Team Amnesty Dragon Boat Crew A Roaring Success

• Published on 2/03/2010

Team Amnesty at the 2010 Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Festival © Astrid Ottaway

On Sunday 28 February members, staff and supporters of Amnesty participated in the 2010 Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Festival. Team Amnesty arrived at the Festival in Sydney’s Darling Harbour early in the morning and quickly established a colourful presence amongst other participating corporate, charitable and community teams. Team Amnesty took to the water complete with banners, paddles, hats, the readily recognisable human rights t-shirts, a boatload of enthusiastic paddlers and a vibrant cheer squad. Powering through three races on the day, Team Amnesty excelled and displayed considerable skill, team work and competitive spirit from just after sunrise over the high tide, right through until the last race of the day when its speed, energy and almost airborne momentum saw it virtually flying over the finishing line to the thunderous cheers of onlookers and supporters.

In between races, Team Amnesty engaged with members of the community who, drawn by the Amnesty banner proudly flying above our prominent waterfront tent housing team members, approached to discuss the importance of human rights compliance on every shore and in every place in the world. Some folk who dropped into our tent were delighted to receive informative human rights literature and many took the opportunity to sign their support to our current key campaigning areas including Demand Dignity, locally and overseas; Guantanamo Bay and Shell in the Niger Delta.

The day was a huge success. Team Amnesty has already been invited back to participate in next year’s Dragon Boat Races and, in preparation for that event, will be again taking to the streets in August this year for the annual City to Surf fun run.

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