Local Chapter of Amnesty International in Wissembourg Fights for Human Rights
A portrait is displayed in the entrance hall of the Louise-Weiss space. A face unknown to the general public who nevertheless received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023. For the past two years, the Wissembourg section of Amnesty International has been mobilizing for Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian journalist and human rights activist. Arrested multiple times by the mullahs’ regime, she has been incarcerated again since December 2025. At the foot of the portrait, a petition calls for her release. Furthermore, eight others invite you to denounce, among other things, population expulsions in Ecuador or to support a Nigerian singer sentenced to death for a song deemed blasphemous.
Leaving the sales room, arms generally loaded with books, not all visitors necessarily stop in front of these tables. If they came, it’s mainly to stock their libraries without breaking the bank: paperbacks for 1 euro, comics for 3, beautiful books for 5.
Raising Awareness and Recruiting
On Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29, the 18th edition of the book fair organized by the local chapter of Amnesty International took place. A way for the NGO to raise funds and for visitors – an average of 500 over the weekend – to find good deals. But it’s also a time to raise awareness,” emphasizes Laurette Auer, secretary of the Wissembourg branch. And to recruit new members because “we need renewal,” affirms the volunteer.
Created just 45 years ago, the Wissembourg group operates with about a dozen members who come together once a month. A collective with an average age of around 70. In this context, the arrival of new profiles is valuable. Like Laure, 34. This Wissembourg resident recently joined the association after accompanying her mother to a book fair. “I wanted to get involved locally,” she explains simply, while sorting paperbacks alphabetically.
Raising Funds
Leading up to this fair, a large annual collection is organized in October at the Amnesty office, located within the Jean-Ohleyer school. “At first, we took everything,” Laurette Auer mentions. School books, dictionaries, or German-language books are now excluded as they no longer find takers. During this annual event, out of the approximately 20,000 books collected, a fifth is sold.
The funds raised finance investigations conducted by the NGO following reports of human rights violations generally transmitted by lawyers or families. “We know very well that what we do is a drop in the ocean,” confides Laurette Auer. “But sometimes, there is good news.” Additionally, the local branch organizes two days of awareness-raising in Lauterbourg and Wissembourg in the fall and spring through film screenings. Next meeting on May 5 at La Nef.
