Writing to our Worldwide Brothers in Prison

[normadenardo]

I can find a list of brothers in prison on our website but how do I find or does anyone have a list of addresses I can write to and instructions? I would love to get a group together in my area to write letters of encouragement. Thanks!

[Intercore]

Off-topic, but I thought you've shared your poem to these brothers and sisters in this post 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Intercore

[normadenardo]

3 minutes ago, Intercore said:

Off-topic, but I thought you've shared your poem to these brothers and sisters in this post 

I don't think I've shared too many of my poems recently. I have a list of them in one of the clubs and scattered in other posts, but not this one. Is there a special one you are interested in?

[Intercore]

1 hour ago, normaclutter said:

I don't think I've shared too many of my poems recently. I have a list of them in one of the clubs and scattered in other posts, but not this one. Is there a special one you are interested in?

I know you do, but my first thought when I saw this thread was that it's your poem 😀

Edited January 9, 2020 by Intercore

[normadenardo]

9 minutes ago, Intercore said:

I know you do, but my first thought when I saw this thread was that it's your poem 😀

Thank you :)  I do love to write.

[Sequoia]

https://jw-russia.org/ has some addresses and is from the organization an elder in my congregation told me and it says Watchtower Bible Tract Society of Pennsylvania at the bottom and has contact for brothers that represent our organization in the US and Europe.

 

There are not address for all the brothers and sisters listed on that site but there for some in pre-trial detention and penal colonies.  This site just deals with Russia.  It comes up on the page in Russian but there is bar that says English that you can click on.  There are addresses for both brothers and sisters.  

 

It says do not discuss topics related to criminal prosecution and do not send parcels for they are limited how many parcels they can receive at least in the Penal Colonies.  

 

An elder told me if I want to write to those in other countries it's best if I send it to our Branch and they'll get it to them if they can. 

 

Don't forget the proper postage. For example you may remember it takes a global stamp in the United States which costs more than a regular stamp to get a letter to Russia.  And write Your country under the return address.  I know some that forgot to write USA when we were writing officials in Russia.

 

I hope this helps anyone who wishes to write.

Edited January 9, 2020 by JW2017

[Victoria]

The letters to Russian prisons must be written in Russian. I suggest writing something simple and using google translate.Also I can help to translate. It would be great to send some pictures.

Recentely I got an answer from prison. The brother said that he appreciates the letters  very much because no one is allowed to visit him. He said the letters gave him strength and confidence.

[Sequoia]

On 1/9/2020 at 9:51 PM, Victoria said:

The letters to Russian prisons must be written in Russian. I suggest writing something simple and using google translate.Also I can help to translate. It would be great to send some pictures.

Recentely I got an answer from prison. The brother said that he appreciates the letters  very much because no one is allowed to visit him. He said the letters gave him strength and confidence.

I talked to an elder tonight who knows about how to do it and jw-media.org.  He said it depends on the person and the prison.  He said if it's an issue it will say along with the person's profile and contact info.  If it doesn't say anything about it then it should be fine to write in English like I did.

[Victoria]

13 hours ago, JW2017 said:

I talked to an elder tonight who knows about how to do it and jw-media.org.  He said it depends on the person and the prison.  He said if it's an issue it will say along with the person's profile and contact info.  If it doesn't say anything about it then it should be fine to write in English like I did.

You have sent a letter to Russia? 

I know for sure that a letter must be read by a person who works at the  prison and probably that person cannot read in English. Another problem the brother or sister in jail may not speak English. Very few Russians can speak English. I know that brother Dennis Christensen can speak English. 

Fsin-letter website says letters must be in Russian. That's all I know.

[Bek]

6 hours ago, JW2017 said:

 jw-media.org

What website is that? I have tried opening it, but it says it cannot be reached. 

 

 

[ChocoBro]

I've been starting to write letters with thoughts from the Bible to people I've never met before, some in prison, some who lost their loved ones to a tragedy, my most recent one to a family whose daughter committed suicide. I personally think it's a great way to convey a thought to people, and I think the likelihood of them reading a personal letter is quite high... it makes great hours, and besides that, our territory is a vast, spiritual desert (German language, suburban and wealthy, everybody has their own paradise here, as they often say)

 

But I never thought of writing to brothers in prison. Why not! I'm in.

[normadenardo]

I want to know how to get addresses to any of the imprisoned. Not just in Russia. I know people write. I just can’t find any addresses. 
 

