Every year, the members and managers of the Amnesty International association hold a book fair in Lannion. This year, it is scheduled for Thursday 4 and Friday 5 July, in the Ursulines hall. Between 400 and 500 buyers are expected, and everyone is welcome. “These are books that we collect, so there is everything,” says Marc Chaignon, co-secretary of Amnesty International Lannion, recalling that this year, manga will also be offered. He and his colleague, Michèle Landhauster, “share the tasks” to ensure the smooth running of the association.
“It allows us to be independent”
More than a ton of books will be on sale. Books are generally sold at €5 per kilo and only €1 for encyclopedias or dictionaries. Part of the money collected funds the local group. This makes it possible to organize film debates or interventions in schools on awareness of discrimination, for example. The other part is attributed to the Amnesty collective, at the national or international level. “It allows us to be independent because Amnesty does not receive any subsidies, that’s a strength,” continues Michelle Houssais, member of the association. Each year, a researcher report is funded; field surveys are carried out to document the violation of human rights, by theme and by country: “It’s a drop in the bucket, but what is written is watched by the whole world.”
Exhibition, petitions and other commitments
As part of the fair, the organizers will present an exhibition on the war in Ukraine through press cartoons. It will be possible to access different petitions on different subjects: a request for a ceasefire in Gaza among others. Finally, postcards will be offered to support Nasser Zefzafi and his family, sentenced to 20 years in prison in Morocco for participating in the “Hirak” movement.
Practical
Amnesty International Book Fair, Thursday 4 July, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday 5 July, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Ursulines, in Lannion. Free admission.
