RIHLA #29

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After looking through the Amnesty website, I've learned that the orginization is about fighting for human rights around the world. The site addresses more than one story about events that involve people being stripped of their rights. Although human rights have been defined in the Declaration of Human Rights, Amnesty shows us that people are still fighting for the same rights. Some cases are for women, speech, etc. One case involves more than one country, and Amnesty is fighting to have an act put up to protect that right. The right to the internet is free for everyone, right? According to Amnesty, there are countries that have restrictions regarding internet use. For instance, people in China, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Vietnam, and Syria have to be careful about what they say on the internet. The site gives an example for each country; a blogger or speaker who spoke against any government body form was arrested. That is a limit on the right of speech, a right definitely defined in the Declaration of Human Rights. The most surprising fact that Amnesty states is that young people are usually the target due to the great use of social networks like Facebook and youth groups. My overall reaction about this is more of shock. I thought that very few countries (like one or two) had aggressive restrictions, but I was wrong. I thought that today's society would allow more freedom for Eastern countries; I was wrong. I understand that by restricting one's ability to use the internet as he or she pleases abuses his or her right to also speak freely online.

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