Part I . . . Notes, References, and Shoutouts (Chapters 21-27)
(BbU Supplement #5)
Many of the HRI staff characters introduced here and in following chapters are loosely based on my time working with the Concerts for Human Rights Foundation, Inc. Its mission: the production of the 1988 Human Rights Now! Tour. It was created as a separate legal entity from Amnesty International USA due to the tour being underwritten by Reebok (a bone of contention within the organization).
. . . we talked rather aimlessly about the upcoming symposium at Trinity College. — Trinity College in Hartford, CT
. . . during one or two crises he was brilliant in flashes . . . — A small tip of the hat to old school, hard drinking beat reporters I’ve known who’ve been left on the ledge. They deserved better.
Chapter 22. At the Mercy of Time and Distance
He’s on sabbatical at INSEAD . . . — INSEAD, The European Institute of Business Administration located in Fontainebleau, France.
It has a great view of the Sound . . . — Long Island Sound
. . . I recognized him from my future . . . — Director Joe Wright talking about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy’s relationship in his commentary on the DVD of the 2005 film, Pride and Prejudice : “They recognized each other from their future . . .”
As members of the National Detention Project . . . — Description of the scope of work taken from Amnesty Action, a publication of Amnesty International USA, Spring 1999. Projects and anecdotes are drawn directly from Amnesty’s literature throughout the 1990s, and closely resemble the work the organization undertook at that time. Permission to draw on this material was obtained from William F. Schulz, Executive Director of AI USA from 1994 to 2006.
I stood at Ross’ side while he sat at the computer in Tyler’s office . . . — A reminder that, in the 80s, no one had a personal computer on their desk; there were one or two computers in the “computer room” and everyone went there to use them.
. . . they were not forgotten here. — “Though you may disappear, you’re not forgotten here …” “Wallflower,” by Peter Gabriel. Peter Gabriel IV, Geffen, 1982.
. . . she gets dressed up in her best power suit—the whole bit . . . — A yarn spun by one of the original starter-housemates, a Miss A. Hume. This story of waiting at the gates might actually have been true, might have been lifted from someone else, or perhaps was just circulating in the public domain at the time.
Chapter 25. In the Thick of Things
Fenway is, of course, home to the Boston Red Sox. A day-night doubleheader is different from a regular doubleheader in that one game is played in the afternoon and the other played in the evening, not back to back.
Chapter 26. I Know How to Sail
Another Peter Gabriel song provides inspiration for this chapter: “Sky Blue,” from the album Up, Geffen, 2002.
I am writing to appeal . . . — A letter written by the author to the President of Cameroon during the summer of 1987. The prisoner’s surname has been changed.
Other stories of human rights abuses told in this chapter were drawn from Amnesty International reports published during the late 1980s. While most of the material is paraphrased or altered somewhat, some is taken verbatim, some expanded on, some strictly the author’s own invention. Names have been omitted to respect privacy.
. . . the nightingales have returned . . .
Listen to nightingale birdsong
Top image: Not everything lost. Source: New Information on Past Urgent Action Appeals newsletter.