Day 298

Some days it feels like there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, today was one of those days! I returned to the Amnesty International website to write letters for human rights:

• The first was to urge Syrian authorities to give strict and clear instructions to all public and private hospitals to accept and treat all wounded patients without delay. Also to ensure health professionals are allowed to perform their duty of attending to persons with medical needs or to exercise their right to freedom of expression or other peaceful activities without fear of arbitrary arrest and detention.
• The next was to demand basic services and human rights for Kenyans living in informal settlements. On September 12, an explosion ripped through a Nairobi slum, killing hundreds of people. It was a horrific scene of destruction that showed the insecurity of daily life for Kenyans in poverty, who live without basic services and sanitation. Worse still, slum residents can be forcibly evicted from their homes at any time by the government, as they did last year in Kabete, leaving hundreds of families homeless and with no way to earn a livelihood. 
• I then wrote to protect the basic rights of an Iranian actress. Marzieh Vafamehr was sentenced to one year in prison and a flogging of 90 lashes in connection with her appearance in the film My Tehran for Sale. It is unclear what the exact charges against her were. Several other members of Iran's film community, including actors and film makers, have been arrested in recent months, while Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof have been sentenced to six years in prison and bans on their artistic activities.
• Last one I wrote was to stop forced evictions in Serbia. Roma people living in informal settlements in Serbia are being forcibly evicted from their homes without any form of legal protection. Many people affected by the displacements become trapped in a vicious circle, forced to move from one settlement to another, and denied basic human rights, including adequate housing, employment, healthcare and education.

That's all for today! Happy Giving!