On December 10th, a group of Sisters of St. Joseph (pictured) met in London, Ontario to once again join Amnesty International’s annual Write for Rights campaign. Each year, we feel a sense of solidarity knowing that thousands around the world are joining the writing force to bring to world leaders’ attention the many global individuals who are unjustly accused of wrongdoing and to appeal for their release.
This year, one of the issues upon which I wrote to the Canadian government is the ongoing mercury poisoning crisis of the Grassy Narrows First Nations, a northern Ontario Native community near Kenora. In the 1960s, the government allowed 10 tons of waste from a pulp mill to be dumped into their English and Wabigoon river system. Fifty years later, in a youth led campaign and supported by Amnesty International, the Grassy Narrows people are still fighting for justice in the face of ongoing mercury poisoning.
Lest you think that our letters fall on deaf ears, Amnesty provides us with updates on how people who have been wrongly accused have been released from prison due in part to bringing to government our concerns and the call for release of victims from prison. For instance, The Amnesty website posted that Eskiner Nega, a renowned Ethiopian journalist who had been jailed over nine times for doing his job, was released in 2018. Mr. Nega writes, “I received letters of support from Amnesty International. It helped keep up my morale and it lifted the spirits of my family. I am glad I inspired people to write. I am proud of that. Nothing beats the written word”.
Although letter writing takes some time and effort, our group netted 96 letters. Written support of others is time well spent, knowing that a every act performed with love and commitment helps to bring peace and change to a troubled world.
-Sister Jean Moylan, csj