From living rooms and libraries to classrooms and community halls across Canada
Every year, thousands of people across Canada show up for Write for Rights. They write letters, sign cards, learn about cases, and stand in solidarity with people they may never meet, but whose rights matter deeply.
Last year was no different. From coast to coast, activists gathered in libraries, schools, community centres, places of worship, and living rooms. Some events were large and bustling; others were small and quiet. All of them mattered.
This piece is a thank you to everyone who participated, hosted, wrote, shared, and believed that collective action can and does make a difference.
Across the country, the same message: you are not alone
Images from the St Marys London Stratford Area Amnesty Group Write for Rights event.
What stood out most from this year’s events was not just the number of letters written, but the care behind them. People took time to read case sheets closely. Young people asked thoughtful questions. Long-time activists welcomed first-time participants.
In Barrie, Ontario, a student learned about Unecebo Mboteni from South Africa and responded not with statistics or slogans, but with poetry. At the event, she shared these words:
Safety is in our hands
Every child, every soul, deserves a place
Where fear is banished, and hope has space.
No one should tremble, no one should fall,
In the halls of learning, or the washroom’s call.
Every life is precious, every heartbeat known,
No one should suffer, no one alone.
From city streets to villages wide,
Safety and care should never hide.
We build our schools, our homes, our lands,
But only together when we hold each hand.
For health, for justice, for life, for all,
We rise together or together we fall.
So let us listen, let us act, let us see,
A world where every person can happily be.
Where clean water flows, and classrooms shine,
Where every life matters, yours and mine!
By Anya
Moments like these remind us that Write for Rights is not just about letters, it’s about empathy, imagination, and learning to see the world through someone else’s eyes.
When letters turn into impact
Students in Barrie ON on the left and University of Victoria on the right
Over the years, Write for Rights participants have helped shift the course of real lives.
One powerful example comes from Rita Karasartova, a prominent human rights defender and civic governance expert in Kyrgyzstan. She was featured in Write for Rights 2023 and has faced repeated attempts by authorities to silence her peaceful activism.
In April 2025, Rita was detained after a search of her home and later charged under vague and politically motivated provisions such as “organizing mass riots” and “public calls for the violent seizure of power.” Her trial was held behind closed doors, violating her right to a fair and public hearing. In September 2025, she was sentenced to five years’ probation, fined, placed under police supervision, and banned from leaving the country.
Despite this, Rita sent a message of solidarity back to activists around the world:
“I am very glad to be able to post in solidarity with other activists throughout the world. You’re doing an amazing job!”
Her words are a reminder that even when outcomes fall short of full justice, international attention and sustained pressure matter, and are felt.
Hope, even when justice is incomplete
There are also moments when years of advocacy help open doors.
In December, Belarusian authorities released 123 prisoners, including Maryia Kalesnikava, a long-time prisoner of conscience and subject of Write for Rights 2024.
Reacting to the news, Amnesty International emphasized both hope and urgency: celebrating the releases while reminding the world that many others remain unjustly imprisoned, and that true justice requires accountability and reparations—not political bargains.
These moments matter. They show that persistence can yield results, even while the broader struggle continues.
Thank you for showing up
On the left is Maryia Kalesnikava of Belarus (W4Rs 2024) and Rita Karasartova of Kyrgyzstan (W4Rs 2023)
To everyone who participated this year: thank you.
Write for Rights is powerful because it is collective. Each letter on its own may feel small—but together, they become a global chorus calling for dignity, freedom, and justice.
As we look ahead, may we carry forward the hope, care, and determination that filled rooms across the country this year. Change does not happen overnight, but it does happen when people refuse to look away.
In solidarity, always. ✊
