Tonight, in a quiet way, Moishe House London has been a hub of international human rights advocacy. As I write this, there is a pile of twenty envelopes next to me, addressed to Presidents, Ministers, Governers and the odd MP. Tomorrow, I will take them to the post office and they will begin journeys to Indonesia, Nigeria, China, the Congo, Columbia, Turkey and elsewhere.
The letters are the outcome of an 'Activist Letter Writing and Cake' evening. A small band of houseniks sprawled on the floor surrounded by resources from Amnesty International, and scribbled away, fuelled by brownies. Reading the stories behind the letters we were sending off, I couldn't help but feel awed by the bravery of activists working in countries where they are daily faced with the threat of imprisonment, torture or death, for having the temerity to speak out against abuses.
To share just one story, the journalist and poet Shi Tao has been imprisoned in China since 2004. His crime? Emailing a pro-democracy website with information on how the Chinese authorities instructed journalists to cover the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Yahoo! admitted providing information to the Chinese authorities that led to his arrest, and a ten year sentence.
I feel so privileged to live in a country where criticising the government will not land you in prison. It's that hoary old Pesach-Shavuot dichtomy of freedom / responsibility.
Baruch atah adonai, matir asoorim. Blessed are you, Eternal One, who frees the bound.
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