Photo: Eric and his family in Australia.
The generosity of Radio 4 listeners will allow us to award around 25 additional relief grants to human rights defenders in Africa, the Middle East and the UK.
Thanks to John Simpson and the generosity of 大象传媒 Radio 4 listeners, the appeal for Prisoners of Conscience raised a total of £16,887. This will help us in our fight for human rights defenders around the world who have had their voice stolen, who have been persecuted and oppressed for peacefully upholding fundamental freedoms. Our recent research indicates that at any one time there are tens of thousands of human rights defenders who are persecuted and in need of your and our support.
One such human rights defender was Eric, whose story was featured in the appeal. A father and newspaper editor from Rwanda – he bravely stood against the suppression of independent reporting by the government and paid a high price for it. His family received threats and were regularly harassed by the government. The situation became so dire that they were forced to flee the country to a refugee camp in Uganda.
Prisoners of Conscience were able to help him in his time of urgent need by relocating him together with his family to a safe house. We provided further support by paying for food, rent, clothing and travel costs. Eric is now safe with his family in Australia and they are beginning to settle. The children are at school, and Eric has a driving licence. He recently told us that he will be undertaking a diploma in Nursing, a new career path that he is excited to embark on.
PoC provides financial and practical assistance to help transform the lives of prisoners of conscience like Eric. Thanks to all of you who listened and donated to our appeal we’ll be able to reach more human rights defenders in need and keep their voices alive.
To find out more about our charity please visit our .