Amnesty International- Saga Chapter

Fukuoka Amnesty – Isle de Salsa

amnestysaga — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:18:59 +0000

Looking for a good beach party? Come out to Isle de Salsa this weekend, August 9-10th in Fukuoka, Japan. While your there stop by the Amnesty Fukuoka booth and learn more about Amnesty International and how you can get involved. Check out the website http://www.isla-de-salsa.jp/2008/home_en.html . Hope to see you there. I will be there all day Sunday, so come and keep me company!

1st General Meeting – February 2008

amnestysaga — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:50:30 +0000

Amnesty International – Saga Chapter

1^st General Meeting

15 February 2008

BACKGROUND INFO:

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

- “is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all.”

- Motto: It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

- 2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions

- 1977 –Nobel Peace Prize recipient

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL JAPAN

- only a couple of bilingual groups in Japan

- Kyushu groups:

- Oita – bilingual starting up

- *Fukuoka* – English-speaking (created 1 year ago)

- many Japanese speaking groups

- What do most groups do?

- letter-writing to government or corporate authorities

- campaigns (Darfur, Violence Against Women, Control Arms)

- movie and discussion nights

- fundraisers (coffee house, wine and cheese, anything!!)

- speaker nights

- community outreach

MEMBERSHIP

- Requirement: 5 persons who are registered members with Amnesty International and a group membership fee of \20,000 annually.

- To be a registered member of AI you need to complete the forms and pay \10,000

- Where does the money go? Fund AI campaigns and vocalize human rights abuses

- What do you get out of it? You will be an official AI member, have voting rights at the Annual General Meeting in Tokyo, be a part of a world renown organization that has saved and continues to save lives everyday from injustices.

Issues and Decisions

- Do you want to be a part of Amnesty International?

- (p) credibility, (p) reputation, (p) int’l/nat’l logistical support, (c)costs money

- Do you want to form another organization focused on human rights?

- (p) flexibility, op. for innovative mandate (p) cheaper, (c)lack of substantial credibility

- How often do you want the meetings?

- Do you want an executive?

- What issues/concerns do you want to focus on?

- Do you want a bilingual or just English group?

- When will we have the next meeting?

- What things do we need to accomplish before then?

- What will our goals/focuses be?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT – NATIONAL

- National concerns:

- death penalty

- 4 ppl executed by hanging in 2006 (aged 75 & 77)

- asylum seekers

- 2, 16 yr old Kurdish girls where detained for 40 days without reason

- sex trafficking

- up to 200,000 persons, mostly Southeast Asian women, are smuggled annually into Japan and forced to work in the sex industry

- torture

- approximately 90% of all criminal cases going to trial included confessions extracted through hard torture and violence from Japanese authority

FOOD FOR THOUGHT – INTERNATIONAL

- International Statistics

(1) 1 in 3 women in the world will be abused, sexually, physically, or verbally AT LEAST ONCE in their lifetime.

(2) 2.3 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Darfur, over 450,000 people have been killed

(3) 640 million firearms in existence in the world today. That’s one for every ten people on the planet.

(4) “Approximately 790 million people in the developing world are still chronically undernourished, almost two-thirds of whom reside in Asia and the Pacific.”

(5) More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day.

(6) Consider the global priorities in spending in 1998

Global Priority	$U.S. Billions
Cosmetics in the United States	8
Ice cream in Europe	11
Perfumes in Europe and the United States	12
Pet foods in Europe and the United States	17
Business entertainment in *Japan*	35
Cigarettes in Europe	50
Alcoholic drinks in Europe	105
Narcotics drugs in the world	400
Military spending in the world	780

And compare that to what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries:

Global Priority	$U.S. Billions
Basic education for all	6
Water and sanitation for all	9
Reproductive health for all women	12
Basic health and nutrition	13

2nd General Meeting Minutes – May 2008

amnestysaga — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:49:25 +0000

Amnesty International – Saga Chapter

2^nd General Meeting

30 May 2008

Quote of the Day:

A right is not what someone gives you; it’s what no one can take from you. — Ramsey Clark

Administrative / Organizational Topics

(1) Amnesty International – Saga Chapter OR General Volunteer Group

- paperwork, membership

(2) Group Purpose or Mandate

- To act under the guidelines and purpose of Amnesty International

- To network, socialize, and facilitate discussion with locals and foreigners living in Saga

- To create awareness of national and international issues at the grassroots

- To raise money awareness about and raise funds for AI

(3) Meeting Arrangements

- Date/Place/Time – regular or on an as need basis?

(4) Executive or Planning Committee?

- Meeting Organizer or Facilitator for subsequent meetings

- Possible Positions:

- Secretary, Advertising, Website, Event Coordinator(s). Regular Translator

(5) Group Communication

- Facebook, Yahoo!Groups, E-mail

(6) “ACTION” – Possible Campaigns or Events or Fundraisers

- China – Human Rights Problem Awareness / Earthquake Fundraiser

- “100 Days” Campaign with Amnesty Canada

- “Rollin’ 4 Rights”

- For an afternoon, learn to roll sushi alongside a sushi chef! Learn about the different variations and the secret techniques behind Japanese most sophisticated cuisines!

