Samaaya Gupta 鈥 who, along with her twin sister Aarya, co-founded a youth chapter of Amnesty International 91原创 at their Peel Region high school in 2021.
Bernardo Caal Xol, of the Maya Q鈥檈qchi鈥 people in Guatemala, is a teacher and environmental activist. But when he defended local communities affected by hydroelectric projects on the Cahab贸n river in 2018, he was sentenced on bogus charges to more than seven years in prison.
During Amnesty International鈥檚 annual Write for Rights campaign in 2021 more than half a million actions 鈥 letters, emails, tweets and petitions鈥攚ere taken on Bernardo鈥檚 behalf. A year later, facing international pressure, Guatemalan officials released Bernardo.
鈥淭his is what Write for Rights contributes to 鈥 this is the real impact of it,鈥 says Samaaya Gupta 鈥 who, along with her twin sister Aarya, co-founded a youth chapter of Amnesty International 91原创 at their Peel Region high school in 2021.
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鈥淲e both know that human rights issues are prevalent on a global scale, and millions of people are denied access to the same opportunities that we all share in what we call an equitable society,鈥 says Aarya. 鈥淎nd we also both have many who have experienced some of these inequalities all over the world.鈥
Samaaya Gupta 鈥 who, along with her twin sister Aarya, co-founded a youth chapter of Amnesty International 91原创 at their Peel Region high school in 2021.
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Getting involved with Amnesty International 91原创 created an opportunity for the twins to advocate together for human rights. This is when they learned about Write for Rights, which takes place across 91原创 on Dec. 10 as part of Human Rights Day.
For more than 20 years, Amnesty International鈥檚 annual Write for Rights campaign has used the power of words to transform the lives of people whose rights have been wronged. Last year, for example, members hosted events in more than 200 countries, including 162 events across 91原创. Together, participants signed petitions and wrote millions of letters, emails and tweets 鈥攃umulatively taking over 4.6 million actions.
Anyone can participate in Write for Rights, not just students. You can write a letter, sign petitions, attend an event or even host one. This year鈥檚 Write for Rights is special, as participants will also celebrate the 75th anniversary of the signing of the UN鈥檚 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. More than a hundred Write for Rights events are already planned across the country.
Letter-writing is at the heart of the campaign. Letters send support to people whose human rights have been denied鈥攚ho have been unfairly harassed, threatened, or jailed for who they are or what they do 鈥 and to put pressure on governments, leaders, and decision-makers.
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As part of their first Write for Rights event Samaaya and Aarya put up posters featuring the 10 cases in their school lobby. Students could read through the cases and choose to write letters in support of any of the causes.
Leading up to the event, they also ran a campaign on Instagram where they profiled each of the 10 cases. 鈥淲e were hoping to get some engagement by connecting people and allowing them to hear what these individuals had been through,鈥 says Aarya.
The campaign was effective: In 2021, about 70 students took part in the school鈥檚 Write for Rights event. Last year, about 100 students participated. This year, the sisters are hoping for more.
The sisters have seen firsthand how their letters can change lives 鈥 like with Bernardo Caal Xol.
鈥淚 am grateful to each and every one of you,鈥 Bernardo said after his release. 鈥淵ou have given me hope for the justice, liberty and equality that must prevail in every people and nation.鈥
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鈥淎 lot of people came up to us after the event and told us about how impactful they felt their letters would be,鈥 explains Samaaya, 鈥渨hich I actually wasn鈥檛 expecting from high school students. But it was quite inspiring to see how many people were actually working together鈥攖hey started collaborating and collectively writing letters,鈥 says Samaaya.
Aarya says being involved with Write for Rights 鈥 and with Amnesty International in general 鈥 gives youth a platform to make their voices heard. Many youth want to take action, she says, but struggle with how to actually make an impact, not just at a community level but on a global scale.
鈥淚 believe that real change has been made to people鈥檚 lives because of actions like these that are ongoing, where many activists are released from being wrongly imprisoned. All these actions put together really empower people to create change, and change does inevitably happen in some way or another,鈥 says Aarya.
鈥淐ampaigns such as Write for Rights help people start their journey of activism. An event like this is a perfect starting point for people to learn, to become inspired, and then they can take their own journey.鈥
Learn more about how you can participate in Write for Rights at . And you can also sign petitions supporting the Write for Rights cases at .
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