It comes in many forms at Ghost Ranch:
opportunities,
people,
classes,
vistas,
sometimes even the trees
and the moon
reflect the diversity
God creates.
26 October 2009
Freedom of expression in Paupua province
Image via Wikipedia
Today’s letter in the Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon addressed the situation of Filep Karma, who was arrested in December 2004 for his participation in a peaceful flag-raising ceremony in Papua province of Indonesia. Karma is serving a 15-year sentence on charges of treason. Amnesty International considers him to be prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
My letter asked Amir Syamsuddin, Indonesia’s Minister of Justice and Human Rights to release Filep Karma and to make a public commitment that there will be no further arrests of individuals purely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, assembly, or association. It included a request that the Minister ensures that laws concerning “rebellion” (Articles 106 and 110 of the Criminal Code) are not used against people who have engaged only in peaceful activities. The request was rooted in the right to freedom of expression includes the right to peacefully advocate referenda, independence, or other political solutions.
Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.
Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.
Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.
See you along the Trail.
Related articles
- UN Declares Indonesia’s Detention Of Filep Karma A Violation Of International Law, Calls For Immediate Release (westpapuamedia.info)
- Shine A Light on Freedom of Expression (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Jean-Claude Roger Mbede – Cameroon (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Sri Lanka – Ragihar Manoharan (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Charge and try – or release (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Words can save lives (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- For a Nobel Peace Prize recipient (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- On behalf of teachers (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
Filed under Human Rights
C is for Chile
Found in many places,
often appearing in the food,
chile spices life at Ghost Ranch.
13 July 2011
Filed under Ghost Ranch Views, Photo
On behalf of teachers
Today’s letter in the Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon focused on teachers which comes close to my heart since my family contains a number of teachers over the generations.
Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, leaders of the Bahrain Teachers Association, appear to have been imprisoned because of the association’s calls for strikes during the protests earlier this year.
Amnesty International reports that authorities first arrested Jalila al-Salman on 29 March 2011, and reportedly ill-treated her in detention. Mahdi Abu Dheeb was arrested on 6 April and reportedly suffered torture and solitary confinement. Although civilians, the two teachers were tried before a military court, in breach of their right to a fair trial. In September, Jalila al-Salman was sentenced to three years in prison, and Mahdi Abu Dheeb was sentenced to ten years. Their appeal is to be heard by the High Criminal Court in December.
The request to the King asks for an investigation into the case and the allegations of torture and ill-treatment. It asks that any who are found responsible for ill-treatment be held accountable. It further asks that if the investigation shows that Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi Abu Dheeb were arrested because of their leadership of the Bahrain Teachers Association and their peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, should be immediately and unconditionally released, and all charges against them should be dropped. The King is asked to ensure that their appeal hearing meets international standards and that any evidence obtained through torture or duress not be used against them. The King is also asked to uarantee that they receive appropriate medical care and are protected from ill-treatment.
Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.
Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.
Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.
See you along the Trail.
Related articles
- Sri Lanka – Ragihar Manoharan (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Jean-Claude Roger Mbede – Cameroon (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Shine A Light on Freedom of Expression (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Words can save lives (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Charge and try – or release (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- For a Nobel Peace Prize recipient (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
Filed under Human Rights
B is for Blue
Colors fill Ghost Ranch.
Diverse shades of green and
multiple hues of red
appear and evoke amazement.
Blues do too.
29 October 2009
Filed under Ghost Ranch Views, Photo
For a Nobel Peace Prize recipient
Today’s letter in the Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon focused on Liu Xiaobo, 2010 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, who was given an 11-year prison sentence in December 2009 for calling for political and legal reform in China. The letter went to Premier Wen Jiabao of the People’s Republic of China.
Amnesty International notes that Liu Xiaobo’s imprisonment is a clear attempt to prevent him from carrying out his peaceful and legitimate human rights activities. Amnesty further notes that the detention, restriction, and harassment of peaceful human rights activists has increased in recent years, running counter to promises made by officials in China’s National Human Rights Action Plan 2009-2010.
