Livewire – Amnesty International blogging for human rights

Sivibilagbara swamp, Bodo, Nigeria, May 2011. (c) Amnesty International

Makmid Kamara, Nigeria Campaigner, Amnesty International,

On Sunday 22 April, I visited Bodo community in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The community was devastated by two major oil spills in 2008, caused by operational failures from Shell pipelines.

The Bodo community have been fighting for their rights – after failing to secure justice in Nigeria, they are now bringing a case against Shell in the UK. I visited Bodo to update the community about what Amnesty International, in partnership with Nigerian NGO the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), is doing to help the community tell the world about their plight, and in our broader campaign to get Shell and the Nigerian authorities to take responsibility for the devastation they have created across the Niger Delta. I also updated the Bodo community about the global week of action on the Niger delta, taking place this week, and of the activities being undertaken by Amnesty International Sections and supporters in more than 15 countries across the world. Continuar leyendo ‘“We’re hungry and angry because of Shell”’ »

By Bridget Burrows, Africa Regional Campaigner Slums, Amnesty International,

From N’Djamena to Harare, Cairo to Accra, Port Harcourt to Nairobi, thousands of residents of slums and informal settlements and people affected by forced evictions mobilized from 17-25 March calling for an end to forced evictions in Africa, in a week of action organized by housing rights activists with Amnesty International and local partner organizations.

Events were also organized in Togo, Mali, Senegal and Burkina Faso, in which thousands of people showed their support and solidarity during the week.

Sakwa Frank, a resident of Mathare informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, had this to say about the week:

“It felt so great seeing so many residents of informal settlements, even from Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, who have been neglected by our governments for so long, standing up well-informed and peacefully to say ‘people live here’ and demanding that their rights are respected.”

Check out the photo slideshow to see some of the inspiring campaigning that took place over the week, and add your voice to those of people across Africa by signing the petition

The Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street has been living in the New Pata Rat area since December 2010. (c) Joshua Gross, Joshua Tree Photography

By Creta Ernest & Fekete Petru members of the Coastei Street community,

Support the call for justice of the Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street by taking action

It’s been over a year 76 families, the majority Roma, were forcibly evicted from the centre of the city of Cluj-Napoca in Romania. Over half of the families were re-housed in new housing units on the outskirts of the city in the New Pata Rat area, close to a garbage dump and a former chemical waste dump, in inadequate housing conditions. The rooms are overcrowded, they do not provide protection from damp and mould and the sanitation facilities are inadequate. 36 families, including the authors of the blog entry, were not provided with any alternative housing. Most of them had to construct improvised homes. They have no access to water, sanitation and electricity. With only a verbal agreement from the municipality and no formal title to the land, they live in a fear of eviction and of losing their homes again. Two young Roma who experienced the eviction shared it with us their story during the recent mission to Cluj-Napoca.

“The forced eviction from Coastei Street nr. 18 started on 15 December 2010. We aim to be as brief as possible in describing the traumatising event which took place from 15 to 17 December 2010. Continuar leyendo ‘Roma community forcibly evicted from Coastei Street share their story’ »

A protester is gagged during his arrest at a protest in Baku, Azerbaijan. March 12, 2011. (c) IRFS

By Max Tucker,  Amnesty International’s Campaigner on South Caucasus and Ukraine,

One year ago, a series of peaceful protests against government repression in Azerbaijan were met with brute force by the authorities. The clampdown that followed resulted in the imprisonment of 17 activists and political figures, 14 of whom are still behind bars today.

Shortly afterwards, on 14 May, Azerbaijan’s entry “Running Scared” won the Eurovision song contest, giving Azerbaijan the right to host the 2012 competition.

This was a doubly ironic event. Continuar leyendo ‘Azerbaijan: Running Scared’ »

Louisiana State prison (c) Amnesty International

By Tessa Murphy, Amnesty International Campaigner in the USA Team,

17^th April 2012 marks forty years since Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace were placed in solitary confinement in Louisiana State prison. During these four decades they have been confined to their 2 X 3 metre cells for 23 hours a day. In these tiny spaces, devoid of all but a shaft of natural light through a small window, they have had limited access to books, TV, newspapers; no access to educational programs, nor to work. Social interaction – which most of us take for granted – is limited to occasional visits from friends or family, or a phone call. Solitary ‘exercise’ takes place three hours a week in an outdoor cage which in another context, could easily be mistaken for a dog run. Continuar leyendo ‘Join us in our four decades of struggle for justice!’ »