Ways to write
Every letter is of importance for a prisoner. Anonymity is a big danger for an innocently imprisoned human life. – Minke, writing since the 1970s for Amnesty in Sint Nicolaasga and Leeuwarden, 2013
For Amnesty International, writing letters to authorities has always been a personal way of campaigning. In the Netherlands many Amnesty volunteers have been active letter writers: in 1992 there were 157.023 Dutch Amnesty volunteers. They organized themselves in 249 local Amnesty teams (in 2011). Different ways of letter writing were developed. At the same time, Amnesty International Netherlands always had to remain critical about the effects of the work of these enthusiastic writers.
Popular airmail envelope of Amnesty International, second half of the 20th century
Courtesy of Archive Amnesty International Netherlands, IISH, Amsterdam
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