P.O. Box 130901, Houston, TX 77219-0901
281-587-5386
http://www.amnestyhouston.org
mail@amnestyhouston.org

Monthly meeting first Wednesday of every month (except holidays).

NEWS AND NOTES

Monthly Meeting Agenda:

       Introductions
       Reports by Coordination Groups:
       Group case (Bárbara Italia Méndez)
       Death Penalty
       Radio Committee
       Stop Violence Against Women Campaign
       Denounce Torture Campaign
       South Asian Regional Action Network (SARAN)
       Refugees
       Out Front Campaign
       Who Will Bring Letter Next Meeting
Old Business:
       Fall Art Show (Esmeralda and Kathryn)
       Concert Tabling
       Human Trafficking Event, September 14
       9th Annual March to Stop Executions, October 25
       Stanley Milgram Documentary
New Business:
       Conference on Bhopal (Juli and John)
 

Local Group 23 News:

• Phivan Wright, Nancy Bailey, Virginie (a French AI member and TCADP friend of Nancy's) met with French vice consul Matthieu Clouvel (MC) this month to discuss future cooperation.
• Bill Ohsie did a presentation and Q & A after a showing of "Breaking the Silence: Torture Survivors Speak Out" at the Peace and Justice meeting at St Bernadette Church.
• Michael Skadden presented a paper about Torture, which was well received by the Houston Bar Association, and might form the basis of a book. Sonia Montoya and Irina Shandikova gave invaluable assistance in research for the paper.
• We had a table at the Warped Tour concert, an all day event. Thanks to tabling volunteers, Paul Devera, Isabel Arras, and Isabel's friend Jennifer Sayas.
• AI Group 23 was selected to be featured in the printed version of the Activist Toolkit as a highly effective local group. Bill Ohsie was interviewed by Allison Reiber, an intern with AIUSA.

• We have openings for Group Coordinator, Secretary and New Member coordinator.

Hana, a member of our local group told her very moving story to our group at the last meeting and the story appears in the LGBT section of the AIUSA website. Hana's story follows:

I haven't had the opportunity to testify before a congressional committee about the discrimination I have faced as a transgender woman but can identify with Sabrina Marcus Taraboletti both in the family, friends, an in my case, clients, I have lost as well as working for a NASA contractor where it would have been difficult, if not fatal, to my career to come out when I worked there.

I discovered the word transgender through a therapist who was treating me when I was outted by my ex spouse during our divorce and custody hearing in 2002. Unfortunately, I too had a homophobic judge who gave me very limited times of visitation with my kids for fear that I would sexually abuse them. I was kicked out of my home even though my spouse didn't have the wherewithal to pay the mortgage and let the home fall into foreclosure on two separate occasions. Fortunately, I was able to live in my mom's apartment rent free during the time the temporary orders were in effect. A year later with the evidence on our side and a more open-minded judge, I was finally awarded primary custody of the kids! They have been living with me ever since. During this time, I've sought counseling, attended transgender support groups, become a part of several GLBT sports and business groups and have healed mentally, physically, and emotionally.

I would say I have been extremely fortunate in my life's journey realizing that other transgenders have lost everything and have resorted to prostituting themselves on the streets to earn a living or just giving up and committing suicide. I was able to keep my financial planning practice from which I support my family and now have the greatest friends of all who love and accept me for who I am and respect my character and integrity.

If the story were to end here, one might say I lived happily ever after. However, my story hopefully has several chapters more to be written as I seek to fulfill my future goals and dreams and leave behind a legacy for my family and those who love me. I don't consider myself special but sometimes say I'm just an ordinary person that's capable of extraordinary things. I'm extremely proud of my accomplishments and have had opportunities given me that few people have had. My only wish as I seek to be an example for all transgender women is to inspire, educate, and inform the population at large about our plight so that all transgender people be given the same opportunities as others and, borrowing a quote, not be judged by the gender of our identity, but by the content of our character. I thank all the wonderful people of my local Amnesty International-Houston group for which and through which I was given the courage to share my story for only the second time publicly and for all their friendships, kind words, and support.

My Motto: "Do not seek to merely be a part of history. Rather, be one who makes history."

With thousands of journalists from around the world due to arrive in just days for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government defiantly continues to unjustly oppress and imprison Chinese journalists. Shi Tao, writing for the Contemporary Trade News, and using his Yahoo! account, e-mailed a U.S. based Website, sharing an internal government directive barring media reports that could fuel unrest during the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. For that "crime" Shi was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities." Disturbingly, Yahoo! provided the government with the information to arrest him. Visit www.amnestyusa.org Take Action to demand justice for for Shin Tao

Iran is one of only a few countries that still executes children and child offenders. There are currently at least 140 known juvenile offenders, those accused of committing an offense when they were under 18, awaiting execution in Iran, but Amnesty International believes the total number could be much higher. Many were convicted in flawed legal proceedings.

More than 20 media outlets, both gay and mainstream, attended an Amnesty International USA news conference in Chicago June 19 to draw attention to police abuse of the city's gay citizens and a stunning lack of accountability for abusive officers. Local advocates called attention to the March 2006 beating of Alexander Ruppert. A gay man, Ruppert was hospitalized with facial and head wounds requiring 16 stitches after an altercation with police. In a suit filed after the beating Ruppert claimed police from the 20th District beat him without provocation because he was gay. Following the news conference, local activists came together for a community forum, also hosted by AIUSA. Call for accountability for Chicago police

AIUSA's Denounce Torture Program has a new name. It is now known as Counter Terror with Justice, which is the name AI's International Secretariat gives to its campaign to stop human rights abuses committed by the U.S. government in fighting its "war on terror." AIUSA switched to Counter Terror with Justice to better align with the International Secretariat's campaign and to better reflect the scope of AIUSA's campaign: stopping torture and ill-treatment, closing Guantánamo and ending illegal United States detentions, ending the use of extraordinary rendition and secret prisons, ensuring fundamental legal rights, and holding those who authorized and implemented such abuses accountable.

(New York) -- Thousands of Mexican women who survive violence in their homes are being put at risk of further abuse by the country's justice system, which often fails to take their safety seriously, Amnesty International said in a new report today.

Amnesty International's report explores the obstacles Mexican women face when trying to report cases of domestic violence, including being rebuffed by officials when they make complaints. The report also cited deficient investigations and poor enforcement of protective measures. The report is being published 18 months after Mexico passed a law to counter violence against women.

"Over a year ago, Mexico took the positive step of passing a new law to protect women from violence, but a law will not prevent women from being beaten, raped and abused unless it’s implemented rigorously at the federal and state level," said Kerrie Howard, deputy director for the Americas Program at Amnesty International.

Domestic violence is endemic in Mexico, as it is in many other countries. A national survey conducted in 2006 showed one in four women in Mexico have suffered abuse at the hands of their partner and 82 per cent of women decided not to report it.

Women who find the courage to report the abuse are often treated with indifference and have to prove they are subject to violence. In many cases officials even ask them to deliver summons to their aggressor, according to the Amnesty International report, "Women's Struggle for Safety and Justice: Violence in the Family in Mexico."

The case of a woman named Marcela underscores the problem. In 2005, Marcela's former husband broke into her house in the state of Sonora and stabbed her, leaving her paralyzed for four months. Over the years, Marcela had made more than 10 complaints of abuse to the public prosecutor's office. Every time, she was advised to resolve the issue directly with her partner. One time, she was told "when you come with a bruise, we’ll do something." After the stabbing, Marcela's former husband was prosecuted for attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years. He is now appealing the length of his sentence and Marcela is scared that when he is released he will kill her.

"Women in Mexico need to have their complaints of abuse taken seriously, and they need access to justice and effective protection mechanisms," said Kerrie Howard.

In February 2007, Mexico enacted a law to help protect women and prevent violence, but the law is not properly funded or enforced.

Amnesty International is calling on Mexico's federal and state authorities to:
Make a public commitment to implement the 2007 legislation to protect women from violence and invest the necessary funds to put it into practice.
Investigate and publish findings on why reporting, prosecution and conviction rates for violence against women remain so low and take specific measures to tackle obstacles identified by these investigations.

Iran’s government is failing in its duty to prevent discrimination and human rights abuses against its Kurdish citizens, particularly women, said Amnesty International in a new report published today. The organization expressed fears that the repression of Kurdish Iranians, particularly human rights defenders, is intensifying.

The report cites examples of religious and cultural discrimination against the estimated 12 million Kurds who live in Iran and form around 15 per cent of the population.

It focuses on issues related to housing, education and employment. Human rights defenders and media workers are also being targeted for speaking out.

“Iran’s constitution provides for equality of all Iranians before the law. But, as our report shows, this is not the reality for Kurds in Iran. The Iranian government has not taken sufficient steps to eliminate discrimination, or to end the cycle of violence against women and punish those responsible,” said Amnesty International.

The report says that Kurdish women face a double challenge to have their rights recognized -- as members of a marginalised ethnic minority, and as women in a predominantly patriarchal society.

Although women and girls form the backbone of economic activity in the Kurdish areas, strict social codes are used to justify denial of their human rights. Such codes mean that it can be very difficult for government officials to investigate inequalities in girls’ education, early and forced marriages, and domestic violence against Kurdish girls and women -- and the severe consequences of some of these abuses, including “honour killings” and suicide.

“Kurdish women are victims of violence on a daily basis and face discrimination from state officials, groups or individuals, including family members. Iranian authorities are obliged to exercise due diligence in eradicating violence against women in the home and in the community but this just isn’t happening,” Amnesty International said.

The report Iran: Human rights abuses against the Kurdish minority recognizes that while expression of Kurdish culture, such as dress and music, is generally respected and that the Kurdish language is used in some broadcasts and publications, the Kurdish minority continues to suffer deep-rooted discrimination.

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