What We
Can Do
| "When the first two hundred
letters came, the guards gave me back my clothes. Then
the next two hundred letters came, and the prison
director came to see me. When the next pile of letters
arrived, the director got in touch with his superior. The
letters kept coming and coming: three thousand of them.
The president was informed. The letters still kept
arriving, and the president called the prison and told
them to let me go." -A former prisoner of conscience
in the Dominican Republic
|
A simple statement can have an enormous impact.
It simply needs to be spoken to the right people. Writing letters
to our representatives and leaders makes them aware of the voice
of the people. Writing letters to those that detain prisoners of
conscience lets them know that their actions are being monitored.
Make your concerns known. Unlike the people of Tibet, you have
the opportunity to do so. Please take a few moments to educate
yourself about some of the prisoners of the Chinese Government.
Click on the names below to download
pre-written letters.
Please help out these Tibetan prisoners for the price of a stamp:
Ngawang Choephel:
- more info -
- download
the letter -
|
A
U.S.-recognized Fulbright scholar who went to Tibet as a
part of ethnomusicology research. He videotaped 16 hours
of traditional Tibetan dance as part of his research.
Chinese authorities arrested him for
"espionage," in reaction to his attempt to
document Tibetan culture. He is currently serving 18
years in prison for taping songs and dances.
|
The Panchen Lama:
- more
info -
- download
the letter -
|
Gedhun Choekin Nyima is
the world's youngest political prisoner, and the
second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism. He was six
years old when he was kidnapped by Chinese authorities in
1995 after being recognized by Tibetan religious leaders
as the reincarnated Panchen Lama. His whereabouts, along
with those of his family and religious tutors, are still
unknown. |
The nuns
currently imprisoned in the Drapchi prison:
- download
the letter -
|
After attending peaceful
pro-independence rallies, these nuns were arrested and
taken to Drapchi prison, where they attempted to record a
message to their families and religious songs. They were
subsequently beaten, tortured, and raped. |
PLEASE HELP THESE PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE.
WE MUST SPEAK UP WHEN OTHERS ARE SILENCED.
Do letter-writing campaigns
really work? Ask Palden Gyatso...
Palden Gyatso was arrested in 1959 for participating in a
nonviolent demonstration in Lhasa, Tibet. He spent the next
thirty three years in Chinese prisons, and suffered terrible
tortures. While in prison, he documented the torture that was
routinely administered to Tibetan prisoners, including forced
labor, beatings with electric cattle prods, boiling water, and
the brutal rape of Tibetan nuns. In 1992, as the result of an
Amnesty International letter-writing campaign, Palden was released from prison.
Palden managed to smuggle Chinese torture implements out of his
prison. Since his release, Palden has spoken from the mainstage
at Tibetan Freedom Concerts, testified before the US Congress
sub-committee on Human Rights, been on several world-wide
speaking tours and written a book "The Autobiography of a
Tibetan Monk" (Grove Press, 1997).
