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Chechnya — What Would Harvey Do?

The Holocaust took place while Harvey was a teenager and its events impressed upon him greatly. Were he alive today, he would be in the forefront of the protests, urging us to fill the streets everyday, stand outside the embassies and consulates every day, and be relentless with our pressure about the media and government officials.

Here are some actions you can take today.

NUMBER ONE

•Donate to LGBTQ activists to rescue LGBTQ men in Chechnya. They are a reputable organization and have rescued at least 25 men. But they are getting more calls for help every day. @RainbowRailroad is also an excellent group to support.

 

NUMBER TWO

Spread the word through social media and with your friends and family.

NUMBER THREE

•Pressure the Media to do more.  Here is a sample message:

Please speak out or continue to speak out about #Chechnya @msnbc @time @abc @npr @nbc @latimes @WSJ @BostonGlobe @denverpost @NewYorker

Since I wrote this some of these media outlets have spoken out.

You can also thank any media outlet that does mention Chechnya

NUMBER FOUR

•Pressure Government officials. Even if these officials are not humane, putting on relentless pressure is a good thing.  Examples: @realDonaldTrump @StateDept ‏ @theresa_may ‏ @Number10gov ‏.

, the US Ambassador to the UN has recently called for an investigation. However her language was not very strong. You can thank her for what she has done and encourage her to do more.  Here is a tweet I wrote her.

 

You can also thank any leader like @JoeBiden who speaks out.

NUMBER FIVE

•Petitions.

GENERAL — ALL SIGNERS

Outright Petition addressed to Oil Companies

Amnesty International Petition

PETITION TO PROTECT BRAVE JOURNALIST WHO BROKE THE STORY

PETITION ADDRESSED TO ANGELA MERKEL 

Change.org Petition to Russian Prosecutor General

US CITIZENS

PETITION TO THE US PRESIDENT

UK Citizens and Residents

UK SHOULD SPEAK OUT CHECHNYA

NUMBER SIX

• Be a Twitter Activist.

1.RT and like tweets about Chechnya. Use the Hashtag #Chechnya to find these tweets and use it in all your posts. You may also use #closethecamps

You can thank people for their tweets. Here is how I thanked Elton John

 

2. Create your own tweets that create awareness and encourage action.

3. Collect tweets and create a Moment. Here’s how to create a Moment.  It can make topics more viral. Share other people’s moments as well.Here’s mine

NUMBER SIX

• Pressure the Russian Embassy by email. The email to the Russian ambassador to the US is rusembusa@mid.ru ; to the UK you can try bilateralrelations@rusemb.org.uk

NUMBER SEVEN

•Be a Community Activist

  1. Organize a local protest.
  2. Organize a protest near a consulate or embassy. Here is a list of Russian Embassies and Consulates in the US. The info is outdated but will tell you what cities they may be in.
  3. Plan a special event to host for signing petitions and raising funds.
  4. Find a creative way to keep Chechnya on everyone’s minds.
  5. Organize a boycott of oil companies that do not speak out.

If you ever wondered what you could do to honor Harvey’s memory, I’m sure this would be it!!!

 

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