To All Living Things
Last Week's Column

Amnesty Action:
Fear for Safety in Mexico
Kathy Gay

his week’s action from Amnesty International concerns five children -- 3 girls and 2 boys -- who live on the streets of Mexico City. About a month ago, one of the girls was beaten and raped by two members of the local police. Two days later, another girl was sexually assaulted when she and three other street children were detained and beaten by police.

After seeking help from the Brigade of Human Rights Observers for Peace, a non-governmental organization that works with street children in Mexico City, the children made formal complaints at the Federal District Human Rights Commission against the police involved. Since then, members of a private security force -- a group which has itself been repeatedly accused of attacking street children -- have been threatening the children in an effort to discourage them from testifying. The police have also engaged in intimidation tactics by arbitrarily arresting and detaining other street children in the area.

Amnesty International is very concerned that these children are at risk of serious human rights abuses as a direct consequence of reporting the rape, sexual assault and beatings to the authorities.

Background Information

There are thought to be as many as 18,000 children living on the streets of Mexico City. In recent months there have been reports of increasing human rights violations against street children at the hands of security forces.

How you can help

Please send a letter to the Mexico’s Minister of the Interior as soon as possible, but no later than July 31, 1997. You may use the sample letter linked below or use it as a model to write your own letter. If you choose to use the sample letter, please cut off or delete all website information at the very top of the letter. If you choose to write your own letter, make sure that it is politely worded and non-partisan (i.e., not used as a vehicle for political expression). Care must be taken to ensure that nothing is written that will cause harm to the children. Be sure to include both your name and address, as well as the date, on your letter.

U.S. airmail postage to Mexico is 40 cents.

Questions?

If you have any questions, just post a message to me (Kathy Gay) on the Pub, and I will respond as soon as I can. I greatly appreciate your interest and support.

To see the sample letter for this action, click here.

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Kathy Gay is a vegan, and has been a member of Amnesty International for nearly 10 years, where she has worked on numerous campaigns. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a business analyst for a leading California bank.

Kathy's column, To All Living Things, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.