A tale of human rights

When Alex Owens wrote a short story for Amnesty, he found himself published alongside some of the world’s top authors

HUMAN RIGHTS happens somewhere else. Over there, someone is beaten, wrongly detained, despised for minor differences, tortured, degraded, dehumanised. We rarely relate the concept to our own lives on this relatively lucky island.

Last year, Alex Owens, a Transition Year student at Blackrock College, Co Dublin, sat down to write a story. In His life wasn't flashing before his eyes like they say it is, Alex imagined a boy on a school tour, fading in and out of consciousness after a severe attack by strangers on the street. The story was a response to Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Alex submitted his entry to the Irish Times/Amnesty competition and found himself published in From the Republic of Conscience, a book of short stories inspired by the declaration, alongside 32 internationally renowned writers including Seamus Heaney, Joseph O'Connor, Roddy Doyle and Maeve Binchy. The book was supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs' Irish Aid section.

“My story was about a vulnerable person, who hadn’t done anything wrong, and was treated very badly,” says Alex. “He was stabbed for the sake of what – a phone? It shows how we can disregard other people, acting far from a spirit of brotherhood.”

Alex won first prize for his entry and, as well as being a published writer, spent two days on work experience at Amnesty’s international secretariat in London.

“One of the main things I discovered through this competition was the huge difference that people working collectively can make. Amnesty is a grassroots organisation, relying on people around the world both to report the truth and to respond to their calls for action.”

A SECOND prize-winning entry came from Aine O’Gorman, a Transition Year student at St Anne’s Secondary School in Tipperary town.

“I had an interest in Amnesty before this competition,” she says. “My parents get the Amnesty urgent appeal letters every so often, and we learn about human rights through Civic, Social and Political Education . But this was my first time getting involved. I wrote a story about a non-Irish national who comes to Ireland. She is smart and academic but doesn’t have the language and so gets a lesser education, limiting her chances in life. I wrote it in response to Article 26, the right to proper education.”

Bestselling author Claire Kilroy, whose book All Names Have Been Changedwas recently published in paperback, was a judge for the Irish Times/ Amnesty Transition Year competition. In her response to Article Seven, which states that all are equal before the law and are entitled without discrimination to equal protection of the law, she tells the story of two teenagers who have sex. The boy is prosecuted for statutory rape after it emerges that the girl was underage. "These are two teens – is it right that one of them is brought to court?" says Kilroy. "What struck me was that all the stories were located in Ireland, as opposed to countries with major human rights violations. These are situations any of us could find ourselves in. Ireland may not torture people but perhaps there are more subtle ways in which we don't respect each other's human rights."

Alex Owens believes that Amnesty’s work is never done: “You can’t diagnose treatment for hatred or social unrest. There’s always going to be evil in the world, and even when you deal with the problem you’re never sure it’s gone. And yet, day after day, in spite of the terrible injustices and horrible stories they hear, people come back to work.”

From the Republic of Conscience: Stories Inspired by the Universal Declarationis in bookshops

www.amnesty.ie

Strong voices Artists inspire students to speak out

Amnesty International Ireland is currently producing a new Voice our Concern Human Rights Education resource.

The resource brings together the different art forms which have been used by Amnesty’s Voice our Concern project over the years, including drama, music, poetry and photography.

The resource employs these art forms to explore a range of human rights issues in a creative and accessible way. It gives students and teachers the opportunity to engage in classes that have been written through collaboration with internationally acclaimed artists, such as Christy Moore, Neil Jordan, Seamus Heaney, Roddy Doyle and Emmanuel Jal.

This resource also includes a section on art and human rights that is co-authored by the Irish Museum of Modern Art and features key works by internationally renowned artists Gillian Wearing and Gilbert George. The resource will be launched at the beginning of March.

For prices and to order your copy email Human Rights Education Officer Sorcha Tunney at stunney@amnesty.ie