The Right to Write

December 21, 2011

The poster, depicting a daisy overcoming a red brick wall, summons me to a Human Rights Day Write for Rights event. I step into Beit Zatoun House on Markham Street not knowing what to expect. I’m greeted by an array of framed Amnesty International posters that cover the walls and stand on easels, hiding my final destination: a metal chair at a table littered with paper, pens, cards and envelopes.

“Who do you want to write to?” someone at the table asks. I have no idea.

“Could I write to someone in French?” I hazard.

“Of course!”

I’m handed a case study, a piece of paper stapled to recycled cardboard, telling the story of a young man named Jean-Claude, imprisoned on suspicion of being homosexual in Cameroon, where homosexuality is against the law. Jean-Claude is being detained in harsh and overcrowded conditions, with poor sanitation and inadequate food.

I pick a small card and begin to write, prompted by the case study’s suggested text.

“Cher Jean-Claude. Nous pensons à toi et nous nous battrons pour que tu retrouves la liberté.” Seemingly trite words to a stranger across an ocean.

“It’s such a small, sporadic act; a little letter,” says Alizon Sharun. “But there are so many of them, the quantity has an impact.”

Alizon is one of half a dozen writers at the table, writing messages of solidarity to prisoners of conscience, and calls for justice to heads of state on Human Rights Day, December 10th. She’s a member of Amnesty Group 55, one of 17 Amnesty Groups and Action Circles in the GTA, and the one responsible for the poster exhibit that surrounds us, a celebration of 50 years of Amnesty International.

“We connect in this common act with each other,” says Alizon, “and also, quite fervently, with the poor souls in prison, or their families, to give them some comfort and hope, or writing to people in power, hoping our little paper darts of outrage may affect the policies and justice systems on the other side of the world.”

The key to demanding respect for civil rights is to “try to make it personal,” says Kirsten Romaine, another writer, while meticulously folding her latest letter to fit in its envelope, taping it closed. “Say it and hope that the words get through.”

Her letter to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev opens with a warm greeting to the head of the land of her favourite author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, before launching into a detailed account denouncing the murder of Natalia Estemirova, a leading human rights activist, and demanding an immediate investigation to bring her murderers to justice.

In total, we contribute to over 80 cards and letters that Group 55 will send to Ethiopia, Iran, Mexico, North Korea and other countries where support and justice are needed.

I’m impressed by these quiet heroes who act against injustice, for people they will never meet. This is met with resistance: the prisoners are the heroes, not the writers in the room.

“We’re just doing a very small thing to try to help, from the comfort of a safe and, for the most part, democratic country – nothing that could be really described as heroic,” says Alizon. “The same work in Zimbabwe, Chechnya, Iran, China could result in imprisonment, with the possibility of torture, and execution, covert or sanctioned. Those human rights workers certainly are heroic and brave.”

She’s right. We have opportunities here that others don’t. I can’t squander this enlightenment. There are a number of ways to get involved: join a local Amnesty group or host a fundraiser. Myself, I will participate in an Amnesty activity marking International Women’s Day on March 8th. And there’s nothing stopping me, or any one of us, from writing a letter expressing support or demanding justice on any day of the year, not just on Human Rights Day.