AMNESTY'S MAN IN BC

I have been a member for about 13 years, and co-founded the Abbotsford group in 1989.

When did you take on your present job & responsibilities?

l got my dream job with Amnesty International in June this year. As Regional Development Coordinator for BCNukon I support the work of human rights activists in the region with a focus of course on AI members and groups.

What are your responsibilitleJ?

I work with individuals and groups to fo ter and support human rights activism. This means attending planning meetings and special events throughout the region. It also means working in collaboratio!" with other org,in izations - for example Al co-sponsored, with the Sierra Club or Canada, a vi~it to Vancouver by

Nigerian human rights and environmentol lawyer Oronto Douglas. It was very rewarding to take him around Vancouver to speak and be interviewed by the media.

How long have you been i11teresredli11volved in human rights?

I was involved with the Abbotsford Peace Movement as well as a Canadian international development organization through the I980s. These organizations semiitized me to the suffering that was going on around the world, much of it the result of deliberate government oppression. T also realized that l was in a position of privilege and that it ( had a responsibility to work in collaboration with the oppressed to bring about progressive social change. And what sparked tl1Ct1i11raest? What got ii all startecF

It's hard to pin it down to a specific event or point in time. I think it was a graduul real• i,ntion of the massive scope of injustice around the world. The injustice starts in our own community with how we view ;111d treat others, and broadens to the point nf not cnring about the rest or the world.

11 attack. In Canada, we are looking more closely at how corporate interests can either alleviate or accelerate human rights abuses. and on how to protect human rights defenders around the world. One country that is a particular focus right now is Colombia, where human rights defenders are being threatened and killed at an alarming rate. AI in Canada is currently in the middle of a two-year campaign against torture that includes anti-impunity work and fighting discrimination.

What do you see the futLtre of Al in BC/Yukon being like? Do you have any personal goals you would like to achieve while employed by Al?

One of my lif'Sl gouls is to meet as many BC/Yukon human rights activists us possible. and build a communications network that fosters incrensin!¾ awareness and action. Jncreasing member~hip is nn underlying goal, but moving people from complacency to action is more imp11rtnnt thnn whether they actually pay a mernben,hip fee or nut. Colluburating with other organizations, induding those in the arts, i~ also high on my list.

What :1· a ftmn1ritP q11ot<'or sayinf.( that rl!111i11d.1' you nf who yo11ore wul ll'hlll yo11 helil•ve in?

Wh(lt ore some of 1/ie curre111i.1·s11l!1·(foc11.1·es of gm11psrhrou1:l10111/3C and the Yuko11?

Internationally, the organization is respon<Jing to the events following the September l rend a quote attributed to Alice Walker the other day thut lits perfectly hut r can·I remember it exactly right now.