The hidden benefits of Amnesty

A few weeks ago I wrote a series of angry letters to all of the people/companies that i felt were acting without integrity towards me. I wrote one to Ian Chubb, the vice-chancellor of ANU complaining about the current downsizing of the undergraduate schools of Arts and Social Sciences. I should write more about this subject but others do it better, basically the schools are being amalgamated, teachers are being dismissed in favour of hiring more researchers, less classes are being offered and resources in general are getting reallocated to postgraduate departments, and all without consultation with undergraduate arts and social sciences students. The second letter i wrote was to Woroni, the ANU student newspaper, who drafted a story on the 'Save the Humanities Campaign' but pulled it at the last minute out of fear (im guessing) of Chancellery, my letter questioned why they werent covering the story seeing that the Canberra Times, Sydney Morning Herald and ABC Radio were, and what allegience they had with Chancellery that could keep them from publishing a story that is so obviously relevant to the ANU student body. The final letter i wrote was to the exchange company that arranged for my family to host a dutch exchange student for a total of five months and then never bothered to find her a family for her remaining seven months, thus leaving her with nowhere to stay but with us.

I'm learning now just how successful writing letters can be. While my letter to Chubb was part of a bigger letter writing campaign and hasnt been delivered yet, my letter to Woroni was published in the most recent edition with a note saying that coverage of the campaign would be included in the next issue. I also received a prompt response from the editors when they got my letter promising coverage of the campaign. The exchange company also responded quickly and a week after sending the letter, my family got a call from the company telling them they had found Dutchy a new family, every member of my family had been calling the exchange company to complain for months.

What astonished me more though was how much i enjoyed writing the letters. I loved it! Sitting on my high horse casting disapproving glances and the corrupt, lowly charlatans below me. What is more, it came ridiculously easy. I sit staring at nothing for hours when im writing essays, trying to find the right word or phrase that will translate the messy sentiment in my head into something legible. but when i was writing letters, phrases like 'i demand' and 'i condemn' were popping up left, right and centre.

It led me to thinking about how i got so good at criticising people in written form. I could take it, and do, as part of my current mission to be more assertive, it is easier to assert myself in writing than in person. But i also think i could thank Amnesty International for my new found skills. I started campaigning for Amnesty when i was in year 11, copying letters from their website and rewording them or taking pointers and writing them myself. Six years of practice now and i think i can thank Amnesty not only for my letter writing skills but also for the idea of advocacy, Amnesty writes letters advocating for others who cant do so for themselves, on the general idea that wrongdoings should be stood up against. Perhaps Amnesty can take a role in my mission of self assertion; in learning how to advocate for others i have learnt how to advocate for myself.

On another note, can one advocate for oneself? Or does advocate mean representing the interests of someone else? I shall look up.

On another different note, here is JK Rowling discussing some other hidden benefits of Amnesty (among other things). Its long, but shes good