Pick Up a Pen, Save a Life

If you could save a life by writing a letter, would you do it? In 1961, British attorney Peter Benenson launched an international, grassroots letter-writing campaign to free individuals languishing in prisons in ten different countries. He called these detainees “prisoners of conscience,” a term he defined as “any person who is physically restrained (by imprisonment or otherwise) from expressing an opinion which he honestly holds and which does not advocate or condone personal violence." His campaign grew into the global human rights organization known as Amnesty International. Its charter is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and its logo, a candle surrounded by barbed wire, is recognized the world over.

These letter-writing campaigns really work! Chinese poet and journalist Shi Tao was liberated in 2013. Iranian journalist Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand, who spent a decade in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison for exposing human rights violations, was finally released this past May. It’s true: the pen is mightier than the sword!

Need help setting that pen of yours in motion? We're Amnesty International Group 342, and we're here for you. Our members include persons of all ages who are passionate about defending human rights. We meet on the third Wednesday of each month in Wegmans café, 50 Foundry Way (at Rt. 29), in Malvern, PA 19355. Come join our work. Pens provided!