By David Pollard, owner of The Joiners Arms: So two students gave a toast to liberty. It probably happens all the time at The Joiners Arms with our motto of Life Love Liberty, and students being, well, you know what students are like.
Cover Image: David Pollard (middle) with friends
This was in Portugal. Well, we all know about Portugal – a bit Catholic for my taste, but a decent enough Western democracy, remarkably liberal in outlook. But it was in 1960 in that famous foreign country, the past, where they do and speak things differently, and usually with less regard to human rights.
Portugal was then ruled by a right-wing regime headed by a man named Salazar. His regime heard about this toast to liberty and the students got 7 years in jail.
An English lawyer, Peter Benenson, read about this and wrote to the Observer:
“Open your newspaper any day of the week and you will find a story from somewhere of someone being imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government.”
Back then, newspapers were very important: there was no Facebook or even the worldwide web. That letter led to the formation of Amnesty International.
The worldwide recognisable ‘candle in barbed wire’ symbol of Amnesty International
From defending and campaigning for Prisoners of Conscience – which no one else did back then, and probably only Amnesty still does so comprehensively, and taking on Governments all over the world, whether it has been our own Government over internment during the troubles, to the US over Guantanamo Bay, Israel over Gaza, Hamas over Gaza, Argentina, Brazil and Chile over the disappeared in their countries, the Soviet Union, South Africa, Nigeria, Turkey – everywhere, really, Amnesty has been at the forefront of fighting for rights supposedly guaranteed by the UN and international treaties.
This has been achieved by dogged, often unpopular campaigning, backed by research and, today, 3 million members and evolution.
The belief is still shared in their motto:
|
|
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness |
Amnesty is now probably the leading human rights advocate in the world, and it is probably the oldest. Its work is now centred on the explicit demand of human rights for all – the right to be free from violence and intimidation, women’s rights, the right to be free from persecution, lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual rights, the right to love, women’s sexual rights.
The Joiners’ LGBT community wall mural, painted by David Shenton.
Amnesty has been a major part of developing the very language of human rights and making it part of our daily talk.
In other words, Amnesty and the developing ideas which we all help keep coming is part of who we are today.
That is why we are inviting you to raise your glass in a Toast to Liberty, together with us at The Joiners Arms this August Bank Holiday.
The Joiners Arms is at 114-116 Hackney Road, Shoreditch, E2 7QL. They will be celebrating Amnesty International and their valuable work on Bank Holiday Sunday 24th August, with a £5 donation to AI as entrance fee. 9pm-4am.
