Amnesty newsletter

Dear Sylwia,

When I took a job in 1976 with a small human rights group called Amnesty International, I had modest expectations. Up to then, I had been a '60s radical dedicated to ending the war in Vietnam and fighting injustice here at home.

But I reached a point where I needed to make some money while I looked for the next big thing. Amnesty International was looking for a press officer, and I signed up.

Early in my career at Amnesty, I had coffee with Pavel Litvinov, a Soviet dissident who had been arrested for demonstrating in Red Square and thrown into the Soviets' brutal gulag prison system for five years. He told me the only thing that kept him going during those lonely years in prison was knowing that Amnesty International was out there working to secure his freedom.




Join me. Become a member of Amnesty International today.
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Donate by September 30th, and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

For a young activist like me, it was a startling realization -- that our actions could have real power, that Amnesty could literally open a prison door and save a life halfway around the world.

Amnesty International continues to mobilize thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. But we can't do it without you -- become a member today.

The world has changed dramatically since the Cold War, but from Darfur to Burma, people are still being jailed, beaten, even killed for attempting to defend their human rights.

Will you commit to improving human rights worldwide by becoming a member of Amnesty International today? If you contribute by September 30th, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous Amnesty donor -- up to $130,000.

You'll be joining a movement of 2.2 million people worldwide that produces extraordinary results. Prisoners of conscience are freed. Death sentences are commuted. Torturers are brought to justice. Governments are persuaded to stop their human rights abuses.

We are not waiting for a new administration in Washington, D.C. to reverse U.S. human rights practices. We are the agents of change that will make it happen. And this month, your donation will go twice as far.

If there's one thing I've learned in my 30-year career, it's that no other organization is more recognized for its tireless and effective work to defend human rights worldwide.

Thank you for your continuing commitment to our work.

Sincerely,

Larry Cox
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA