Heart warming words of thanks

I got this from Amnesty International:


A family visit for Gao Zhisheng and heartwarming words of thanks to you!
Our 1.8 million letters are getting results

Gao Zhisheng was allowed a visit with his family in prison

Read more successes and words of thanks from Write for Rights

Thank you for responding to our urgent action on Gao Zhisheng, the prominent lawyer who has been detained and tortured in China for his human rights work.
I'm pleased to share with you the good news that Gao was granted a visit by his family on February 12th! I'd also like to pass on to you this message from his wife Geng He:

"Following a Letter-Writing Marathon ('Write for Rights') organized by Amnesty International at the end of last year and the international community’s actions, the family of the Gao Zhisheng was granted a second prison visit on 12 January of this year. It is a small improvement, but it could not be achieved without the international community’s concerns and the effort and support from the membership of Amnesty International, for which my family and I feel most grateful. I hope Amnesty International will continue to promote this activity, allowing more people to come to know my husband’s situation, until he gains his freedom."

While it is very difficult to know exactly what led to the prison visit being granted, the huge amount of action generated by the Write for Rights may have contributed, and has definitely been greatly appreciated by his family.

Your action on Gao was part of an incredible worldwide letter-writing effort leading up to December 10th, International Human Rights Day, where Amnesty International supporters in over 80 countries wrote 1,852,679 letters and messages on twelve of our highest priority campaigns, including our efforts to release Gao Zhisheng.
You know that at Amnesty International we always campaign with passion and determination on behalf of individuals who are experiencing human rights abuses around the world. And you can count on us to keep campaigning for freedom and justice for the individuals we featured as part of Write for Rights.

I hope you will be with us throughout 2013 as we share updates on these priority cases, and call for additional help in protecting other individuals at risk.

Today, I have the additional privilege of sharing more good news and words of thanks from several people whose cases were part of our worldwide campaigning effort on Human Rights Day.

These heartwarming words of thanks are for you!
Yours sincerely,


Alex Neve
Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada

P.S.  Thank you for taking action for Gao Zhisheng. His case is very close to my heart, since we both use our legal training to advance the protection of human rights. The difference is that Gao Zhisheng has pursued his work in China and has suffered tremendously for it. Please help us keep working on his behalf by sharing his action.



MORE SUCCESS AND HEARTWARMNG WORDS OF THANKS TO YOU ...

In Canada, nearly 30,000 participants wrote persuasive letters to authorities, urging an end to human rights abuses. Many of you also chose to write letters of hope and solidarity directly to the people featured in our actions. These are some of their words of thanks, upon receiving your letters...

"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts"

Claudia and her son from the former Coastei community in Romania Photo @ Laurent Ziegler

Claudia, from the Coastei street community, Romania:
“Thank you very much to everyone for the letters that have been sent to the mayor, and also for the letters of solidarity that we received. We feel very much supported and we have confidence that with your support from around the world we will succeed. We do not give up because we know we have so many people that are standing by us in the fight for justice. We are really touched to know that people from all over the world are thinking about us and have written to us. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.”
GOOD NEWS! On February 13, the new Minister of Regional Development, Liviu Dragnea, met with delegates from Amnesty International, the European Roma Rights Centre, and Fundaţia Desire. He said that the meeting was a strong signal that there is a desire from within the Ministry to resolve the issue of access of Roma communities to housing. The Minister committed to creating partnerships on technical, financial and conceptual aspects with local authorities to address the issues. The Ministry also signaled it was open to cooperation with NGOs. Amnesty International and the other NGOs welcome these commitments from the Ministry.
Two years ago, 350 people from the Coastei community in north-western Romania lost their homes when they were forcibly evicted by local authorities. They were not given any written or detailed communication or sufficient notice. The evicted families were only told that they needed to move themselves and their belongings within two days!

Thank you for making International Human Rights Day a day of justice and hope for people like the Coastei community in Romania!
Read more successes and words of thanks on our website.