Shorecrest Human Rights Club Hosts Appeal Letter-Writing Workshop 

The Shorecrest Upper School’s Human Rights Club recently hosted an appeal letter-writing workshop. The club’s faculty sponsor, Ms. Elouej, facilitated the workshop with a focus on writing letters to government and other officials around the world in order to appeal human rights violations, including death threats, disappearances, inadequate medical treatment, the death penalty, arbitrary arrest, and torture. Members of the HRC, along with guests from the Eurasian Student Union, were in attendance, including Ziad Hemadeh ’25, who said of the experience: "I am glad there is a space where students are able to talk and act about these kinds of problems outside of the typical classroom environment. Especially being involved in the Eurasian Student Union, we represent a region where many human rights violations are taking place and we want to bring awareness to underrepresented cultures." 

Several attendees composed appeal letters during the workshop, including ones to government officials in Azerbaijan, Argentina, and Alabama (US). Club President, Cole Oman ’26, wrote a letter on behalf of Alberto Nallar, a well-respected lawyer in Jujuy Province, Argentina, who was arrested for his advocacy of human rights. Of the experience Oman remarked, “The appeal letter writing workshop was a wonderful way to engage our club in fighting against human rights violations across the globe. It made me feel extremely empowered knowing that my writing has the potential to spark change on a completely different continent. Ms. Elouej’s immense knowledge and care for the topic was inspirational and led to a very informative session in which I learned a lot about the art of appeal letter writing.” 

More human rights advocacy workshops will be held in Spring semester 2024, and all Shorecrest Upper School students are welcome to attend. 
 

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