The Student and the master

The day I went to the Memorial Building in Trinity College Dublin for Denny’s school debate on the motion ‘Voting should be made compulsory’, something caught the corner of my eye. It was a vibrant coloured poster on the side notice board. Instantly I walked over to the poster. I was amazed and shocked to read that Ms Ebadi was coming to Ireland to address The Hist Society at Trinity College on Friday 14th of December 2007. Ms Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and founder of Children's Rights Support Association in Iran. On October 10, 2003 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous efforts for democracy and human rights, especially for the rights of women and children. She is the first Iranian and Muslim woman ever to have received the Nobel Peace Prize.
I was always a big fan of Ms Ebadi’s work and commitment to the Iranian nation. As an Iranian girl, I see her as a role model. So my initial reaction was I would love to interview her for our Transition Year (TY) School magazine. I spoke to my TY teacher, Ms Ryan, and she supported the idea.
Consequently, I wrote an email to Ms Ebadi expressing my interest to have an audience with her. I waited anxiously for some weeks but eventually got a reply from her secretary, on the night of Wednesday 12th December giving me an appointment to meet Ms Ebadi the following day at 10.00 AM at the Weston hotel. I was thrilled but terrified and anxious, not knowing what I was going to ask her. I was nervous as I had to speak in Persian (Farsi). At the same time I was honoured to be getting the privilege to meet her, a world icon, so far away from home.
Waiting for her at the hotel lobby was so nerve racking, my hands were sweaty as I waited with my friend Susan who was there to take photos. She finally arrived and following the introduction, Susan and I commenced the interview.
Surprisingly this wasn’t Ms Ebadi’s first visit to Ireland. She informed me that in May 2007 she came to Galway to attend a conference on the rights of women. From her very first words it was obvious that she was a woman that has pride and belief in the future of her country and cares deeply for the welfare of her fellow citizens. She spoke strongly about the abilities of the youth and the women in Iran, how their hard work and protests have resulted to changes, in such cases as the custody law.
When asked why she became a lawyer she said that it was something she had always loved. She recalled her childhood memory. ‘I remember when I used to walk in the street and see two kids fighting, without even knowing the story, I would go to rescue the kid that was being beaten.’ Her father was liberal and believed in social discussion and education for girls. This made her enter the University of Law ‘because I thought that this way I could better achieve my ambitions in life.’
The Nobel Prize committee praised Ms Ebadi as a "courageous person" who "has never heeded the threat to her own safety" As I referred to this statement she responded, ‘If you have belief in your aim, in the end you have to deal with the problems too.’ She further referred to a shocking revelation she made while studying a case in which she discovered that she was supposed to be killed but in a miraculous way survived.
I learnt a lot from my encounter with Ms Ebadi. In particular I will always remember how the work of one woman in a country that is very much male dominated can make such a difference in the world. Ms Ebadi advised me to be “strong, courageous and go forward. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are a right of human beings. If you are to idolize other people because you are afraid of making your own mistakes you will never get anywhere or achieve anything”. And I believe that this is a message that all young people should follow.

By Sheelan Yousefizadeh

AMNESTY STUDENT AND YOUTH CONFERENCE By Ciara O’Brien

Well as a very new member to Amnesty, I felt privileged to be invited to the conference and even managed to persuade my friends to come with me.
On the morning of the conference all three of us were nervous and apprehensive not knowing what to expect of the two days. But as soon as we arrived at the Pearse Street library our nerves were wiped away with the smiles and friendliness of all who were attending the conference. We kicked off with a few icebreakers, and soon everyone was chatting with ease. We then split up into groups depending on what talk we wanted to attend.

My first, was the mental health talk; here we discussed everything from people’s views of what mental health is, mental health in Ireland to facts about mental health. All in all it was a real eye opener, and very enjoyable. Then after lunch and a visit from Colm O’ Gorman, the executive director of the Irish section, I went to a talk about Israel.

I learned a lot about the situation there, as before hand I had only a general idea of what was happening there but afterwards I felt fully informed. We then had a break and Kieran Clifford came and talked to us. Then everyone got stuck into making posters, painting and getting ready for our campaign the next day.

After that everyone was tired after the long day and so we headed to the Ireland institute for dinner and a film. The film was amazing and showed a real insight into the world of suicide bombers, a world so far removed from our own.

After that those of us who were staying in the city for the night made our way to the hostel, and fell into bed, wrecked.

The next morning after a filling breakfast we were rearing to go again and with paintbrushes in hand we set back to work on the posters.

When we were finished we split into groups again, I went to a talk on Zimbabwe, it was great to be hearing first hand stories of what life is like in Zimbabwe, but at the same time it was hard, hearing yet again of people whose rights are being denied.

After a break we then set out talking about the youth participation structure, and what we could do to make it easier to be in contact with other groups.

