They have recently moved into this new "Action Centre" and as much as I loathe saying it, they've become somewhat paranoid and a little laughable in the process, or maybe the Adelaide Chapter have always been a little bit that way and it was just more difficult to tell before. Sure, I know they do really important work around the world, but when you look at this local chapter of the world wide organization's card they are not in "Australia" with the rest of us, they are in "Kaurna Land" which I acknowledge is the name of the tribe of native Australians who lived on the Adelaide plane before Australia was invaded or discovered by white explorers just a couple of hundred years ago. I stop and pay tribute to the Kaurna people and their kinship to this land all the time, as a mark of respect, in more ways than I can count on one hand, and so many times through the year that it sometimes gets a little tedious; however I do it and don't make a fuss. But we live in a country called Australia. If there was a national movement to rename Australia "Kaurna Land" I'd be more sympathetic, but there is not to my knowledge, so it just seems a bit weak to me; a bit pointless. Is Amnesty all about Aboriginal land rights these days? Well maybe in South Australia. I do not believe that it is fair or right to keep political prisoners, to take concepts hostage like freedom or free speech or to deny people their basic human rights. To create a political organisation that collects funds from donations and does a lot of education work is a significant and important thing, but I think such an organisation needs to be very clear and professional about the way it does things. I find the notion that we are to ignore the concept of Australia and pretend that we are in Kaurna Land a very counter productive approach to making a point, but that is my personal opinion. The Adelaide Action Centre has a library and a range of things for sale such as tshirts, books and stationary, badges and pins, so it is possible to be supportive and purchase some of these items if you want to be financially supportive you can just make a donation with nothing in return but the feeling you get when you donate money. I must say I respect the whole concept of Amnesty, but I find the local group a little odd. They have a security system for entering their Action Centre which I find a little over the top. Maybe they have had trouble in the past, I don't know. When I asked I was treated as though I may be a terrorist for asking such a question, so yeah... I'll make any future donations on line, and probably direct to the parent organisation. read more

Amnesty International - Educational Services Near Me - Adelaide, SA

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