On Friday, June 19, Linda and Michael joined some of our friends in a demonstration organized by Iranian students in Budapest to show support for those protesting the recent election in Iran. The Budapest demonstration took place at Heroes' Square -- a quiet gathering with photos and signs and folk songs.
Click for more photos.
On Tuesday, May 19, Amnesty International Hungary activists joined in a Global Day of Action in support of Troy Davis, an African-American man who was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of a police officer in the United States, despite strong evidence suggesting he is innocent. Carrying signs and wearing pictures of Troy Davis on their white t-shirts, the AI-HU activists led a “Solidarity Walk” through downtown Budapest, from Vorosmarty Square to the US Embassy. They handed out flyers (Eng - Hun) information sheets (Eng - Hun) to passers-by, and paused near the Godor Klub at Deak ter, and in Szent Istvan ter in front of Szent Istvan Basilica, to reach out to as many people as possible. In Szabadsag ter, as the activists assembled in view of the US Embassy, representatives from several news outlets, including Duna TV, Magyar Nemzet, and Hungarian news agency MTI, were on hand to report the story. Duna TV report on Budapest Troy Davis Solidarity Walk
The Global Day of Action mobilized worldwide opposition to the death penalty in support of Davis, whose case is a particularly egregious example of the inherent injustice of the death penalty. There are several serious and fundamental flaws in his case. No murder weapon or direct evidence was ever found connecting Davis to the murder. Many of the “witnesses” at the original trial have since recanted, saying that police pressured them to implicate Davis. Several witnesses have also implicated another man. Nevertheless, throughout Troy Davis’ long battle to fight his conviction, the courts have focused mainly on procedural issues, while important evidence that he is actually innocent of the crime has not been examined.
With their action, the AI-HU activists added their voices to those of thousands of others, from Argentina to Uganda, as well as all 50 US states, united in their opposition to the death penalty, and calling on the US to deliver justice for Troy Davis.
View more photos of the event (click any photo for a slide show).
To learn more about Troy Davis’ case, visit some of the links below:
Also check out the Amnesty International Hungary activism blog (Hungarian – English)
Special thanks to JD for the excellent photos!
For
our April Salon we will bring back one of our favorite human rights
films, Murder on a Sunday Morning, which we first showed in 2006.
Winner of the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Film, Murder on a
Sunday Morning tells the story of a 15-year-old African-American boy
who is arrested and put on trial for the murder of a Florida tourist –
even though the only thing he appears to be guilty of is being an
African-American male walking near the neighborhood where the crime
happened. The one piece of luck the young man has is that he is
assigned a particularly sharp, determined, and committed public
defender as his lawyer – and the story of how they take on a "justice"
system with injustice at every level makes for suspenseful and often
jaw-dropping watching. To repeat what we have said before about the
film, regardless of what you think you know about the racism in the US,
this film will both shock and uplift you.
Maria Lis Baiocchi, who discussed the criminalization of abortion in Argentina at our last Salon, was kind enough to pass along a few links for those who are interested in learning more about the topic. First, she directs us to a report from Human Rights Watch -- Decisions Denied: Women's Access to Contraceptives and Abortion in Argentina, which can be downloaded or read online at the Human Rights Watch website. Those who read Spanish (or are familiar with online translation tools such as Google Translate :o) ) may also want to take a look at despenalizacion.org.ar and abortolegal.com.ar.
We've posted a new photo album on the blog with pictures from our "Women's Rights Are Human Rights" Salon. Enjoy!
Each fall, Budapest is the site of Verzio, an excellent human rights film festival that brings to the screen dozens of human rights documentaries from dozens of countries around the world. The 2008 Verzio Festival included more than 50 films from over 27 countries -- and still, this leaves out many worthy films that do not make the final selection.
Fortunately for us, the Verzio organizers have introduced a spring film series to help fill the gap. The 2009 RE: VERZIO Documentary Film Series showcases seven films -- four audience favorites at the 2008 festival, and three new films that were not shown at the fall festival.
The first film in the RE: VERZIO Series is Anna, 7 Years on the Frontline, winner of the Audience Award at the 2008 Verzio Festival. The film (which we were able to see back in November) is a compelling portrait of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who became well known for her passionate commitment to reporting on the conflict in Chechnya, and whose October 2006 murder remains unsolved. The documentary includes interviews with Politkovskaya's colleagues and friends, as well as many conversations with the journalist herself, as she describes her work, its dangers and challenges, and what drives her to keep pressing on.