Then we had lunch, following on from that we began getting ready for the campaign action, once everyone had donned the orange jumpsuits and masks we made our way out onto the streets.
Needless to say we attracted quite a bit of attention as we marched up Grafton Street and performed some street theatre. After that we went back to the library and got ready to go home.

After an evaluation, and goodbyes we all went our separate ways, with ideas buzzing around our heads and great plans for the year to come.

I really enjoyed the Youth Conference and as a new member was made to feel right at home, I have to say it stands out as one of the most enjoyable things I did this summer. As soon as school year starts I hope to start up an Amnesty group in my school. I think it is important for people our age to take an interest in the world around us, and to know that we can make a difference; even though we are young we don’t have to be ignored. That is the beauty of the work done by Amnesty; they manage to bring together enough like-minded people to make a change. Alone, your voice can be ignored, but, as part of Amnesty, as part of a larger body of people all working together, those with the power to make change happen will listen to us. So if you want to do something for the better, to change someone’s world, to change the world, the power to do so is in your hands, you can sign up to Amnesty make a difference. Every life is a life worth saving.

Report from Mercy College Woodford Students on a Year of Activism

Report from Mercy College Woodford Students on a Year of Activism
By Megan Mulcahy and Catriona Patience

Students at Mercy College Woodford recently won an award from the Bank of Ireland for “Best Group”, beating off stiff competition from the many other groups in the many other schools in the area, including EVERY sports group.
With this in mind, we have put together a summary of what we did last year, which helped us to win the award. This is just a snapshot summary of some of the things that we got up to during a very active year.
In November we started a practical project. At the time we had been sending many letters to many important people, especially regarding the situation in Israel/OPT protesting against the so-called ‘defence wall’. We decided to inform our fellow students about what was going on. We made our own ‘wall’ in the school, made up of ‘bricks’ cut from paper. On these we wrote, printed, and painted our messages of solidarity with the Palestinian people, and expressing our hope for the future. Mr Conroy, our teacher, also made copies of films that were relevant to the issue and stuck them on to the ‘bricks’ for people to take and distribute and put back up again. We did not ask for permission from the school authorities to put up this wall, symbolising how the Israelis built their wall without Palestinian consent. The wall was erected during class time, when no one was suspecting (again mirroring the Israeli approach). This was a very effective project – many students got really engaged with the issues and lots joined our group.
During March our Amnesty group did a photography-based project against Guantanamo Bay detention facility. We dressed up in orange jump suits, like the ones worm by Guantanamo inmates, and wore white masks. We took pictures outside the school with a huge wire fence in the background, which symbolised the prison. Each picture featured one student and each student held up a letter. When we put all the photographs together on a wall of the school it spelt out the message AMNESTY @ MCW SAYS CLOSE GUANTANAMO. The singer Gary Dunne (www.garydunne.com) later used these pictures in one of his music videos, ‘Simple Truth’. With the arrival of Barach Obama as president of the United States, it looks like our message was successful.
In May we were invited by Amnesty Ireland to meet Brian Cowen on his first day in office. We had, with us, 250 postcards signed against the treatment of people in China. This is more signatures than we have students in the school – every teacher also signed up. On arrival outside the Dáil we met up with about 5 other schools, mostly from Dublin, and we all put on our Amnesty bibs and t-shirts. With lots of placards and enthusiasm, we grouped together for photographs in front of the Dáil. We were later on the 5 o’clock news on TV3. Unfortunately we did not get to meet Mr Cowen as he was in Northern Ireland. However, between all of us we did get to hand in over 4,000 postcards for Mr Cowen to read on his return.
We’re looking forward to a very active year again next year.

Gaza Crisis - Demonstration

Dear Friends,

I know you are all very concerned at the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Gaza.

Amnesty International has unequivocally criticised the Israeli authorities and Hamas and is proactively lobbying the Irish Government, the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland and Hamas.

On Friday at 6pm outside St Stephen’s Green we will be inviting members of the public to light a candle to commemorate every person who has been killed since December 27th in this conflict.

We have also created a series of actions for our online Action Centre, www.amnesty.ie that you can take:

• Email the Israeli Embassy to call for an end to the unlawful targeting of civilians in Gaza

• Call on Hamas to cease firing from behind residential homes in Gaza and stop the unlawful targeting of Israeli civilians

• Call on the US Embassy to recognise the responsibility of the US Government

• Call on our Taoiseach to use all diplomatic measures at his disposal to end the crisis

Every voice raised in protest matters. We live in hope that a ceasefire will be forthcoming, but until then, make sure you play your part.

