A local activist is signing up for the Amnesty International initiative 'Write for Rights' taking place Saturday.
George Harding has been a supporter of Amnesty International for years and he felt strongly about investing his own ink in this latest effort to draw attention to people around the world being held without just cause by hostile governments. Pledges are collected for the participants' efforts.
"We'll be coming together from our different corners of the planet - from our living rooms, classrooms and workplaces - with one sole purpose: to write letters that will make a difference in someone else's life," he said. "Letters save lives."
The victims are political opponents of various dictators, or environmentalists standing up for threatened ecosystems in despotic places, or journalists who tried to tell stories contrary to a tyrannical agenda, or writers and artists who used their creative talents to point out injustices. For these "crimes" they were jailed or threatened into seclusion. Amnesty International has made it their business to support these people and oppose their oppressors.
"I am inspired by their stories, and I am more determined than ever to ensure that Amnesty International continues to speak out on behalf of individuals and communities at risk," said Harding.
His personal goal is to raise $600 in pledges. People can support him with a donation by logging on to the Write For Rights website and typing Harding's name in the Sponsor A Participant heading. You can also make direct contact with him by e-mail at george_a_harding@hotmail.com.
Harding and other Amnesty International supporters will be at the event's conclusion, locally held at Art Space at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The event coincides with Amnesty International's 50th anniversary and the 63rd anniversary of the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There will be birthday cake, a slide show, and a celebration of International Human Rights Day.
