Amnesty International
Working to Protect Human Rights Worldwide

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA      www.ai101abq.org

Please join our monthly meetings and local upcoming events     
   

Amnesty International Group 101 usually holds meetings at 7 pm on the fourth Thursday of each month at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice. Generally, a presentation is given at each meeting, concluding with urgent action letter writing. Please join us!

For more information email George.Huggins@Presbynet.org
or call George T. Huggins, 505-463-2581

Next meetings: Thurs. June 25, 2009 7pm
                   Thurs. July 23, 2009 7pm
                   Thurs. August 27, 2009 7pm


Each month Group 101 writes letters on behalf of victims of human rights abuses with the assistance of materials distributed by the national Amnesty office. We also participate in local actions; the most recent one focused on the violation of human rights at Guantanamo (see below). We have also collaborated in solidarity with other local groups on the unsolved killings of women in Juarez, Mexico, as well as the detention of undocumented workers by ICE at the Regional Correctional Center in Downtown Albuquerque.


2008 Writing Challenge for New Mexico Amnesty Groups
          AI101    AI122    AI463      Monthly Total      Running Total   Avg Per Month
Dec-07       88        0        0                 88                 88        88
Jan-08       24      501       66                591                679       340
Feb-08      134      760      118               1012               1691       564
Mar-08      175      831       34               1040               2731       683
Apr-08      136      303       45                484               3215       643
May-08       95      379      210                684               3899       650
Jun-08       59      261       80                400               4299       614
Jul-08       83      200       40                323               4622       578
Aug-08       52      141      144                337               4959       551
Sep-08      155      321      159                635               5594       559
Oct-08       46      103      159                308               5902       537
Nov-08       43       78       24                145               6047       504
Dec-08      120        0      210                330               6377       491

TOTALS     1210     3878     1289

Past Event: Life in Occupied Palestine, September 10 - 13, 2008

Anna Baltzer, Jewish-American granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, went to the West Bank to discover the realities of daily life for Palestinians under the Israeli Occupation. She lived and worked with farmers, Palestinian and Israeli activists, and the families of political prisoners. Anna’s book, Witness in Palestine, is a firsthand account of what she saw during her eight-month stay.

She has been traveling around the world sharing the experiences that led her to support and document the Palestinian non-violent resistance to the Occupation, telling the story that is rarely seen in mainstream media. Baltzer was a Fulbright scholar and a volunteer with the International Women’s Peace Service, a human rights organization based in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

See her website at annainthemiddleeast.com.

Download flyer for all New Mexico talks. Talks were held in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Vegas, NM.


Past Event: Potluck Dinner and Holiday Card Action    December 27, 2007

   
Each year during the winter holidays, Amnesty International asks friends and members to send messages of support to prisoners and human rights defenders around the world. Group 101 held a potluck dinner and after eating prepared holiday cards to support these prisoners and human rights defenders.

Past Event: Open House Celebration, Fundraiser and Talk by Keith McHenry    Oct 5, 2007 5-8 pm

Albuquerque Amnesty Group 101 held an Open House Celebration and Fundraiser on Friday Oct. 5, 2007, 5pm- 8pm, at Immanuel Presbyterian Church. A poster exhibit "Retrospective of Amnesty's Human Rights Campaigns" was shown with refreshments and live music from 5-7 pm, and guests networked with special guests from ACLU-NM and El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos.
At 7pm, Keith McHenry from Food not Bombs discussed his experience as a prisoner of conscience who was assisted by Amnesty when he was imprisoned. He will also discussed the harassment of Food not Bombs volunteers and what can be done to protect their rights. If you would like a video or audio copy of his talk, email info@ai101abq.org.
Press release (pdf)         flyers in English (pdf): color and b/w         hoja de publicidad en español (pdf): color y blanco/negro

Past event: Dramatizing Guantánamo (06/26/2007)     

A street theater enactment of Guantánamo: A life sentence with no trial was held in front of the ABQ Federal Building. The event commemorated the International Day in Support of Torture Victims and Survivors. The dynamic La Cucaracha Stew Theater Company created the elaborate cage and other props, and was critical in making this event a success. The event was shown on the local Indymedia TV program.

Organized by: Amnesty International Group 101 and La Cucaracha Stew Theater Company. Co-sponsored by UNM Amnesty International, First Unitarian Social Justice Council and ACLU-New Mexico.

Read about AI's campaign to close Guantánamo Bay.



Past event: Honoring Maria Sagrario, Murdered in Juarez

         

In the summer of 2007, Liz McMaster and Nell Burrus of Amnesty 101, and Renee Wolters of UNM Amnesty accompanied Cecilia Chavez of the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice and Lisa Perry of UNM to meet with family members of Maria Sagrario, who was one of many young women who have been killed in a wave of violence against women in Juarez.
More information.

Amnesty 101 has joined forces with the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, Amnesty UNM and other concerned groups and individuals in Albuquerque to raise money and material aid to support a small women's community center and pre-school both founded in memory of Mario Sagrario.


Past event: Learning about Detention of Immigrants in Albuquerque (May 2007)     


Albuquerque attorney Brandt Milstein presented his assessment of the detention of immigrants at the Regional Correction Center in Albuquerque, and summarized findings from numerous interviews he has taken as part of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project. Later, Amnesty members participated in a protest at the RCC.

See the June 2007 Albuquerque Tribune article for more information.




Past event: Human Rights Conference    September 14 and 15, 2007

Human Rights in an Age of Fear and Terror: A conference organized and sponsored by Amnesty International Group 463, Las Vegas, NM and the United World College Amnesty International student group United World College, Montezuma, New Mexico. More information.


Please send comments and questions to the web maintainer: Vicki Johnson, info@ai101abq.org