Weekly Action and News 25/08/2023
Manchester Amnesty Weekly Action and News
Please do this action and make a difference
At 40°C under the sun, in the middle of the desert, hundreds of refugees in Kenya are the target of hate and violence because of who they are and who they love, and they live in fear. They need to be relocated to a country where loving is not a crime. Kakuma camp in northwestern Kenya is home to more than 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees, including hundreds of LGBTI people. In conjunction with the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Amnesty international have produced a report which details the extreme discrimination and violence suffered by LGBTI residents in Kakuma, both as a result of their status as asylum seekers or refugees and their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, and sex characteristics. The link below takes you to a petition calling on governments of the world to provide relocation for LGBTI refugees, and to speak out against hate in Kenya.
Saturday 26th August
Guaranteed fun day out, whatever the weather!
Manchester Pride Parade
Join the Manchester Amnesty group in the Pride parade to show your solidarity not only with LGBTQ+ people in the UK, but with those in all the countries where gay and trans people are persecuted or don’t have their rights respected. T shirts, placards etc. will be provided.
If you plan to walk in the parade, please contact Zoe Wong, who will tell you where to meet and pick up your parade wrist-band weiyi.zoe.song@gmail.com
Next week!
ACOUSTIC AMNESTY 10TH ANNIVERSARY GIG
10 years on from Acoustic Amnesty’s first gig, we are delighted to announce this celebration, which will include some of the performers who were at that very first gig. Over the course of 22 events with 67 different performers, Acoustic Amnesty has raised over £7500 for Amnesty and other charities. Proceeds from the anniversary gig will go to Amnesty and the charity Forever Manchester, which supports Manchester community groups.
Friday, 8th September, 2023. Door time 7:00pm, Start time 7:30
At Sacred Trinity Church, Salford.
Get your tickets here.
WeGotTickets | Simple, honest ticketing | Acoustic Amnesty 10th anniversary gig
Volunteer(s) needed to help with stall on September 14th
We will have an Amnesty stall in the foyer of the Trailblazers – Women of Greater Manchester Exhibition, Thursday 14th September, 17.00-20.00, Levenshulme Station South.
The event itself has sold out, so our stall will be seen by many attendees. So far, we only have one member to staff the stall highlighting women’s rights and our Manchester Amnesty campaigns. Would anyone else like to come along? If so please contact alison.wearden@gmail.com.
Members may be interested in the free lectures from Gresham College, which cover a range of issues, including, for example, the death penalty, LGBTQ rights, and women’s rights in Iran.
You can find out what’s on, and register to attend in person or online here.
Monday, 11th September, 6.30-8.00 online – webinar.
We have been invited to attend a webinar entitled
“Human Rights in Kashmir: The reality on the ground.”
Hear first-hand accounts from a Kashmiri journalist and film-maker, about research by the Amnesty International Secretariat India team, and updates on the UK activist-led campaign.
All are welcome, and you can register to join here, but please note that this webinar clashes with our online monthly group meeting for September (about which more details next week).
Good news
Kenya - On August 13, 2023, Amos Khaemba Simon Lokwachelia was pardoned and freed. He had been sentenced to death in 2000 for several armed robberies, and had always protested his innocence. Mr Lokwachelia spent 23 years spent in prison, the first 19 of them on death row until his sentence was commuted in 2000 to 35 years in prison.
United States of America - On August 15, 2023, a court in the state of Montana ruled in favor of 16 young climate activists, aged between five and 22, represented by the legal aid NGO Our Children's Trust, who argued that the state's fossil-oriented policies had violated their constitutional right to a "clean and healthy environment".
Egypt - On August 18, 2023, following a presidential pardon, Ahmed Douma, poet, journalist and activist in the 2011 revolution, was freed after more than 10 years in prison. He had been sentenced to 15 years for crimes which he did not commit.
Manchester Amnesty issue and campaign coordinators
Anti-racism –Hazel Errey hazelerrey@gmail.com
Craftivism – Lima Al-Iskalachi limazakoor@gmail.com
Europe/ Turkey Fatih Segmen - fsegmen@yahoo.com
Human Rights in the UK Lancine Sacko - sacko10@hotmail.co.uk
Individuals at Risk (bi-monthly appeal writing drop ins) - Anne Walker anne.walker9@ntlworld.com
Manchester Central Library café, 2-4pm 4th Saturdays September, November, January, March, May, July
Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians - Mike Reed mikewreed101@gmail.com
LGBTQ+ and Pride coordinator – Zoe Song weiyi.zoe.song@gmail.com
Press freedom and Julian Assange – Lima Al-Iskalachi limazakoor@gmail.com
Refugees – Alison Wearden alison.wearden@gmail.com
UAE – Kathryn Fletcher bussk@btinternet.com
Communications Secretary
Manchester Group of Amnesty International
Please contact me with items for our Weekly Action and News email, or with ideas for longer articles for the quarterly Manchester Amnesty Group Bulletin.
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