October 30, 2015
By Gay Gardner, Amnesty International USA member
"I’m an activist with Amnesty International, and today is a reminder of why I have been doing this for more than 30 years. Shaker Aamer is finally returning to his family in the U.K., after being held without charge at Guantanamo for more than 13 years. Amnesty’s campaign, along with the work of countless activists around the world, has helped get the U.S. government to release him. It is the unwavering defense of the dignity of individuals such as Shaker Aamer that inspires me and keeps me active in Amnesty.
Amnesty was born when British lawyer Peter Benenson published his 1961 article The Forgotten Prisoners in The Observer newspaper protesting the arrest of two Portuguese students for raising their wine glasses in a toast to freedom. Benenson’s outrage lit a spark that ignited a global human rights movement. Amnesty demonstrated to ordinary citizens that they could make a difference in righting injustices affecting other individuals even in remote parts of the world."
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