- “Taste for Justice” (Amnesty Canada) – restaurant sponsorships

- “Rhymin/Rappin for Rights” – held at the hip-hop club in Saga shi, “Watts”

- “Riskin for Rights” – have a marathon of Risk games on a Sat or Sun

- “Run for Rights” (Amnesty Canada) – wear Amnesty paraphernalia while running a race

and/or raise money for Amnesty

- “Write for Rights” – held on a specific day set by Amnesty where many schools have a

“letter-writing marathon”

Today’s Topic: FOCUS on CHINA!

(1) BEIJING OLYMPICS – Olympic Legacy, Human Rights Record (Domestic and Foreign)

– Facts and Statistics

- 10,000 executions take place per year in China, the majority have been wrongly accused

- China is the only country in the world that prosecutes, tortures, and murders Falun Gong practitioners

- Tibet = China has been accused of systematically killing (acts of genocide) Tibetans

- Sudan is China’s largest overseas oil project; China is Sudan’s greatest arms exporter

- China sold $3 million in small arms to Khartoum in 2003; that number reached more than $55 million by 2006.

- China has given $11 million in humanitarian aid to the region, and is providing $90 million in loans for water projects there.

- In Darfur 200,000 have died and 2.5 million have been displaced over the past five years.

- Check out: www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/16/china.olympicgames20082

- in 2001, the International Olympic Committee awarded China with being the 2008 Olympic hosts, UNDER THE CONDITION that China would promise to improve its human rights.

Chinese Perspective – Thoughts from a Chinese Girl Living in Saga

1) What do you think of the human rights situation in China?

Foreign medias sometimes attack on the human rights situation in China, but I think the human rights situation is getting better and better, and I think it is ok. For common Chinese citizens, we think we live in a democratic country, every one has freedom to have speech or do things as they like. Maybe there happened some issues before, but you know, China is a big country, to be the leader is not such an easy thing.

2) Do you think China should still host the Olympics?

Of course!!! Any behavior to pretent China from hosting the Olympics is against Olympic spirits. We have confidence as well as competency to make the Olympics successfully.

3) What do you think of China’s connection with others, for example, Tibet, Sudan, etc.?

China is a multi-national country—-56 peoples. And Tibet is one part of China, so it is the domestic affair of China. Actually, I do not so care about politics, but I think foreign medias have a lot of misunderstanding towards China.

(2) CHINA EARTHQUAKE

- “Overnight, China has is no longer the victimizer, but the victim”

- Death toll – 65,000 (May 27, 2008)

- Fundraising event in coordination with creating awareness about the human rights problems

(3) TAKE ACTION – Sign a petition – it takes 2 minutes!! https://www.amnesty.ca/urgentappeal/tibet2008/takeaction.php

http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/call-chinese-prime-minister-release-ye-guozhu

http://www.amnesty.or.jp/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=1480

Greetings to Amnesty Saga!

amnestysaga — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:12:07 +0000

Welcome to Amnesty Saga’s website! Check out our events, campaigns, debates, and pictures!

First AI Saga Eikaiwa 英会話委 – Vocab and Fact Sheet

amnestysaga — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:23:23 +0000

AI Saga will be hosting its first eikaiwa on Sunday, June 29th at6:30pm – 8pm at i-Square in Saga City. Suggested donation is 500en. Please come and bring your debating skills! See you there!

Here is an information sheet if you want to prepare before hand.

AMNESTY 英会話委

Vocabulary

英語	日本語	For example
Capital punishment	死刑	Capital punishment exists in Japan.
Criminals	刑事	Criminals break the law.
Lifetime sentence	終身刑 (しゅうしんけい)	He was given a lifetime sentence for killing his wife.
Government	政府	The government is in favor of capital punishment.
Public Safety/ Security	公衆安全	If criminals are killed, they are a risk to public safety.
Human rights	人権	Everyone should be granted human rights, even criminals.
Justice system	司法制度	The justice system includes police, the courts, and lawyers.
Prisoner	囚人	Prisoners are people in jail.
Jail / Prison	刑務所	Jail is where prisoners are.
Confession	告白	A confession is when someone says they did or committed a crime.
Trial	試験	It is a human right to have a fair trial.
Court	裁判所	The court is a place where a trial happens.
Arrest	阻止される	He was arrested for killing his wife, BUT he may not be guilty.
Death Row	監房群	She is on death row for killing 10 people.
Charge	満たされる	She was charged with 1^st degree murder.
Convicted	有罪と決定された	He was convicted of stealing.
Murder	殺害	Killing someone.
Crime	罪	A crime is when a person breaks the law.
Punishment	処罰(しょばつ)	A punishment is what happens when a person is found guilty. For example, his punishment was 1 year in jail.
Innocent	潔白けっぱく)な” or “無罪むざい)の	He was found innocent.
Guilty	罪がある	The judge found him guilty.

THE FACTS

- 137 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

- 60 countries retain and use the death penalty, most often as a punishment for people convicted of murder.

- Top 5 countries for capital punishment: China (470), Iran (317), Saudi Arabia (143), Pakistan (135), USA (42).