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QUESTION MARK???? Q1. Do the Letters of concern we
sign each month really make a difference? Q2. Is it O.K. to mail the letters back to
you late? Q3. How is Global Importune funded? Q4. Are my donations to Global Importune tax
deductible? Q5. How did Global Importune start? Q6. How do you know these political prisoner
are ¡°innocent¡±? Q7. How do you know then the prisoners are
released? Q8. In addition to signing onto the monthly
human rights letters, how else can I help? Q9. Do you ever get a chance to meet some of
the people you help release? Q10. What do Amnesty
and other human rights organization say about the work that G.I. does? Q11. How do you do it
without charging a fee? Q12. What Does the
American government say about what Global Importune is doing? Q13. How do you decide
which country to focus on each month? Q15. At what age should
I talk to my children about human rights? Q16. Can my child sign
the monthly human rights letters? Q17. What happens to
prisoners we write on behalf of who are not released? Q1. Do the Letters of
concern we sign each month really make a difference? A. Yes, the following is from a former political
prisoner in the Dominican Republic ¡°¡When the first 200 letters came, the guards gave me back
my clothes. Then the next 200 letters came, and the prison director came to
see me. When the next pile of letters arrived, the director got in tour with
his superior. The letters kept coming and coming, 3000 of them. The President
was informed and the letters still kept arriving, the president called the prison and told them to let me go.¡± Q2. Is it O.K. to mail
the letters back to you late? A. Yes, it is never to late to safe a person¡¯s
life by signing a letter. However,
please return the letters as quickly as possible. In most cases, a person¡¯s life is at stake the sooner
we make our voices heard, the sooner that person may be free. Q3. How is Global
Importune funded? A. Global
Importune¡¯s only
real source of income comes from donations from concerned Global Importune
members. Global Importune also sells an occasional ¡°Agitated, Agitator, Agitating¡±
t-shirt at peace rallies. In September of 2002,
Global Importune held a fundraiser to benefit a Burmese Women¡¯s Refugee Camp
on the Thai-Burma border and donated 54.1% of the ¡°after expense¡± profits
toward the camps operation expenses. The remaining funds went towards Global
Importune human rights projects. Q4. Are my donations to
Global Importune tax deductible? A. Yes, you can deduct you donations to Global
Importune on your income tax form. Global
Importune is a non-profit 501( c ) (3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Q5. How did Global
Importune start? A. In April of 1997, I was working for consumer
advocate Ralph Nader in Washington, DC. At that time I drafted and circulated
my first series of 3 ¡°letters of concern¡± to Members of Congress and
other policy makers on behalf of victims of human rights abuse in
Mexico. Officially Global Importune began in October 2000; December 2003
marks the 80th consecutive month that I have been sending letters
of concern on behalf of victims of human rights to various country leaders.
Since April of 1997, I have signed and mailed at the very least 300 different
letters of concern on behalf of victims of human right abuse. Q6. How do you know
these political prisoners are ¡°innocent¡±? A. About 97% of all the letters of concern I mail
are Amnesty International cases. That means the cases have been thoroughly researched by Amnesty International
and the prisoners are what Amnesty calls, ¡°prisoners of conscience.¡± That means they are people ¡°imprisoned solely for their
beliefs, color, sex, ethnic origin, language, or religion AND they have not
used or advocated the use of violence. While others may have been denied a
fair trial, others may have been tortured or disappeared.¡± However, Global Importune
like Amnesty International does not believe in the death penalty and at times
profiles cases where the person is guilty and sentenced to death. Like any of the letters Global
Importune sends, you are not obligated
to sign and the return the particular letter if you do not agree with it. Q7. How do you know
then the prisoners are released? A. Periodically, Amnesty International publishes
a list of prisoners released. I also read newspapers articles from all over
the world and at times, and once in a while I¡¯ll stumble across an article
announcing the release of a political prisoner. Though many times, a
government will release a large number of political prisoners and in the mass
of released prisoners will be an amnesty international prisoner. Q8. In addition to signing onto the monthly human rights letters, how else can I
help? A. You can help by volunteering your special
talents, your time or personal connections to people. If you tell me what you
do, I¡¯ll let you know how you can help.
But more importantly, tell
others about the great work that Global Importune is doing. Encourage
them to join, remember, there is never a fee for participating in our letter
signing group. Q9. Do you ever get a
chance to meet some of the people you help release? A. I
have often had the opportunity to meet some of the people we¡¯ve helped
release. In every case they are eternally grateful and ask me to convey their
thanks to all who worked for their freedom. Q10. What do Amnesty and other human rights
organization say about the work that G.I.
does? A.
Since what we are doing is new and never before been accomplished it is
sometimes difficult to explain to others from more established foundations,
but once I make it clear that the objective is the promotion of human rights
they work with me and ultimately their next question is: Q11. How do you do it without charging a
fee? A. To
quote the line from the film, Shakespeare
in Love, ¡°the natural condition [of my work] is one of
insurmountable obstacles on the road to eminent disaster.
Strangely enough it all turns out well in the end.¡± when asked how? I can only
reply is ¡°no one really knows quite how, it¡¯s a
mystery.¡± Q12. What Does the American government say
about what Global Importune is doing? A. I haven¡¯t had many problems with the American government. When
I first incorporated, an investigator thought that I was trying to affect
government policy by contacting foreign officials and they returned my
application requesting further information. Q13. How do you decide which country to
focus on each month? A. I
try to give a choice a wide representation of countries that commit human
rights abuse, however some countries abuse more than others. I look for actions that will interest and
excite Global Importune letter signing group members. Q14. I would like you to come back to speak
to my group / class again this year, are
you still available? A.
Even though I am here in London, Ontario I really look forward to having the
chance to speak about issues of human right to others. Please continue to contact me with your requests. Q15. At what age should I talk to my
children about human rights? A. I
believe that you are never too young to begin learning about human rights.
There are Amnesty International books that deal with discussion of human
rights with the children as young as 6, I
recently spoke to a class of 8, 9 and 10 year olds. Q16. Can my child sign the monthly human
rights letters? A.
Yes, a child¡¯s signature is valued as much as and sometimes maybe even more
than an adult in certain types of cases. Q17. What happens to prisoners we write on
behalf of who are not released? A. In
most cases, I don¡¯t
know. With so many new cases each month, Global Importune hasn¡¯t the
resources to do many follow up letters on behalf of prisoners who haven¡¯t
been released, but there are exceptions. In June of 2001, Global Importune
organized a speaking tour for former Amnesty International political prisoner
Muchen Lin of China. In May of 2003 Global Importune sponsored a human rights
panel discussion featuring former Amnesty International political prisoner of
Gerardo Demesa Padilla of Mexico.In October of 2002, Global Importune hosted
former Amnesty International political prisoner Brigader General Gallardo. I do know that in many cases even if the prisoner
is not immediately released, their treatment and prison conditions are
improved. Government officials really do respond to the fact that someone
cares about what happens to the prisoner. PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS, COMMENTS AND
SUGGESTIONS TO QUESTION MARK
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