Letters That Make a Difference~ Guest Blogger #2

Welcome to another TLWR follower who shares her experience in letter writing for a good cause.

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Like many of us, I’ve come to use e-mail (and increasingly, social media like Twitter and Facebook) and the occasional card to communicate with family, friends and colleagues.


But I do still write letters now and then. This blog, The Letter Writing Revolution, has got me thinking about those letters and what they represent.

For instance, sometimes I write letters to and on behalf of people I don’t even know. I do this through Amnesty International, a group whose millions of members and supporters work to protect human rights around the world.

After my second child was born, I rejoined Amnesty International, which I’d belonged to in my twenties. Late at night after getting the kids to bed, bleary-eyed but wanting to interact with the wider world, I would read a case now and then on the Amnesty International Canada website and write a letter on behalf of the people I read about – like the members of a Zimbabwean human rights organisation who were being assaulted and arrested, or opposition leaders in Chad who had disappeared and were believed to be in detention and at risk of torture. After a while I signed up to receive “Urgent Actions,” which meant that every month or two I’d receive an e-mail message about someone whose human rights were at risk, and I’d write a letter on their behalf.

The letters I wrote were never more than a page long, and I’d write to the authority named, often the head of state or a government minister or ambassador. I’d politely describe my concern about the person or people facing human rights abuses, and sign my name. Handwriting or typing the letters didn’t actually take that much time, and I’d challenge myself to find some personal link to the country or to use my own words, always using Amnesty International’s information as a guide.

Now, a few years later, I realise I’ve written dozens of letters. I’ve also participated in Amnesty International’s last two annual Write for Rights “writeathons,” with a stack of paper, cards, envelopes and stamps beside me. I’ve written to the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nicaragua, to the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to the Prime Minister of Canada, and many others. I’ve written cards to people imprisoned because of their political or religious beliefs, or their families. As I write, I think about what it means for the people who are receiving the correspondence – will my letter make them stop and think that an ordinary person living in Canada is writing to them about what is happening where they live?

It’s difficult to make a direct connection between letters sent and improvements in someone’s human rights situation, but positive change happens in over one-third of appeal cases. Amnesty International sometimes provides e-mail addresses and posts online petitions, but its Urgent Action coordinators believe that “handwritten letters carry more weight than an emailed appeal which is informal, impersonal and easy to delete.” Letters show, they say, that you are willing to take time and effort to write about someone.

Then there’s the personal connection. A couple of years ago I read in an Amnesty International newsletter about a Sudanese poet who was imprisoned in 1989 for his political beliefs. He received some two thousand cards, which he managed to keep hidden during eleven house searches after his release. In 2008 he flew to London and wrote back to everyone who had included a return address, inviting them to a thank-you party.

I’ve yet to be invited to a party, but I’ve received a few replies to my letters, including from several Canadian government ministers, the Mexican Ambassador, and the head of a government department in the Ukraine (along with official translation). I can’t be sure if any of my letters have made a difference, but if a letter I write might be read, then it’s one that I want to write.

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Denise Deby writes letters, occasional guest blogs and other things from her home in Ottawa. She is a big fan of TLWR, and also had the honour of having Julie as her doula when her first child was born.

Catching Up

I have officially completed the "45 Letters in 45 Days" Challenge which actually turned out to be "16 Letters in 8 Days or So"  Challenge. In the midst of writing to the Followers who requested a letter, I was continuing to receive letters from all over the place and trying to answer them in a timely manner. I didn't want it to turn into a chore or become something I had to do. I felt this pressure to answer the letters I received within 24 hours and then it dawned on me............ there is no time frame to answering letters. I am so accustomed to email that I was treating the letter writing the same way. Must answer letters NOW. Must answer letters NOW. A gentle reminder to myself that writing a letter to someone when I actually felt like writing the letter to that particular person and writing when I know I will have some uninterrupted time is what is important. If it takes a week after the letter arrives in my mailbox before I can sit down and write then so be it. I think this is part of the hesitation for some of you.

Are you afraid that letter writing will become just 'one more thing' to add on to your already lengthy "To Do" list? Trust me, you either like it or you don't and if you like writing and receiving letters then you will be able to set aside some time each week for yourself to stay connected in a way that is far more meaningful then a text or an email. If I can find the time, YOU can find the time. You'll just have to trust me on that fact.

It is such a false sense of connection when your only contact with your friends/family members is through a text or an email. It really is. I know this for certain especially now that I have been an avid letter writer and receiver since launching TLWR only six weeks ago. Don't fool yourself into thinking that sending off an email to your parents or a mass mail out to your friends suffices. It doesn't. Period. I mean if that is all you can truly manage, well, it is better than nothing. My mom even commented the other day how she misses getting letters from us....granted I live 400 metres from her so writing letters to her about my day would be just plain silly. I think she gets annoyed when she calls or stops in and attempts to tell me about something my sister said and I announce, "Ya, I know. I read it on Facebook." I can just see her cursing to herself......"Damn that Facebook. Always beating me to it."

If you are one of the thousand or so people expected to read this post and have yet to become a follower.....please join the revolution and become an official follower. As you finish reading this post, I urge you to write a letter to your mom or dad or a sibling or a friend. No one to write to but you're lovin' the revolution........send ME a letter and you are guaranteed a letter back....Julie Keon, P.O Box 533, Cobden, Ontario, K0J 1K0, Canada. I'll be waiting for your letter.