Letters for Amnesty

Although it is hard to document the effectivity  of the campaigns of Amnesty International the story of Rachida Ben Salem is a truly inspiring one.

“RACHIDA BEN SALEM IN NEDERLAND!”

Rachida Ben Salem and her husband after her release, 2000
Courtesy of Amnesty International Netherlands, headquarters Amsterdam

This was the header of the Amnesty in Actie magazine of September 2000. Rachida Ben Salem, a Tunisian woman had been separated from her husband for over eight years. Her husband had been a member of the then-illegal Al-Nahda party. When he had fled to the Netherlands, the authorities harassed her and Rachida decided it was time to leave. She tried to flee the country but failed and ended up in prison. Meanwhile the local Amnesty team ‘s-Gravelande/Kortenhoef put pressure on the Tunesian government by  collecting 2046 autographs and many postcards. Rachida was set free and in July 2000 she suddenly got permission to travel to the Netherlands. In an interview with the NRC she states that without the support of Amnesty, she would never had made it to the Netherlands, the country were she was “reborn.”

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