Voices on Paper: English Students Write for Rights

Voices on Paper: English Students Write for Rights

11 December 2025Tema BC, Hope '26

On December 10th, International Human Rights Day, and December 11, the students of every Brentwood English class joined together to participate in the Write for Rights movement. This campaign was established by Amnesty International, a global movement of over 10 million people committed to fighting the abuse of human rights worldwide. Write for Rights focuses on using words, through letters, posts, and petitions, as a call to action to improve the lives of people whose rights have been violated.

Students had the opportunity to read and learn about eight cases of human rights violations. We then wrote letters either addressed to authorities asking for justice for the victims, or to victims’ families, sending messages of hope and support.

Some students wrote to the President of Tunisia asking authorities to drop all charges and end harassment against Sonia, a lawyer who has been charged solely for exercising her right to freedom of expression. She has recently been released!

Some wrote to the Minister of Basic Education in Cape Town, South Africa, asking for an investigation into the death of three-year-old Unecebo, who died due to unsafe conditions at school, and demanded that those responsible be held accountable. Throughout the day, students took action by producing multiple letters showing support for eight different human rights violation cases. Lily A, an AP Lit student said “I’m glad I get to write for people whose voices aren’t heard”. Fiona C also shares that “This is a really eye-opening experience and I’m glad I got to be involved”.

English teacher Ms Hedquist shares her take on the experience: “Students will often get caught up in the goings-on of their own lives. What I like about people who take Write for Rights seriously is seeing the moment when they realize their own privilege. It’s a great learning experience for students to realize there are things in the world to pay attention to.”

Not only did this event help to support an extremely important cause, it also provided the opportunity for students of different grades and classes to intermingle and collaborate with one another. In fact, some teachers breathed a sigh of relief to get a reprieve from their usual group of rowdy teenagers and see some new faces in their classroom.

Amongst Melhuish speeches, crossgrades, practice AP exams, and the chaos of the final week of school, taking the day to shift focus away from our own lives to broader issues by participating in Write for Rights provided a meaningful send-off into the winter holidays.

Tema BC, Hope ‘26

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