By George Harvey, LGBTI Coordinator , It is summer time in Canada and many Pride events are underway in cities across the country. The type of Pride event may vary greatly from a large city like Toronto, with well over 1.25 million participants, to an intimate gathering in some of Canada’s...

  By: Margaret Huang, Alex Neve, Perseo Quiroz and Béatrice Vaugrante Prime Minister Trudeau is about to host his US and Mexican counterparts, President Obama and President Peña Nieto, at the “Three Amigos” North American Leaders’ Summit.  It is the tenth such Summit since George Bush,...

Written by Amnesty Canada Refugee Coordinator, Gloria Nafziger @refugeescanada  , Champions. Prevention. Solidarity. Rights. Empowerment , I’m not at home, I’m a refugee. I left my rights behind. , In the world today we need to ensure that no rights are ever left behind.  , Thirty years ago...

On World Refugee Day, we talk to Ghias Aljundi, who fled to the UK from Syria 18 years ago. He is one of thousands volunteering to help refugees arriving in Greece since last year. But he’d never expected that one day he’d rescue his own family from a rubber boat. , , Only after the […]

By Gloria Nafziger, Refugee Coordinator, Amnesty International In the past week I had the privilege of attending two fundraising and awareness raising dinners for Amnesty International. Both events were a reminder of the famous quote from Margaret Mead to “Never underestimate the power of a small...

Today is the 104th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  On this day in 1912, some 1,514 people perished in the frigid waters of the Atlantic.  That is tragedy enough but 468 of those 1,514 people drowned entirely needlessly.  There were exactly 468 empty seats in the lifeboats...

Today is the 104th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  On this day in 1912, some 1,514 people perished in the frigid waters of the Atlantic.  That is tragedy enough but 468 of those 1,514 people drowned entirely needlessly.  There were exactly 468 empty seats in the lifeboats...

Written by Andrew Thompson As the board of Amnesty International Canada (English Speaking), we believe that everyone has the rights to be safe. We believe that everyone has the right to be protected. We believe that everyone has the right to enjoy lives that are meaningful and dignified. We...

Written by Tirana Hassan, Crisis Response Director Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Director Tirana Hassan has spent the last ten years living and working in conflict zones. Here she describes the events that have shaped her life.   Witnessing horrific events I have spent most of the...

  Over one million people reached Europe last year in fragile, overcrowded boats. Why did such a staggering number of refugees and asylum-seekers pay smugglers thousands of dollars to risk their lives? It’s simple: Because they had no other option. With borders slammed shut, few can hope to...

Written by the Ottawa Mennonite Church Refugee Assistance Program  TAKE THE REFUGEES WELCOME HERE PLEDGE     Ottawa Mennonite Church (OMC) has been involved with refugee sponsorship since 1979, when Canadians responded to the boatloads of refugees fleeing the Vietnam War.  Mennonite Central...

Written by Athavarn Srikantharajah and Jothy Pitchaimuthu  TAKE THE REFUGEES WELCOME HERE PLEDGE       My parents came to Canada from Sri Lanka in 1990, with nothing but a few clothes in a suitcase. Even though they were both young and educated, it was hard to find work. They spent their...