Funny things postcards, aren’t they? It was always the case that you’d usually get back from holiday before your postcards did. Now that you’ll have been showing off about sunny weather and cheap cocktails in tweets and Facebook status updates from the moment your plane touched down, they seem even more like a relic from a bygone age.
That said, my mum and dad still send me a postcard whenever they go on holiday and it’s so much more touching than a text message. You get the feeling that someone cares a bit more if they’ve taken the effort to buy a card, write it and post it.
That’s also the thinking behind our new postcard action campaign for Shaker Aamer, a former UK resident who’s been locked up for nearly nine years in Guantanamo Bay without ever being charged with a crime or put on trial. We want the US authorities to know that people in the UK still care about him.
We’re asking people to send a postcard of their local area to Special Envoy Daniel Fried in Washington, the man tasked with closing Guantanamo. We want people to ask him to ensure that Shaker is either charged and given a fair trial, or released back to the UK to be with his wife and kids in Battersea, south London.
Here’s the text that we suggest you write:
Dear Special Envoy Fried
Please release former UK resident Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo Bay to be with his family in the UK, or charge him promptly and give him a fair trial.
President Obama has committed to close Guantanamo. Returning Shaker Aamer to the UK, a safe country that is willing to take him and where his family lives, would be real progress towards closure.
Yours sincerely,
NAME (plus address if you want to include it)
SEND YOUR POST CARD TO:
Special Envoy Daniel Fried
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington DC, 20520
USA
We’re also keen to get as many people as possible doing this, so please tweet a link to this post and send it to your facebook friends.
If you’re really keen you could even get a load of people to send postcards – hold a stall in your town centre and invite local people to fill in postcards that you have already bought and addressed, or host a “postcard writing marathon” where you ask people to write postcards for Shaker.
You can find out more about Shaker Aamer at www.amnesty.org.uk/shaker
Great suggestion! I’ll get on it right away. In-fact I’m going to the store now & will pick up some post cards. I also write occasionally to Omar Khadr and have got a couple off to Bradley Manning. I have children these young ages and would want others to care first because of the breach of concern for humanity, 2nd for the injustice that has been done to the innocent, and third to those very similar to my own loved ones.
Sincerely,
Elementary Teacher from US
Susan Hall
Yes this is a great idea. Have already written to my MP. Will take cards along to meeting I’m going to tomorrow.
All best wishes
Former secondary teacher, UK
Pam Kelly
Brilliant idea I shall do that today so much wrong in the world, I see that they have decided that Ken Saro-Wiwa is innocent which means Shell is guilty another wrong that needs righting.
Bill Thomas.
Thank you for writing to me about Shaker Aamer and his detention at Guantanamo Bay. I will try to talk to Jane Ellison about his case.
With best wishes
Frank Field
This reply came from Frank Field, will send post cards from Birkenhead, and get
as many friends and family to send as possible. Would want someone to do the same if he was my son x
I don’t know whether this man is innocent or guilty but I am in approval of closing Guantanamo Bay and this would be one step further to doing so, fair trial or release him sounds fair. The US let 3 out who were from the UK in 2007 was it? due to UK govt fighting for their release but the US held onto this one for some reason.
People should not be locked up when they have done nothing wrong and includes me.
” to ensure that Shaker is either charged and given a fair trial ”
There are no charges against Shaker Aamer so perhaps anyone who writes should take out the part about charging him and putting him on trial, poor guy has enough to deal with, without some souped up charges being put to him at this point.
hi
thats a great idea, i’ll get right on, just to answer Lindas comment. Its a fact of life that only when you commit a crime you can be charged. this is a worldwide law and has been here since man was created, anything beyond this is against human rights. so because USA cannot charge him for any crime he and all the others are therefore innocent and even if they were captured while fighting occupiers on thier land they still have the right to be POWS. The right not be be tortured.
they irony is that those people fighting against invaders in Iraq and Afganistan don’t torture and use inhumane treament against the invading nato/americans.the countries that have been caught torturing peolpe are countries like britain and america who “claim” to have an excellent record of human rights—rubbish—
Thanks
Aqil, Scotland
how many stamps are required for posting to the USA?
I have had a response from my MP, so will send a postcard to the US govt. today, for Shaker Aamer.
Good not to be sending Christmas cards to the UK citizens formerly held in Guantanamo, why is Shaker not on this years’ Amnesty list… maybe the thinking was that he would be released by now… What else can be done, Nick Clegg talks to Hillary C., William Hague talks to Hillary C, What is the hold up here??? Why is he not on a plane for the UK today???