December 1, 2011
When I was young, my mother used to threaten me: “Your mouth will put you in jail someday!” I thought she was joking.
Many years later, I learned that people around the world are actually jailed for speaking out against injustices, against human rights abuses, for their religious beliefs, and at the insane whims of despotic governments. I have been a “Freedom Writer” for Amnesty International for many years. Letters are sent to the government leaders in the various countries where people are being unjustly jailed. With the outpouring of letters, governments are quite often moved to release the prisoners or reduce their sentences. They realize: the world is watching! These letters bring hope to the prisoners who realize that they are not forgotten. The first holiday cards I mail every year are the ones that go to the “prisoners of conscience.”
Each year Amnesty International hosts a Global Write-A-Thon. It is the world’s largest letter writing event. It begins in two days. I wholeheartedly invite everyone to participate. The pen IS mightier than the sword! Exercise your might, pick up your pen and change lives! Write for Rights- this December 3-11. Sign up today at: