To All Living Things
Last Week's Column

Sending the Gift of Hope
by Kathy Gay

s I’m sure you all know by now, letter writing is an integral part of Amnesty International’s human rights work. Members and supporters around the world write thousands and thousands of letters each year to governments responsible for committing human rights violations. The gist of those letters amounts to nothing less than a blunt demand that powerful officials change the way they behave.

While it is true that the majority of the letters we write are directed to those responsible for committing the abuses, we also send cards and letters to the prisoners themselves or to members of their families in an effort to provide words of friendship and moral support.

This time of year can be particularly difficult for those who have suffered human rights violations. Holidays can mean little to prisoners and their families who believe they have been forgotten by the world. A simple greeting card, however, can bring renewed hope. It can lift their spirits and help to give them the strength to endure yet another day.

Each year during the winter holidays, Amnesty members send greeting cards to those who have suffered at the hands of the jailers and the torturers and the executioners. We want them to know that they are not forgotten and that we care.

How you can help

This action expired on January 31, 1997. Thanks to everyone who sent holiday greetings to a mother in Mexico whose son "disappeared" after being detained by members of the judicial police over 20 years ago.

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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.