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By KATHY YANCHUS Oakville Beaver Staff owhere is it more evident that individuals can bring about change, _ than Amnesty International. A political prisoner jailed in the Sudan because he was suspected of being involved in the production of an underground newspaper, has a group of Oakville Amnesty members to thank for his freedom. An intense letter writing campaign by the teachers, ministers, students and housewives who comprise the group, eventually pressured the govâ€" ermmment to release the journalist from what‘s known as a "ghost house." "You (his family) don‘t know where they‘ve taken him," explained Sandra _ Onufryk, â€" Amnesty International Group 75 (Oakville) coâ€" founder and coordipator of the prisonâ€" through Anora onuravk er file. "They are abused, there‘s not enough water, it‘s very hot, crowded and there‘s no health care." Each individual writes a letter which could be addressed to a head of state, state governors or prison offiâ€" cials. Every month, the process is repeated, until the prisoner is released. "They (the letters) are always polite, very brief and point out that they‘re violating the International : Name: : Address: I Phone:__ I BUY ANY CHANIT and WE‘LL GIVE YOU A FREE HEART PENDANT To s its ut s me m me m mn n m wes es wer es se se ons tw one m PEDALE MA m n m m e o o d t w e un y 0% OFF ALL REGULAR PRICED DIAMOND RINGS O cce I NOe Sn Oc No Purchase Necessary THIRD LINE and REBECA STREET â€" 4 o na s ma va us ue en sis us ut w ons se aal CUALI . L ; Declaration of Human Rights," explained Onufryk. f This particular letter writing camâ€" paign took a little over a year. Some campaigns take less time, some severâ€" al years before a successful concluâ€" sion is reached. In the Oakville group‘s 13â€"year history, they have helped in releasing 13 prisoners jailed for a number of reasons, none of which would be conâ€" sidered criminal in our country. They are jailed for political and religious reasons. They may speak the ‘wrong‘ language or belong to the ‘wrong‘ ethnic group. "They are not people we would view as prisoners in Canada," said Onufryk. "These people have never committed a violent act." Amnesty (Oakville) meets on a monthly basis, but you don‘t have to attend meetings to write letters, she said. The only preâ€"requisite for memâ€" bership is a fee and an interest in improving human rights, in making the world a better place, she added. Writing letters "is not a difficult exercise", said Onufryk. "There‘s such a volume of letters. It has such an affect. These countries are so dependant on foreign aid, they don‘t want to jeopardize that financial aid." With the release of the Sudanese journalist, Amnesty (Oakville) will be assigned another prisoner by the fall and the process will continue. There is no way to prove that if it weren‘t for Amnesty, prisoners around the world wouldn‘t be released, but what members do know, said Onufryk, is that once Amnesty I IL RING : 4 I I | I ons | PCUSTOM | and EXPERT 825â€"9255| d M J e l steps in, guards treat them better, they receive better food and have access to better health care. Sometimes Amnesty members are also called upon to send money to prisoners‘ families for such things as food and clothing, as they did for the wife and family of a Polish prisoner, jailed for his Solidarity loyalty. To join Amnesty costs $35 which C a potential member can bring to a monthly meeting â€" the second Tuesday of every month â€" or send to: Amnesty International Canadian Section, 214 Montreal Rd. Suite 401, Vanier, Ontario, KIL 1A4. Subscriptions to the biâ€"monthly Amnesty bulletin are $16.05. For more information, call Louise Briggs at 827â€"0533. "The staff is just marvellous and I don‘t mean just one department. 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