Name: Mia Sullivan

Social Justice Group: 2018-2019, Freedom of the Press

Date of Fieldwork: December 26, 2018

Name of Organization: Pen America

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles:

Type of Fieldwork: Direct Action

What I did:

I wrote letters to imprisoned writers in Iran, Myanmar and Russia. The letters were wishing them happy holidays and let them know that people all around the world support them in their fight for freedom of the press.

What I learned:

While reading the journalists bios I learned a lot about the tactics and illegal methods that Iran, Russia, and Myanmar use to suppress and silence their citizens. In these countries, journalists can be arrested for expressing their opinions and speaking against their government. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer from Iran was arrested for fighting for women’s rights and not supporting the idea that all women must wear hijabs. The government also arrested her husband and sister because they supported her ideas. She has been arrested a total of 3 times and her house was raided twice, just because she had new ideas that the government did not approve.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that in many dictatorships people are afraid to defy or disagree with the leader/group in power. This is because the government can send you to prison and target your family because of your ideas. People are afraid to speak up and live in fear of their government. Many people have spoken up over the years in these countries but were silenced quickly. For example, Iran sent Nasrin Sotoudeh to prison for “spreading lies and propaganda.” She was speaking up against the harsh treatment and oppression of women in Iran. The government did not want her or her followers to get any attention from the media or the public so they sent her to jail to silence her.