by By Feven Endale
Patricia Gressler is a member of Amnesty International, a global movement of more than 10 million people who take injustice personally and are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. I interviewed her about her perspective of international students, and this is what she shared:
As advisor to the Herkimer County Amnesty International Chapter, it has been my pleasure over the years to work with many international students here at Herkimer County. The International Program at Herkimer County Community College is very diverse and unique. It has been my experience that international students have a world perspective that enables them to see the need for an organization like Amnesty International to ensure the protection of universal human rights. Those with whom I have worked with have been eager participants in our many letter writing campaigns that appeal to leaders on behalf of prisoners of conscience. In fact, this year’s Write4Rights campaign makes that involvement even easier. Unfortunately, due to covid we are unable to have our traditional celebration in RMCC, whereby students copy pre-written letters on behalf of individuals worldwide, whose rights have been unjustly taken away, while enjoying refreshments, camaraderie, and live music. Although we missed this year’s event, we have an online opportunity where this year’s campaign’s cases can be found at the website below and students, international or native born, can easily show their support for those individuals, each of whose cases have been thoroughly researched by Amnesty International, by signing the online petition that accompanies each case.
