By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

On April 11, two South Portland High School (SPHS) seniors and three freshmen skipped out on classes and took a bus to New York City. They were not in the “Big Apple” to shop, socialize or sight-see, but to join nearly 1,800 other student members of the Amnesty International activist group as part of the “Get On The Bus” program. 

Once in the city, students gathered at various foreign consulates and United Nations buildings to rally and protest against an array of international controversies. 

President of the SPHS Amnesty International chapter, 17-year-old senior Meg McKinnon said she imagined it was a bit like stepping back in time to the protests of the 1960s.

“There was a huge mass of students with signs all over the streets,” she said. “I’m not sure the city drivers appreciated it, but it was neat to see people’s reactions.”

Another 17-year-old senior at SPHS and chapter secretary, Hanah Rosengren, also took the 4 a.m. bus ride into New York. She said she enjoyed watching people take notice of the large crowd from inside the different buildings the group traveled to. Rosengren said she enjoyed watching people inside the buildings hide from the activist crowd.

SPHS learning alternatives teacher Tom Hyland is the advisor for the chapter, and said the group traveled to New York this year to protest and raise awareness for four different causes ranging from the release of unlawfully detained government prisoners to the arrests of corrupt officials.

“One of the goals of the program is to let people know they can’t hide anymore,” he said. “Students here know what’s going on.”

Hyland said despite media reports that a critically ill Fathi El-Jahmi, who was arrested by the Libyan authorities for endorsing freedom of speech and political reform in Tripoli in 2002, was released in March of last year, Amnesty International continues to rally for the “prisoner of conscience’s” unconditional release from a hospital.

McKinnon and Rosengren said they were particularly touched by a speech given by El-Jahmi’s brother, Mohamed El-Jahmi during the rally. 

“It was surprising to see a family member, someone so close to the situation, speak out for their brother,” McKinnon said.

Other speakers included former prisoners from what Amnesty International considers a “nonviolent struggle for democracy and justice,” in Myanmar, experts on the dangers facing media workers in Sri Lanka and other authorities on the 1984 toxic gas leaks in Bohpal, India.

While the “Get On The Bus” trip is exciting for students, McKinnon said the lack of political response following the event can be frustrating. 

“It’s going to take a while, but you never now how our actions can make things happen,” she said. 

For the past three years she and other South Portland students have attended rallies encouraging the arrests of Sudanese political figures Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb. According to Amnesty International, both men are suspected of crimes against humanity including rape, murder and torture. Since 2003 the Sudan government has refused to release the two men for trials by the International Criminal Court. Rosengren said while the arrests have not yet been made, the group’s efforts have been worthwhile.

“Even if it just makes somebody stop and think about it for 10 minutes, it’s worth it,” she said. 

McKinnon said she recently received a letter from U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe acknowledging the chapter’s efforts in supporting Amnesty International’s Violence against Women act and their ongoing commitment to raising student awareness surrounding global issues.

“We send out emails and have a bulletin board in the school,” she said. “It’s a different kind of club, it can be tough to get people interested.”

Earlier this year McKinnon said members of the chapter wore orange armbands in honor of prisoners Amnesty International believes to be unlawfully detained at the U.S. Guantánamo Bay military prison.

“I just never would have known about it without being in the club,” Rosengren said. “It’s nice to be able to do something.”

The chapter hosts various fundraisers throughout the year to provide for the costs associated with the New York trip, which Hyland said included bus fare and contributions to the Amnesty International organization which arranges for guest speakers, signs and food for the event. 

The students didn’t return to South Portland until nearly midnight, nearly 20 hours after leaving that morning; McKinnon and Rosengren said they slept through most of the ride.

When they’re not boarding buses bound for New York City, McKinnon and Rosengren are most likely either practicing with the South Portland marching and jazz bands or putting together college applications. Both of the seniors recently participated in the SPHS Wind Ensemble’s performance at the Merrill Auditorium with the University of Maine Symphonic Band on April 11.

Rosengren said she is planning to attend Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. where she hopes to pursue a major in studio art while continuing to participate in Amnesty International’s political activist efforts.

“It helps to learn as much about it as you can,” she said. 

McKinnon said she plans to study music and mathematics at the University of Maine in Orono in the upcoming year. She said she plans on maintaining her year-round commitment to Amnesty International by keeping up with summer activities in addition to enrolling in social science courses at the university. 

“I definitely want to learn more about what’s going on,” she said. 

McKinnon has been a member of the chapter all four year of high school. She said serving as president of such a unique student organization has been challenging.

“It’s a hard club to keep going, it takes a lot of planning,” she said. “Sometimes you have to stand out and pull people over and say ‘sign this,’ because a lot of people just don’t know.”

McKinnon, who admitted she watches the BBC channel since becoming involved with the club, said she encourages the three freshmen members– Sydney Damian Loring, Lucas Ashbaugh and Maureen Blanchard – to continue to make the trip to New York in addition to smaller events closer to home.

For more information about Amnesty International visit www.amnesty.org.