THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 30, 1994 TAG: 9411290018
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
December is a month in which many people think of helping others. With the Christmas holidays nearing, Amnesty International has again released its Holiday Card Action, asking friends and AI members to send greeting cards to those who have suffered and continue to suffer violations of their human rights.
Holidays mean little to prisoners of conscience who believe they have been forgotten by the world. Hopelessness and despair are day-to-day companions to those imprisoned merely because of their color, beliefs, speech, gender or ethnic origin, people who have neither used nor advocated violence.
These people endure physical torture, mental abuse and terrible conditions at the hands of their captors, when they have done nothing more than be themselves or express themselves in non-violent ways. These prisoners include men, women and children. Oppression persists throughout the world, whether we want to think about it or not.
But it does not go unnoticed. Amnesty International monitors these atrocities. It reports to its members, who then write to officials, exerting pressure to release those unfairly held.
The Holiday Card Action calls upon people to write directly to the prisoners to offer them rays of hope. Anyone wishing to be part of this effort may contact me at Route 1, Box 270A, Waynesboro, Va., 22980. One person can truly make a difference in the life of someone else.
ELIZABETH MASSIE
Waynesboro, Nov. 21, 1994 by CNB