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| Index | E-mail | Resources |
June 1998 |
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| Index | E-mail | Resources |
June 1998 |
Human Rights Tidbits
Men With Guns
That’s the title of the latest John Sayles movie (director of “Matewan”, “The Secret of Roan Inish” and “Lone Star”). Set in an unnamed Latin American country, this is the story of a doctor who goes looking for the students he sent years before to work among the Indians in his country, only to discover first hand the realities that the “men with guns” had brought to the people of his country. Beautifully photographed and impeccably edited, the movie conveys the desperation and resignation of the indigenous people, and tells their common story of repression by both government and opposition armed groups, without pulling any punches or falling into cheap melodramatics. It starts famed Argentine actor Federico Luppi, and it was filmed in Spanish with English subtitles. Highly recommended.
How to get addresses of government officials.
Have you ever needed to get the current name and/or address of an official from a foreign government immediately - and couldn’t think of how to do it? Well, despair no more - here are five easy (though not always cheap) ways of getting the addresses.
-On the web: *Look in Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) for the official homepage of the government of the country in question. The info here is most likely to be current.
*Visit the Address Directory for the Politicians of the World, though incomplete it has the most basic information http://www.trytel.com/~aberdeen/
*Look at the most current Urgent Actions on the country in question at http://www.derechos.org/omct/actions/past.html - the World Organization Against Torture might have done your job for you.
-When all else fails:
*Call the embassy of that country in your own country - they should have the information.
*Call your own embassy (or that of the US) in the country in question - expensive but the info is more likely to be reliable.
Preserving Memory
Colombian Human Rights activists have found a novel way to preserve the memory of victims of human rights violations: a Gallery of Memory. On May 19th, 1997, they erected a big tent on Bolivar Plaza, in front of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, where they showed photographs and personal effects of human rights and social leaders, and others, who have been killed or “disappeared” in Colombia. Thousands of people visited the tent - and there are plans to continue the Gallery of Memory as tool for struggle for human rights in Colombia.
Translate It!
Have you gotten e-mail from foreign correspondents in languages you couldn’t understand? Ever visited a web page in French, German or Spanish and wished that the information was available in English as well? Well, worry no more. Altavista Translation Service is here. Located at http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/translate? the service allows you to input text, that can then be translated from German, Spanish, French, Italian or Portuguese into English or vice-versa, or enter the URL (web address) of a page you want to visit, and have it translated to your language of choice. Mind you, the translations are adequate at best, and often more amusing than anything - but if you don’t speak a language and just want to get the gist of a document - the service (which is free) can be invaluable. So check it out!
Escrache
What do you do when the people who kidnapped, tortured and killed your parents or relatives go free? When the doctors who attended your pregnant mother while in a concentration camp escape unpunished? The answer that many members of HIJOS, an organization of the children of the disappeared, extra-judicially executed and exiled in the Southern Cone countries, have come up with are escraches. An escrache involves setting up a demostration in front of the house or place of employment of a known torturer or killer, alerting the public as to his identity and his crimes. In a recent week, Argentinean doctor Raul Sanchez Ruiz was the object of an escrache. Sanchez Ruiz worked in the ESMA (Naval Mechanics School), the largest concentration camp in Argentina, where he made sure the disappeared did not die during the torture sessions, so that they could continue being tortured. He also attended the pregnant women who gave birth at the concentration camp, and is suspected of knowing the whereabouts of their children - most of whom were given to families and friends of the military to adopt as their own. The escrache included a play about a doctor who helped a military man adopt the child of a disappeared woman, and ended with red paint being thrown at the walls of the doctor’s house.
Supermarket Electric Chair
Coto Supermarket in Argentina came out with a novel way to attract customers: “The original Shocker”, an imitation electric chair where the “user” pushes the electric shock buttons to simulate an execution. Amnesty International Argentina has written the company to ask for its removal, noting that the electric chair ride makes light of the death penalty, and mocks the thousands of Argentinian citizens who were killed by electric cattle prods on the torture tables of the dictatorship. The outcry against the chairs was successful and they have been removed from all stores.
Derechos on ICQ
Want to drop by for a friendly chat about human rights issues? Do you have a question about human rights that requires an immediate answer? Drop by our ICQ (Computerese for I Seek You) human rights chat room (ICQ #12973982). Don’t know what ICQ is? Visit their website at http://www.icq.com/
Archbishopric of Guatemala remembers Monsignor Gerardi
On June 6th, 1998, 40 days after the murder of Mons. Juan Gerardi, the Archbishopric of Guatemala will carry out a commemoration of Gerardi and his life. The Archbishopric is also calling for religious (masses, vigils) and non-religious activities (marches, concerts, conferences, demonstrations, letters to embassies) to take place in cities around the world. For more information, visit their web page at http://www.guateconnect.com/odhagua
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Visiting New York and in the mood for a different type of movie? Why not take a look at the offerings of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. The Festival will take place between June 12-25, 1998 and approximately 30 international films and videos concerned with human rights subjects will be shown. Highlights of the Festival will travel to several cities around the world. For details visit http://www.hrw.org/iff
