By Alice Liu | May 4th, 2022
Amid global crises such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, upholding human rights is a vital part of response efforts. At times, participating in these response efforts feels like a daunting task for many students. Even elementary steps, such as finding reliable news sources or determining what actions they can personally undertake in response to a global crisis, can leave students with an endless amount of questions and inquiries. This is exactly what Woodlands students Aarya Gupta and Samaaya Gupta considered in taking their next steps to activism - a new Amnesty club at our school this year. They were considerate enough to speak with me about their personal ideals and the way they drive the club’s direction.
In response to what led them to start an Amnesty chapter for The Woodlands, Co-Presidents Aarya and Samaaya said, “We got the idea to start an Amnesty chapter for The Woodlands [because] we wanted to create an opportunity for people to come together and advocate for human rights from a school platform. We have a deep passion for helping others and a strong interest in wanting to give back to [our] community. After doing research, we have realized there are millions of citizens who suffer from abused human rights. Sadly, many people have died because of this. Specifically, in several developing countries, there is a concerningly large problem of inequalities. Equality is an essential component of a peaceful and strong nation. Knowing this, we have created the opportunity to help and support people who deserve equal human rights. We believe we all have a responsibility to uplift the lives around us…specifically, helping individuals and people at their most vulnerable inspires action within us to help as much as we can.”
This ties into Amnesty Woodlands’ overall goal with Aarya and Samaaya at the helm, which is to protect and defend human rights globally. Amnesty International makes recommendations on what needs to be done and identifies the key pressure points for making the required changes happen. Individual chapters then make sure that all those who violate human rights know that Amnesty International members all over the world are watching and willing to speak out for justice and dignity for all. This is based on Amnesty International’s reliable and accurate information about human rights violations, involving direct testimony from people who have experienced and witnessed human rights violations.
For those who wonder why human rights are important in the first place, Samaaya states: “Human rights issues are prevalent globally. To start, human rights are universal basic rights and freedoms [for] everyone who exists as human beings. Regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other identity, it is inherent to us all. All humans are free and equal, and to deny these rights is making the assumption that some humans can be lesser than others. Human rights issues happen when a certain group of people are being dehumanized, and denied access to the same opportunities that we should all share in an ideal equitable society. This is why everyone including students at The Woodlands should take part in the high school chapter of Amnesty, and fight for these individuals and communities rights. Those who are discriminated against, and face abuse, neglect, or isolation, deserve as much support as they can get, which is what Amnesty exists to do.”
In order to realize this goal, Aarya and Samaaya are supported by their executive team. The team members are all passionate about human rights and excited to work together, and you can get to know them by reading their profile summaries on The Woodlands Amnesty Instagram account, @woodsamnesty.
2022-2023 Amnesty Woodlands Executive Team
Starting from the upper left, clockwise: Aarya Gupta, Samaaya Gupta, Alice Li, Armaan Verma, Dhyey Bhatt, Hena Shah, Pritika Lahiri, Jacob Park Adair.
Source: @woodsamnesty on Instagram
Specifically, some of the most important human rights issues to the team are the rights to education and freedom of expression. The co-presidents (top left and top centre) say that “education is a system so crucial in today's world as it gives us jobs, makes us better citizens, teaches us skills, and overall creates a more developed society. Unfortunately, a large percent of people worldwide don't have access to this [right], with a large percentage of this number being girls. Malala Yousafzai, [a Pakistani activist and co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize], had to face this problem first hand. It is devastating to hear her describe the experiences she had to go through. She was even shot in the ear because she was trying to go to school, and the horrifying part is, this is still an occurring problem to this day.”
One method to prevent the authoritarian suppression of human rights abuses cases is to write letters, tweets, emails, and sign petitions. On December 16, 2021, Amnesty Woodlands held their very first event - Write for Rights. Describing the event and its impact, Samayaa said, “Write for Rights is the biggest human rights event in Amnesty International, where millions of people come together to protect the rights of other individuals and communities…the event was very successful [at The Woodlands]. Amnesty supporters from our school took action by successfully writing 138 letters for those whose basic human rights are being jeopardized. By doing so, we supported individuals who have been treated wrongly. The letters were sent to the Amnesty headquarters, who [in turn] sent them to the governments. The [goal] of this was to push governments to challenge injustice and right wrongs, and influence world leaders to protect individuals or communities whose human rights have been denied.”
Woodlands Students Participating in the Write for Rights Event.
Starting from the upper left, clockwise: Adam Ben Lassoued (left) & Jacob Park Adair (right), Aryan Rao, Benjamin Dong (left) & Dylan Dai (right), Sophia Laird (left) & Joy Luo (right), Katherine Zhu (left) & Amy Feng (right), Cristophe Chen
Source: Supplied
She added, “With regards to our chapter’s ongoing initiatives, we are currently hosting a social media campaign called Tuesday Tales, where every Tuesday [we] spotlight a remarkable human rights activist so that we can share awareness and support their cause. We have done a month’s worth of Tuesday Tales so far, covering Black civil rights activists, defenders of safe drinking water, [women fighting sexist laws] in Saudi Arabia, and [journalists] covering the story of Ukraine. We have [also] celebrated and supported many important national causes throughout the year, such as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, National Flag Day, Black History Month, and International Women’s Day. As [The Amnesty Woodlands] executive team has recently been finalized, exciting initiatives are currently being planned for the near future!”
Those initiatives include two main upcoming events. “Firstly, we are planning to have a sporting event with a participation fee of a non-perishable item that will be donated to the Compass Food Bank.” Samaaya explains. “Secondly, we are planning an event week with exciting activities from Monday to Thursday, and a main event with an important guest speaker to look forward to on Friday. The class with the most participants will be awarded a prize and pizza party. Furthermore, when the pandemic allows for more in-person activities, we are planning to host many fundraisers, as well as activities to celebrate international days…[such as] a student-teacher dance-off, and TikTok dance contests.”
Woodlands students can keep updated on those plans by following Amnesty’s Instagram (@woodsamnesty), and joining their Google Classroom using the code ix56kf3. The co-presidents agree that these are the two main platforms where they will post important information about any initiatives they organize. Students will have opportunities to be involved in these events and support diverse causes. Additionally, they may receive a reward or prize for doing so!
While rewards and prizes are a fun added bonus, the core principle of Amnesty is to shine a light on what is happening and bring it to the attention of world leaders, regional and national organizations, journalists, activists, social justice organizations, and individuals who refuse to remain silent in the face of injustice. Amnesty’s candle logo represents that core principle. Samaaya elaborates that it is “based on the saying, ‘It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.’...[through] our research, we bring human rights violations to attention. We do this through media work, educational campaigns, fundraising and awareness events, and using our network to share information. [Students] should know that Amnesty Woodlands is very dedicated to supporting human rights causes, and we are open to any feedback on specific events students would like to see!”
Considering the success of Write for Rights, the resonance of Amnesty’s message for human beings everywhere, and the student involvement that Amnesty Woodlands’s co-presidents have generated for club initiatives, students at The Woodlands are encouraged to support this new club.
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