened to the Racial Discrimination Act, arguing successfully for no changes.
2014 – 2016: We campaigned against the forced eviction and demolition of the Oombulgurri community in the Kimberley, supporting the SOS Blak Australia protest movement to stop further community closures and then monitored the reforms underway.
We spoke out about the horrors of the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in the NT following reports of tear gassing children.
March: Amnesty made a submission to the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Reform, calling for the removal of discriminatory clauses from the Australian Constitution.
June: We launched “Community Is Everything”, a long term campaign to end the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the criminal justice system. We released a National report — ‘A Brighter Tomorrow’ — with Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty and a report on Western Australia, ‘There is Always a Brighter Future’, both calling for law reform and Indigenous-led solutions.
We spoke out about the horrors of the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in the NT following reports of tear gassing children.
2015 – 2016: AIA’s second Innovate RAP was endorsed by Reconciliation Australia.
2016
Amnesty became a signatory to the Family Matters Campaign, run by the peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocacy body for Indigenous children, SNAICC.
April: We worked with the Change the Record Coalition to raise attention on the issue of over-representation on the 25th anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC).
July: Wannyi Kalkadoon lawyer and advocate Sandra Creamer appointed to Amnesty’s national board (the third Aboriginal Board member).
August: The Royal Commission into Youth Detention in the Northern Territory was convened following the exposure of abuse on the 4 Corners Show, “Australia’s Shame”. Amnesty seconded an Indigenous Rights Campaigner to the Aboriginal Peoples Organisation of the Northern Territory (APO/NT) to assist with their submission and inform our work.
September: We launched our third research report for the Community is Everything campaign, Heads Held High, in Brisbane about the Queensland youth justice system. As a result, we saw a number of huge wins, keeping more kids in communities and out of detention.
Late 2016: the proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act came up for debate again, with the announcement of the inquiry “Freedom of Speech in Australia”. We made a submission on 23 December 2016 and did advocacy in March 2017 when the amendments were debated, resulting in only minor amendments to the Act and the preservation of section 18C.
2017
April – September: We worked with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on her visit and report on Australia, which made many recommendations in alignment with our campaign, and in September took the Community is Everything campaign to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
May: We worked in partnership with organisations in Victoria to successfully have children moved from the Barwon adult prison.
Late 2017 – 2018: We formally joined the growing movement calling on the Government to #ChangetheDate of our national day so that all Australians can join the celebrations. In 2018 Amnesty staff were given the option to work on 26 January and nominate an alternative day to substitute for the public holiday.
The Palaszczuk Government must act now to keep around 150 Queensland children as young as 10 years old from losing their childhoods in prison each year, said Amnesty International in Brisbane today.
The Queensland Government is currently harming 150 children across the state per year at a crucial time in their development, by locking up children aged 10 to 13. This is far younger than the rest of the world, where the median age of criminality is 14.
Amnesty International today released a summary paper outside Queensland Parliament House, calling on Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women, Di Farmer, to raise the age Queensland locks up children to 14, in line with the latest medical research and with international standards.
QLD locks up the most young kids
The moment is now for Minister Farmer to make this change, with the Queensland Youth Justice Strategy currently being drafted and due for completion in November.
Queensland is in a position to show national leadership on the issue, as it locks up the highest number of 10-13 year old children in Australia.
“No child should be kept in a tiny cell, separated from their family. But, across Queensland, little kids as young as 10 are being locked up – far younger than the rest of the world and at the highest rates in Australia. Indigenous children are the worst affected; it’s not fair and it’s not right,” said Belinda Lowe, Indigenous Rights Campaigner at Amnesty International Australia.
Services, not sentences
The problem vastly affects Indigenous children, who are 30 times more likely to be locked up in Queensland than non-Indigenous children.
Shane Duffy, CEO of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (QLD), said, “Indigenous kids face a higher risk of poverty, poor health, disability and family violence, as well as discrimination, such as being more likely to be stopped by police, and given custodial sentences by magistrates. That’s why this government needs to stop criminalising such young children, and instead support the excellent Indigenous-led programs around Queensland that will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children the best chance in life.”
Dr Li-Zsa Tan, Fellow with the Australasian College of Physicians, said, “Behavioural and neuroscientific studies show the brain undergoes an intense period of development and synaptic change during prepubescence and adolescence. These changes directly affect how children perceive and react to risk-taking under peer influence, and these issues are compounded in vulnerable communities.
“Paediatricians recognise that the current minimal age of criminal responsibility does not address factors contributing to juvenile crime, and is in fact detrimental to a child’s health and social development.”
Therapeutic approach more successful
Locking up young children in fact creates more adult offenders. The Queensland Family and Child Commission found children locked up before the age of 14 are three times as likely to become chronic adult offenders than children locked up after 14. Imprisoning 10-14 year old children also makes them less likely to complete high school, to complete further education and training, and to gain employment.
Today’s summary paper echoes the findings of the recent Report on Youth Justice, led by ex-Police Commissioner Atkinson, that the Queensland Government would better prevent offending and give 10-13 year old children more of a chance to overcome problems in their young lives by switching to a therapeutic approach and keeping kids out of courts and custody.
One such program is the Townsville-based Red Dust Healing, run by Juru/Erub and Kanaka man Randal Ross. Red Dust Healing works in detention centres and schools to deliver cultural healing programs for children at risk of being sent to prison.
A Red Dust workshop at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre had powerful results: the 40 kids who did the workshop were monitored for two years afterwards, and all succeeded in staying out of detention. And yet, the Queensland Government has not funded this trailblazing project to run again in Cleveland.
“All Queensland children deserve a positive start in life. But once they’re stuck in the quicksand of the prison system, a child’s chance at a bright future can be lost forever. The Palaszczuk Government must instead give young kids the extra support they need, so they can grow and thrive, strong in their communities,” said Belinda Lowe.
“A smart government can take a better approach: Fund community-led programs to help vulnerable kids, and raise the age that it first locks up children to 14.”
