The fourth Get on the Bus trip to New York - April 5, 1999

Hundreds of activists gathered at 6 AM on a Monday morning, joined in the solidarity of half open eyes, a half lit sun, and the commitment to ACT to stop human rights abuses in Tibet, China and Nigeria. For the fourth year in a row, Amnesty International Group 133 of Somerville MA, has organized a bus trip from Boston to New York to demonstrate at various consulates for human rights. Four hundred activists from Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Connecticut joined forces on April 5 to demand justice. We demonstrated at the Chinese Consulate the Nigerian Consulate and the Chinese Mission to the UN.

We were honored and privileged to be joined by the Venerable Palden Gyatso, a well-known monk who was imprisoned for 33 years in Tibet. He continues to actively protest against the Chinese government, calling for the release of the prisoners of conscience who still remain in Drapchi prison in Lhasa, Tibet. We specifically demanded the release of prisoners-of-conscience Phuntsog Nyidron and Jigme Sangpo, a personal friend of the Ven. Palden Gyatso at both the Chinese Consulate and the Chinese Mission to the UN.

Phuntsog Nyidron, a nun imprisoned for writing a song about freedom, and Jigme Sangpo, a Prisoner of Conscience jailed for the peaceful expression of his beliefs (including writing a poem). The first "Get on the Bus" started with a demonstration to remember Ken Saro-Wiwa at the Nigerian Consulate. For the fourth year, we arrived and remembered his struggle for the Ogoni people. We will not forget him, and our voices ensure that we will not stand silent while innocents are executed in Nigeria.

We also demanded the freedom for Xu Wenli, who is in jail in China for trying to start an opposition political party. His daughter Jin Xu led our protests of demanding his unconditional release.

We headed to Columbia University where the Venerable Palden Gyatso and Jin Xu presented their personal stories in relation to Human Rights in China. Palden Gyatso urged the crowd to continue to apply pressure on the Chinese Government. He recounted the torture inflicted upon him and others while he was imprisoned and called the activists his main hope for stopping the atrocities. He mentioned that he believed letters sent by Amnesty International directly affected his treatment in prison, which dramatically changed one day when he received cookies instead of the electric shock torture he was often given.

Late in the day, with posters and Tibetan flags still waving, Jin Xu raised her voice to the oppressive Chinese Consulate and asked for the release of her father because he had not done anything wrong. During this emotional moment, she yelled, "Free Xu Wenli!" and was immediately joined by a chorus hundreds of activists demanding her father's freedom. The Chinese had slammed their doors shut a steel security gate down, but they could not help but to hear our message.

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