AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL GROUP 23
PO Box 130901, Houston, Texas 77219-0901
281-587 5386
www.amnestyhouston.org
mail@amnestyhouston.org

MEETINGS

When: First Wednesday of the month, 7.30 pm.
Where: The Olive Branch Room, 2360 Rice Boulevard at Greenbriar, in the garage apartment. Please park on Rice Boulevard. Everyone welcome.

ACTIVITIES

Death Penalty  We work for the abolition of the death penalty.  For current and planned events for 2007, check our home page. Speakers are available for your school/church/community group event.  For more info about AI’s death penalty abolition program, click here.

Denounce Torture Campaign: The objective of this campaign is to denounce the use of torture and ill-treatment in the context of the US led "war on terror", hold everyone accountable who’s been involved in these acts or foster the environment under which they occurred, and stop the practice of "extraordinary renditions". In the context of this campaign, we’ve held a rally in downtown Houston, a forum at a local church, a protest in front of Senator Cornyn’s office, made several legislative visits and taken part in phone-ins and letter-writing campaigns. For more information, click here.

Stop Violence Against Women (SVAW) Campaign We are half way through this six-year campaign. We have made several presentations including to students at Kinkaid School and Cy-Fair College, tabled at public events, and raised funds towards a vehicle to transport victims of trafficking in Kosovo to safe houses. Our speakers are available to speak to your group. For further info, click here..

The Human Rights Show is our group’s weekly radio show on KPFT. You can listen to it every Friday, 7:00 pm, on 90.1 FM in Houston, 89.5 FM in Galveston or on the web at www.kpft.org. The Human Rights Show has its own website.

Action Files: Our group is working on two action files: "disappeared" Bosnian prisoner Avdo Palic, and Magdalena Garcia Duran, a Mazahua indigenous activist from Mexico.  Info about these cases can be found on our website.

OUTfront! We are part of AI’s OUTfront! network, which works to protect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender human rights. We’ve tabled at the Houston Pride Festival, participated in letter-writing actions, and this year, we are tabling at the 11^th annual Q-Fest, Houston GLBT film festival held at the Angelika Theater in September.  For more info about AI’s LGBT Rights program, click here.

Darfur: We’ve organized and taken part in numerous Darfur events – including a protest in front of the Chinese Consulate to call on the Chinese government to help safeguard the people of Darfur;  visits to our elected officials with the same request;  letter-writing and petitions; and campus events to educate and mobilize the public about Darfur. For more info about AI’s work on Darfur, click here.   

Human Rights Theater: We also do human rights education and outreach through our theater troupe. The troupe consists of volunteers with no previous theater experience, under the direction of two professional directors and artists. Performances have included forum theater, dramatic pieces and plays about the death penalty, torture and other Amnesty concerns. For pictures of our theater events, click here.

Refugees: We advocate for the rights of asylum seekers in the United States and for the humane and dignified treatment of refugees and migrants worldwide. Fore more information, click here.

South Asia Regional Action Network (SARAN): We belong to a network ready to take action on short-term cases in South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, and Afghanistan).

Tabling: We have numerous tabling events. We table at annual events like the Houston International Festival, the Pride Festival and special events like concerts, movie screenings, the Amnesty International write-a-thon and other events related to Amnesty concerns. If you would like us to table at your event, please write us at mail@amnestyhouston.org or call 281-587 5386.

Fundraising: Our group raises funds for all the above activities and sends an annual contribution to the national organization, Amnesty International USA. We sell t-shirts, hold benefit events, seek donations. Past fundraisers include a benefit screening of the Miramax movie "Welcome to Sarajevo", the production by a local theater troupe of Ariel Dorfman’s "Death and the Maiden", and a benefit concert and silent auction at The Last Concert Café.

How to make a contribution: If you shop at Kroger’s or Randall’s, you can donate to our group by using the store contribution program. Email us and we’ll send you our Kroger’s share card. At Randall’s, use your Remarkable Card and give the number 5402. Annual group dues are $25 (make check payable to Amnesty International Group 23 and mail to Bill Ohsie, 1009 N. Heron Drive, Seabrook, TX 77586).

And finally… You do not have to be a member of Amnesty International USA to take part in local AI activities, but if you want to join, go to www.amnestyusa.org or call 1-800-AMNESTY.

There are several other AI groups in the Houston area, including a community-based group in The Woodlands (http://www.amnestyhouston.org/woodlands.html) and several college and high school groups. Please contact us at mail@amnestyhouston.org if you want to find out whether there’s a group at your school or college, or if you would like to start one.

9/2007