Civil rights activist Karen Tse spoke at Syracuse last Tuesday, March 22. In Hendricks Chapel, Tse told stories about the horrors of torture and poor prison conditions. There are no torture laws in 113 countries and Tse is making it her mission to change this. Torture is the cheapest way to get an admission of guilt, but it is also one of the least accurate and effective. Victims of torture often admit to crimes they did not even commit as a way to escape the torture.
Tse founded International Bridges of Justice, an organization that provides legal counsel to those in countries where legal counsel is not as readily or easily available. In addition to International Bridges of Justice, Tse founded JusticeMakers. JusticeMakers is an online program that allows people to apply for a fellowship to create a project to eliminate torture and other unfair legal practices.
While most of what Tse spoke about was incredibly moving and touching as well as informative, she had the entire audience sing at the end. I felt that this singing detracted from the overall message and was a sort of cheesy way to end it. However, as silly as the end may have been, overall Tse’s speech was incredibly moving.