My letter, guided by Amnesty, asked the Premier to release Liu Xiaobo immediately and unconditionally and to lift the surveillance and severe restrictions currently placed on his wife Liu Xia. It called the Premier to see that Liu Xiaobo has access to his family and lawyers. It further addressed the systemic issue of the use of broad and vaguely defined charges to arbitrarily detain and prosecute activists, journalists and internet users.
Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.
Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.
Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.
See you along the Trail.
Related articles
- Sri Lanka – Ragihar Manoharan (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Charge and try – or release (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Jean-Claude Roger Mbede – Cameroon (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
- Words can save lives (graybeardtrail.wordpress.com)
Filed under Human Rights
A is for Agape Center
The Agape Center fills many functions at Ghost Ranch.
It served as the central location for the 2010 Peacemaking Seminar.
Here people worship and learn,
gather and fellowship,
and sometimes just sit on the porch and watch the view.
Music often fills the Center and makes the rafters sing.
10 August 2008
Filed under Ghost Ranch Views, Photo
Charge and try – or release
Today’s letter in the Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon went to U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. It included the broad request that detainees at Guantanamo and the detention facility at Bagram in Afghanistan should either be charged and tried in U.S. federal court or be released to countries where their human rights will be respected.
It specifically asked that the U.S. government either either charge and fairly try Guantanamo detainee Shaker Aamer in U.S. federal court, or release him to the United Kingdom (UK), as the UK government has requested.
Shaker Aamer, a former UK resident, has been held without charge at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for nearly 10 years. The UK government has repeatedly requested that he be returned to the United Kingdom, where his wife and four children live. February 2012 will mark the tenth anniversary of his detention without charge at Guantanamo.
Aamer may be guilty; he may be innocent. In either case, he has the right to be charged and tried. If the U.S. is not prepared to do that – after almost 10 years – he should be released.
Indefinite detention is a human rights violation.
Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.
Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.
Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Human Rights
Sri Lanka – Ragihar Manoharan
Letter three in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon went last night to the President of Sri Lanka. It focused on Ragihar Manoharan. Ragihar was one of five students killed by security forces in the city of Trincomalee on January 2, 2006. The letter asks the President to tell his family the truth about what happened to their son. Amnesty International reports that a commission of inquiry examined the killing of Ragihar Manoharan. My letter and the Amnesty International Campaign ask for the release of the commission’s report.
Sign up to participate in the Write-a-thon.
Find resources for the Write-a-thon, including sample letters to adapt.
Learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights framework.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Human Rights
The power of place: Ghost Ranch
A new dimension of this blog will launch tomorrow. Two new categories will appear: Ghost Ranch Images and Ghost Ranch People.
Each post will contain a picture taken (by me) at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico and an alphabetical reference. They may include a reflection on the image and/or a few notes on the context of the image. Dates will appear although they may only be a year or a month and year at first. This will become easier and more precise with better record keeping of future photographic endeavors at the ranch.
Posts will appear in general alphabetical order, starting with the letter “a” (as learned on Sesame Street) and working forward. Posts will vary between the two categories. Eventually multiple posts will appear for each letter in each category. Some will prove more of a challenge than others. All will, hopefully, testify to the power of place.
In the movie Field of Dreams, Burt Lancaster’s character, Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, reflects on the power of place. Speaking of his home in Chisholm, Minnesota, Graham says:
This is my most special place in the world, Ray. Once a place touches you like this, the wind never blows so cold again. You feel for it like it was your child.
Ghost Ranch touches me. Even as my family entered the grounds in 1993, I recognized the ranch as a place that nurtures and nourishes me. It did so then. It does so now – wherever I find myself.
I offer my photos and words as a humble homage to a play that plays an important role in my life and in the lives of so many others. For me, they serve to recall memories and process experiences and dream of what may be. I look forward to hearing if they speak to you.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Ghost Ranch People, Ghost Ranch Views, Movie, Photo
