In Defence of Freedom

In Defence of Freedom by Patricia White



Two Portuguese students, drinking in a Lisbon cafe in 1961, raised their glasses to `Freedom’. Police swooped and they were jailed for several months. Outrageous? That’s what British lawyer Peter Benenson thought, and from his outrage the human rights organization Amnesty International
came into being.
In a democracy such as ours it is hard to conceive of the lack of freedom experienced by so many millions of people worldwide. Freedom of speech, movement, religion, freedom to protest against perceived injustice are all a normal part of our life. But for so many of our fellow human beings these principles are unachievable luxuries.
How many thousands of souls have `disappeared’, how many thousands live in fear of arrest and torture, even death because of their race or beliefs, political and religious?
People in many countries have no indigenous voice to defend them. This is where AI steps in – to defen...