Thursday, December 13, 2012

On Friday 11th January 2013… All Roads Lead to Guantánamo Bay: How Can You Get Involved?

It is now less than one month until the 11th anniversary of Guantánamo Bay on 11 January 2013 and the London Guantánamo Campaign’s “All Roads Lead to Guantánamo” day of action. 166 prisoners remain there, almost entirely without charge or trial after a decade. In his first term in office, President Obama has failed to live up to the principles of freedom, justice and human rights he claims to espouse. The responsibility thus falls on the shoulders of civil society – us – to take action.

There are lots of ways in which you can get involved in this day of action from ALL OVER THE WORLD. For the past 11 years, the US and other governments have had plenty of excuses for inaction, what’s YOURS?

1 – Join our educational tours retracing the journeys of five prisoners to Guantánamo Bay: some who remain, some who have died, and some who were never near Afghanistan in the first place. The purpose of the tours is to raise awareness. We would especially appreciate the involvement of people who can help to provide live streaming of the tours, and provide updates on the tours as they progress through videos, pictures, audio, text comments, etc. relayed via e-mail/SMS/Twitter/Facebook and Tumblr.  For more information on the tours and to join, please e-mail us: london.gtmo@gmail.com For more details: http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.co.uk/#!/2012/11/your-invitation-to-join-us-to-mark-11.html

2 – As part of our vigil outside the US Embassy at 6-8pm in the evening: http://www.facebook.com/events/137186296431211/ we will be reading out YOUR messages to President Obama about Guantánamo Bay. Please send us your short messages: 50 words maximum (Tweet/SMS length) by e-mail: london.gtmo@gmail.com/ on our Facebook Page (below) or Twitter (@allroadsleadg11) 

3 – Please help raise awareness of this event and anniversary: invite your friends and family to join.
Watch and share our promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzhe9BnrGIk&feature=plcp

You can follow the news and action from now and on the day (live) on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllRoadsLeadToGuantanamo
Twitter: @allroadsleadg11 https://twitter.com/allroadsleadg11
Tumblr: http://thelondonguantanamocampaign.tumblr.com/
LGC blog: www.londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com

We anticipate the action on the day to be educational and interactive, so we look forward to you staying tuned to our updates on the various tours, news on prisoners, facts about Guantánamo Bay and what you can do, as well as your feedback. Feel free to share any relevant information – from around the globe - with us too!

 4 – If you can only attend the vigil we are organising outside the US Embassy in the evening, we would appreciate help with:

-          Holding up banners
-          Stewarding
-          Reading out messages and the names of current prisoners
-          General organisation

5 – The London Guantánamo Campaign is an entirely volunteer organisation. We too will be taking time off our day jobs. We largely fund our own activities, however if you are able to make a small contribution to the cost of the banners we will use on the day – outside the embassy and as part of the tours – it would be greatly appreciated. Please e-mail us for more details on how to do this.

6 –If you are a filmmaker, photographer or media worker, and you’d be interested in covering this action (tours/vigil), please get in touch with the co-ordinator, Aisha Maniar, at the e-mail address below. More details on media involvement: http://www.spectacle.co.uk/spectacleblog/guantanamo/london-guantanamo-campaign-11-january-2013/

Be a part of history. We hope to see you there – in person or virtually – and send a strong message to President Obama, weeks before he assumes his second term in office, that GUANTANAMO MUST CLOSE.

For any queries, or further information, please contact the London Guantánamo Campaign