Contribute to the Syria Crisis through Amnesty International

I have a lot of respect for the trustworthiness of Amnesty International which is why I have responded to this appeal.

It is frustrating to watch our helplessness so I find it helpful to be able to do something in this way.

You may feel the same.

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Abu Suhaib, aged 40, was standing in a small crowd when security forces fired an anti-aircraft missile, sending a grapefruit-sized piece of shrapnel up through his leg and out of his left thigh, taking his left thumb with it. 'My own flesh and blood splashed in my face.'
His is just one of many stories of unimaginable horror recounted to Amnesty researchers documenting human rights abuses happening in Syria right now. We've heard of mortars and guns fired at family homes, troops going door to door beating up men and boys, unarmed civilians shot by snipers.
The torture of those arrested, includes rape, beatings with electric cables, dynamite tied to a man’s hand and lit. Abu Suhaid told us: 'I’ve seen many beside me be shot and killed but I’m not afraid of dying. What I fear is being arrested.' Donate to defend people in Syria
As you read this, President Assad's regime is brutalising and slaughtering Syrian people and decimating whole areas of its cities - in an attempt to crush all forms of dissent. Up to 6,000 civilians have been killed over the past 11 months. Most recently, at least 465 people have been killed in the city of Homs during 17 days of intensive and indiscriminate shelling and sniper fire – the majority of them unarmed.
Yet activists continue to defiantly rise up in rejection of years of poverty, corruption and state brutality. We'll continue to support the people peacefully demanding change - but we need your help to do it.
Donate now to help Amnesty stop the killing in Syria. Your support will help us:

• Train and advise Syrian activists
• Provide material support to Syrians peacefully protesting
• Provide platforms for human rights activists to speak out to the rest of the world
• Enable communication from within Syria and the border region, including through live broadcasts
• Bring Syrian human rights defenders to the UK to lobby the government

The killing in Syria must end. There must be justice for victims, and those responsible for atrocities must be held accountable. For this to happen, first hand testimony and credible evidence of grave violations is crucial.
Please help us tell the world what is happening to Syrians standing up for their rights, however brutal it may be. Donate to support our crisis work in Syria

From Amnesty International

 

 We're all enjoying gorping at the events  in the Middle East on tele.

It's easy to treat the news like an alternative Eastenders.

Here's a chance to be part of the action!

If you think you've got problems - think of these.

(Do you know what it's like to be a refugee ? - I know from experience in 1941, it can be very painful especially returning to this country from France, having lost all our belongings and being treated with great suspicion by fellow English people because my mother was French. The only people to help were the Quakers and one family in particular. Thanks to them we were taken care of. . .  )

Dear Geoff,

Right now, hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing for their lives from violence and persecution in Libya into neighbouring countries. Take action now

We're demanding that EU countries offer meaningful assistance to both the refugees and to countries such as Egypt and Tunisia which are bearing the brunt of the exodus.

The EU bears a heavy responsibility on account of its failure in recent years to acknowledge and take into account Libya’s dire human rights record and because of its proximity to the affected region.

We need you to contact the Foreign Secretary William Hague and tell him to step up efforts to help those affected by the desperate events in Libya.
Send an email: Protect refugees and migrants fleeing Libya
Thank you for your continued support for our crucial work to protect human rights in Libya, and across the Middle East and North Africa region.


Kristyan Benedict
Crisis Response Campaign Manager

P.S. Please visit and bookmark our Middle East and North Africa campaign site to keep up to date with the latest news and actions from the region.

From Amnesty International

Lubicon Cree youth thank you for all your support
   
The Lubicon Cree Indigenous people in Alberta, Canada have been battling for three decades to preserve their traditional lands and hold to account the oil, gas and logging companies that have devastated their environment. You sent more than 3,000 messages of solidarity to them through our Greetings Card Campaign. The youth of Little Buffalo school made this video to say thank you for all your support.

Sleeping out for refused asylum seekers
   
In February students across the country took part in 32 mass ‘sleepouts’ to draw attention to the destitution of refused asylum seekers. Read our blog on how it went and take action now to urge the government to get behind more sensible rules on permission to work for some asylum seekers.


Human rights activist sent back to labour camp two days after release
   
Just two days after her release in February, Chinese human rights defender Mao Hengfeng was rearrested and sent back to a labour camp. According to her family she is suffering serious injuries as a result of repeated torture and ill-treatment suffered during her previous 11 months of detention.  Demand freedom for Mao Hengfeng


Amnesty premieres at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival

    We are proud to present the UK premieres of two stirring documentaries in association with this year’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival: This is My Land... Hebron, about life in the largest city in the occupied West Bank, and You Don’t Like the Truth, about Omar Khadr, Guantánamo’s youngest detainee.  Screenings at various London venues from 25-31 March. Find out more

Cycle the breadth of Britain for Human Rights
   
Cycle through some of the UK's most beautiful countryside for the Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge. Why not watch a video of last year’s incredible trip to get you in the cycling mood? Or find out more and register