Amnesty group plans letter writing workshop

KATINA CURTIS

THE Kiama branch of Amnesty International will hold its first open letter writing morning at Kiama Community Cafe next Wednesday.

Branch treasurer Sue Stuckey said letter writing was the main form of activism for Amnesty and the members wanted to share their skills and passion.

She said that in recent years Amnesty’s focus had broadened from its traditional campaigns for the release of prisoners of conscience.

Members now also campaign on broader themes, such as against human rights violations in China or to stop violence against women.

“We used to run a stall down in Berry but we’ve stopped doing that and we are doing (letter writing mornings) because it is more centrally located for the Kiama group,” Mrs Stuckey said.

The letter writing mornings will be held on the first Wednesday of each month between 9.30am and 11am and are open to anyone interested.

“If you’re unhappy about something, you should do something. If you attend a meeting and write a letter then it’s better than grizzling,” Amnesty member Bea Hodgson said.

Mrs Stuckey said one of the good things about the letter writing was that it could be done in your own time.

“Once you’ve been to a session and had it demystified, you can then do it in your own time because people are very busy these days,” she said.

“In terms of effectiveness, they still say that the handwritten letters are far more effective than typed ones.

“Even just one sentence isn’t very difficult to write: please release so and so.”

The first letter writing morning will be held from 9.30 at the Kiama Community Café on Wednesday, April 2.

For more information about the morning or Amnesty International, contact Sue Stuckey on 4237 7625.