Sincerely


Kieran Clifford
Campaigns Team
Amnesty International Irish Section

Irish Government must summon Israeli Ambassador – Amnesty

Amnesty International Ireland has again condemned indiscriminate attacks on civilians by all parties to the conflict in Gaza and southern Israel. The organisation went on to call on the Irish Government to summon the Israeli Ambassador to stress Irish opposition to indiscriminate attacks by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

Amnesty International is also calling on for a suspension of talks on the EU-Israel Action Plan, designed to deepen social, economic and political links, until concrete measures to address the human rights and humanitarian catastrophe are agreed.

Amnesty International Ireland Executive Director Colm O’Gorman said:

“In March of last year we published The Gaza Strip: A humanitarian implosion. At the time we described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as worse ‘than it has ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967’.

“Over 1.5 million Palestinians are now living in a humanitarian disaster zone. Even before Israel’s offensive began, almost two weeks ago, supplies of food, water, power and medicine were completely inadequate. Heavy bombing and indiscriminate shelling have pushed what was already a desperate situation over the edge.

“The announcement by Israel of a three hour suspension of attacks every day to allow Gazans to get supplies falls well short of what is necessary and ignores the dire shortages of basic essentials in Gaza.

“Indiscriminate attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians are illegal. Amnesty International has repeatedly condemned any and all such incidents. We will continue to do so and reiterate our demand that Hamas cease all such attacks immediately.

“But Israel’s policy of collective punishment is a clear and explicit violation of international law. The refusal to allow humanitarian aid or observers into Gaza is a simple violation of basic notions of humanity.

“We have written to the Taoiseach asking him to summon the Israeli Ambassador to stress Ireland’s opposition to the continued disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel and to reiterate the Government’s demand that Israel allow urgently needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Amnesty International Ireland is also calling on the Irish Government to:

• Publically support calls for the deployment of international monitors to verify compliance with international law by both Israel and the Palestinian administration in Gaza.
• Offer leadership in Europe by working to agree a common EU position calling for a strong UN Security Council resolution condemning attacks against civilians by both Israel and Hamas and demanding that such attacks cease immediately.
• Call for a suspension of bilateral talks with Israel on the specific details of the future EU-Israel Action Plan pending agreement on concrete measures to address the human rights and humanitarian catastrophe. Ireland should also commit to pushing for the final Action Plan to contain human rights action points and benchmarks for Israel.
• Support a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs to discuss how Ireland can best assist international efforts to end attacks on civilians and get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“The solution to this lies in dialogue between all parties and with the international community,” added Mr O’Gorman.

“Our members will be targeting both the Israeli Ambassador and the Hamas administration along with the Irish Government urging them all to take action to end attacks on civilians in Gaza and southern Israel and to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe.”

Find out more about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Take action to end human rights abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Get involved and join our Israel – Occupied Palestine Campaign Group

Amnesty calls for immediate truce in Gaza

Amnesty International today urged the UN Security Council to demand that Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups observe an immediate truce in Gaza to allow desperately needed humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered civilian population, evacuation of the wounded and safe refuge for civilians wishing to flee the conflict zone.

“Civilians in Gaza are trapped in an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, and need immediate respite,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“It is abundantly clear that the parties to this conflict are failing to respect international humanitarian law, and that the civilian population of Gaza is paying a very heavy price.”

“Eleven days into the conflict and amid a mounting toll of civilian casualties in Gaza, calls for a ceasefire have as yet gone unheeded by both Israel and Hamas.

“In the absence of a ceasefire, an immediate humanitarian truce is urgently needed to protect the civilian population. The fighting must stop long enough so that humanitarian assistance can reach those in need and so that those who want to leave can be evacuated.

“An immediate pause in hostilities would at least make it possible for basic assistance to be got to civilians in dire need, permit the evacuation and treatment of the wounded and the burial of the dead,” said Malcolm Smart. “It would also allow civilians trapped in Gaza an opportunity to leave the conflict zone safely to seek refuge with the assistance of neighbouring states where necessary, allow emergency repairs to essential infrastructure, and ensure that humanitarian workers can provide protection and assistance in safety.”

Amnesty International has repeatedly urged Israel, Hamas, and other Palestinian armed groups to end attacks on civilians and other violations of international humanitarian law, and to allow access to humanitarian assistance. The organization has urged the UN Security Council and the international community to ensure compliance with international law.

However, civilians -- particularly the 1.5 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza -- continue to both be targeted and suffer disproportionately in this conflict.

Backgound

More than 500 Palestinians have been killed since 27 December, including more than 100 unarmed civilians. This includes scores of children. Over 2,000 have been injured. Israeli air strikes continue to be launched in a reckless manner, resulting in high civilian casualties. The use of artillery – which is notoriously inaccurate in pinpointing its target and should never be used in densely populated areas – is leading to further deaths and injuries to civilians. The invasion by Israeli ground forces into Gaza (since 3 January) brings the fighting into the midst of residential areas. The division of Gaza by Israeli forces into three sections is further exacerbating the humanitarian situation.

Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have been firing hundreds of indiscriminate rockets into towns in southern Israel, in violation of international humanitarian law. Three Israeli civilians have been killed in these attacks.

The Israeli ground incursion into Gaza that began on 3 January has taken the fighting even further into the heart of residential areas, increasing the risk for the civilian population.

Even with fighting continuing, Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to allow humanitarian assistance for civilians and must do so immediately. Instead, Israel has been actively blocking essential medicine, food, fuel, and electricity in violation of its duties as the Occupying Power.

There is a critical shortage of food, medicine and most of the necessities required to sustain life in Gaza. According to the ICRC, hospitals are now completely dependent on unreliable generators that cannot be repaired due to Israeli restrictions on the import of spare parts. The fighting has prevented ambulance crews from responding to some emergency calls, resulting in preventable deaths.

Many water supply lines have been severed during bombardments, making it very difficult for families in certain areas of the Gaza Strip to get hold of safe drinking water. Necessary repairs have been impeded by bombings. This lack of clean water supply is a disaster in waiting.

Find out more about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Take action to end human rights abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Get involved and join our Israel – Occupied Palestine Campaign Group

Israel must allow access to Gaza

As the number of casualties continues to mount, civilians in Gaza are in increasingly dire need of food, medical and other emergency assistance. Demanding access to Gaza for humanitarian workers and observers, Amnesty International also named the civilian victims of a number of Israeli attacks.

International humanitarian and human rights workers, as well as journalists, have not been allowed into Gaza by the Israeli army since the beginning of November, with the exception of a few journalists who were allowed in for a couple of days earlier in December.

“Humanitarian workers, journalists and human rights monitors are urgently needed to assess needs, report violations and publicise the reality of the situation on the ground,”said Amnesty International.

Amnesty International believes that risk to civilians is increased by artillery attacks on Gaza launched from Israeli gunboats off the coast. In the past, such artillery fire into densely populated areas has been inaccurate, causing Israel to desist from such firing after attacks caused high numbers of civilian casualties.

As attacks continue, Amnesty International called on the Israeli authorities, the Hamas de-facto administration and all other Palestinian armed groups to stop all unlawful attacks. They must not target civilians and buildings not being used for military purposes, whether through air or artillery strikes or home-made rockets, and must take all precautions necessary to protect civilians from the dangers caused by military operations.

Amnesty International also expressed great anxiety that a ground incursion into Gaza by Israeli forces could greatly increase civilian casualties.

“Israeli forces must bear in mind that there are no ‘safe’ places in Gaza for civilians to seek shelter. They know how densely populated the Jabalia Refugee Camp is and that the homes are mostly light structures with flimsy asbestos roofs and not able to withstand the effect of strikes. Strikes are virtually sure to kill and injure civilians,” said Amnesty International.

"The Israeli army must not carry out attacks which pose a disproportionate risk to civilians. They must always choose means and methods of attack that are least likely to harm civilians.”

"We urge all parties not to target civilians and not to carry out indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks that put civilian lives in danger.”

Examples of civilian casualties:

On 27 December seven students from a school run by the United Nations were killed outside the school, just after lessons finished as they were trying to get home. The Israeli bombardment had first started at about 11.30 am on a Saturday, a day and time when the streets are very busy, particularly as children finish school just after midday, just as the initial bombardment was at its most intense. Seven students from a UNRWA school were killed outside the school just after lessons finished and they were trying to get home.

On 27 December Muhammad al-Awadi finished his exam and left the al Carmel School in the Rimal district of downtown Gaza City, a school located near the al-Abbas police station in a residential district, at about 11.30 am to return to the orphanage where he lived with his brother Ahmed. He was fatally wounded when a bomb was dropped on the Police station, just as he

came out of the school. Muhammad was treated in the ICU unit of Gaza City Hospital but died in the evening of 30 December.

On 28 December five sisters from the Baalousha family aged four to 17, (Jawhir, 4; Dina, 8; Samar, 12; Ikram, 14; and Tahrir, 17) were killed in their home in Jabalia Refugee Camp, located north of Gaza city in Gaza’s most densely populated area. Four other siblings were injured when the mosque near their home was bombed, and theirs and several other homes were destroyed and damaged.

In the night of 28-29 December three bothers from the al-Absi family aged three to 14 yrs (Sedqi, 3; Ahmad, 12; and Muhammad, 14) were killed along with their mother while several other siblings were injured when their home was destroyed by a strike in a refugee camp in Rafah, south Gaza.

Since the beginning of the offensive on 27 December, more than 360 Palestinians have been killed, including scores of unarmed civilians, including some 70 women and children. Some 1,700 Palestinians have also been injured.

Four Israeli civilians have also been killed and scores injured as all Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, including the armed wing of the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas’ al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, have continued to launch rockets from Gaza into southern Israel.

Find out more about Amnesty International's work for human rights in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Take action to end human rights abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

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