Former human rights prisoner thanks pupils
Rosalba Gaviria Toro was freed on June 3 after being cleared of a charge of “rebellion”, having been detained for 27 months without trial.
She is currently visiting Ireland and Britain.
Over 400 letters, signed by pupils and teachers at Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine, Kenmare, were sent to the Colombian embassy in London, protesting at her imprisonment.
Speaking through an interpreter at the school, she said the letter was an extremely important part of a wider international campaign for her release.
“’I think it was one of the main things that helped me and the visit to the school to express my appreciation is my main mission in Ireland,” said Ms Toro, a Colombian trade union activist and president of the Women’s Movement for Peace and Human Rights.
Colombia, she said, was the most dangerous country in the world in which to be a trade unionist, with 3,000 activists having been assassinated.
She was welcomed to the 500-pupil school by principal Dermot Healy and teacher Ann Piggott, who encouraged her third-year CSPE pupils to become involved in the ICTU-organised campaign.
Ms Piggott said: “The letter did have a significant influence because the Colombian authorities don’t like pressure from the outside world. There was a slow, incessant release of letters signed by concerned young people.
“This is a fantastic story and it shows that young people can make a difference. It has also made the pupils very aware of the importance of human rights.”
Pupils Ellie Gudgeon and Annie Cooper led the campaign. They photocopied 400 letters, got them signed by fellow pupils and teachers and organised fund-raising to cover postage. Three letters a day were sent out for over three months.
“It’s a great thrill for us to meet Rosalba in person,” said Ellie. “We didn’t really expect her to come. She is one of the most important people ever to visit our school.”
She had written to the girls from the women’s prison in Quindio, Colombia, saying their letter brought her “great happiness” and that she looked forward to meeting them and thanking them in person, if released.
A leading member of Fensuargo, the agriculture workers’ union, she said prisoners in Colombia included trade unionists, student activists, comm-unity leaders, human rights defenders and academics, all opposed to the governing regime.
Ms Toro presented a piece of colourful embroidery depicting a girl, which she crafted while in prison, to the pupils. It will be displayed prominently in the school.