Anna, 7 Years on the Frontline will be shown Wednesday, April 1, at 6pm, at the OSA Archivum, Arany János u. 32., (in the 5th district near Arany János metro stop).
All films in the RE:VERZIO Series are shown in the original language with English subtitles.
The series continues with a film every week for the next seven weeks. To see the full schedule, keep reading below.
As we mentioned at our most recent Salon, Michael dedicated the March 8th episode of Soul School to International Women's Day, and featured a specially selected playlist in honor of the occasion.
We've uploaded the audio files of that show for those who would like to listen. The episode is available in two parts, which you can find by clicking the links below.
Enjoy!
As promised, we have prepared a special program for this coming Thursday, March 26th, at 7pm, commemorating International Women's Month. For this evening, we will be joined by a team of presenters from Central European University -- Maria Lis Baiocchi (Argentina), Robin Chaurasiya (USA), and Rachel Horst (USA) -- to give us a multi-faceted international perspective on some pressing problems affecting women around the world.
Women's Rights Are Human Rights:
International Perspectives on Domestic Violence, Criminalization of Abortion, and Human Trafficking
March has come to be recognized globally as International Women's Month — in acknowledgment of women's worldwide struggles for political and economic rights. It is a month to bring about awareness in societies around the world of the gender-based disparities that are still present and to reflect on the struggles women must still fight in order for the promise that "women's rights are human rights" to be fulfilled. This Ráday Salon will invite participants to learn about and reflect on some of the major types of discrimination women still face, including domestic violence, criminalization of abortion, and human trafficking — using the cases of the USA, Argentina, and India as specific examples.
Rachel Horst will focus on domestic violence as a problem in the United States (as it is globally), with a special focus on the state of Pennsylvania. The presentation will describe the institutions in place and the legal options for women who are victims of domestic violence as well as the community efforts to combat it and the public/private sphere implications of the problem. She will also address how this problem cuts across societal lines — which include but are not limited to the divisions present between urban and rural areas, low income and high income regions, as well as immigrant populations, white communities, and communities of color.
María Lis Baiocchi will address the criminalization of abortion in Argentina and its impact on the lives of women. The presentation will give a brief overview of the legislation in place as far as abortion is concerned and provide a background of the devastating consequences of it. It will provide a historical overview of how, over the course of the past two decades, the issue of abortion went from being completely absent from public debate to being located at the very center of it as primarily an issue of public health. The presentation will consider sociological explanations for the impossibility of pro-choice social actors to frame the issue as a matter of women's human rights and full citizenship rather than of public health, and the detriments and benefits of such framing as far as the advancement of the right to legal, safe, and free abortion is concerned.
Robin Chaurasiya will provide an introduction to the global scale of human trafficking, with an emphasis on sexual trafficking of women. The presentation will then focus on trafficking in India and cover Hindu practices that enable trafficking within the country when girls are designated as Devadasis, Joginis, and Mathammas. The presentation will include a short audio slideshow covering the Devadasi system, as well as several examples from Robin's work in Mumbai at an NGO. She will conclude with a discussion and critique of anti-trafficking NGOs in India, her current research topic at CEU.
The presentations will be followed by an open discussion in which we especially encourage our guests to provide perspectives on womens' issues in their own countries and regions. We are sure it will be a thought-provoking and enlightening evening, and we look forward to seeing you there.
On Friday, March 27, Michael will be presenting a series of events as part of the Saluting Women's History Month program at the new American Corner at Corvinus University. The program includes a workshop on human rights, as well as a screening of Aishah Shahidah Simmons' groundbreaking documentary NO!. Our long-time guests will be well familiar with NO!, but if you are new to us and would like to know more about the film, you can find a wealth of information both on our website, and on the film website at http://notherapedocumentary.org/. The Saluting Women's History Month events at the American Corner are free and open to the public, but as space is limited, registration is required. For more information, including instructions on how to register, visit the American Corner events page.
Beginning in 2004, activists of the Humanist Movement in Hungary have been marking the anniversary of the Iraq War with a "living peace sign" in Budapest's Heroes' Square, made up of hundreds of people holding up candles as the light fades and evening begins.
(Click to see photos and video of the 2007 peace sign.) Every year, the event has grown, with peace signs appearing in dozens of cities around the world. This year the symbol, which will celebrate nonviolence, will be held on Sunday, March 22. The event begins at 6pm and participation requires a small participation fee (800Ft) to help cover the costs. Hungarian speakers can find more information at http://www.vilagbekemenet.hu/.