That jwmedia site didn’t come up for me either. 

I know one can use a translation site to change their letter to another language. 

[Sequoia]

9 hours ago, Bek said:

What website is that? I have tried opening it, but it says it cannot be reached. 

 

 

I meant jw-russia.org it comes up in Russian but there's a bar you can click on that says English.

Edited January 13, 2020 by JW2017

[bigvince]

I would love to get a group together to write letters. How can we get addresses for those imprisoned or affected by natural disasters?

[normadenardo]

1 hour ago, bigvince said:

I would love to get a group together to write letters. How can we get addresses for those imprisoned or affected by natural disasters?

That’s why I started this post. I want to do the same. The only responses I’ve had are about the brothers in Russia. I wonder about all the other one’s too. How are people writing to them. Where do they get addresses from?

[Bek]

I know that a brother is jailed in Tajikistan, 8 brothers in Singapore, several brothers in Turkmenistan and 52 in Eritrea. 

 

I will ask around about the ones in my region, and see if we can write to them. I hope Tajikistan and Turkmenistan allow this kind of correspondence with outsiders.

 

These two countries have a reputation of being very authoritarian and corrupt even by CIS standards. Turkmenistan is  even compared to North Korea. 

[molnarj]

You may find useful information here:

 

https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/

 

For instance; If you click on Eritrea you may find to the right: Imprisoned for Their Faith—Eritrea

You will find a list of names below as pdf file of those who are imprisoned in Eritrea. Perhaps you can ask the local branch office how you may get in touch with these brothers and sisters.

 

 

[carlos]

On 1/13/2020 at 11:23 AM, Bek said:

What website is that? I have tried opening it, but it says it cannot be reached. 

 

 

The right URL is https://jw-russia.org/en/

The site is both in Russian and English. It lists all the friends who are in jail in Russia, and for many of them it gives the address where letters can be sent.

It also says that letters not in Russian probably won't make it.

We sent a letter to a sister a few days ago and will surely send more. I would love to receive a reply from the sister is that is possible.

 

Unfortunately I have no idea of how to find the addresses for brothers in other countries than Russia.

 

[Victoria]

On 2/8/2020 at 6:41 PM, normaclutter said:

That’s why I started this post. I want to do the same. The only responses I’ve had are about the brothers in Russia. I wonder about all the other one’s too. How are people writing to them. Where do they get addresses from?

How do you know that somebody writes to the countries other than Russia?

Unfortunately I have no idea how to do it either. But we can start writing to brothers and sisters in jail in Russia right now.  Proverbs 3:27

[Victoria]

Could anybody share some ideas what to write please?

[Old]

Write what you feel. anything else will sound forced. 

Edited February 11, 2020 by Old

[ReadYourBible]

I wrote an email to the email address listed on the bottom of the PDF which listed the names of those imprisoned, to the Office of Public Information of Jehovah’s Witnesses asking if they might give me information on how I may write to those who are imprisoned. I will report back once I get an answer. 

[Bek]

18 hours ago, Victoria said:

Could anybody share some ideas what to write please?

I have always wondered about the survival tactics in prisons, especially in Russian-speaking countries where prison life is really tough due to the very peculiar criminal culture that emerged during Stalin years.

 

Prison officials can often make life unbearable. Inmates also have their own criminal rules that everyone should follow. 

 

Life for JWs from Muslim backgrounds is even tougher, because radical Muslim gangsters now rule the roost in prisons. They hate "Muslim apostates". 

 

I would ask brothers to share some tips. 

Edited February 11, 2020 by Bek
Changed word order

[carlos]

23 hours ago, Victoria said:

Could anybody share some ideas what to write please?

When we wrote to this sister in prison we told her her example is very encouraging for us. We know that persecution and hard times are coming for us all, but if she can keep her integrity with Jehovah's help then we can too.

Edited February 11, 2020 by carlos

[JudyO]

On 1/13/2020 at 10:54 AM, ChocoBro said:

I've been starting to write letters with thoughts from the Bible to people I've never met before, some in prison, some who lost their loved ones to a tragedy, my most recent one to a family whose daughter committed suicide. I personally think it's a great way to convey a thought to people, and I think the likelihood of them reading a personal letter is quite high... it makes great hours, and besides that, our territory is a vast, spiritual desert (German language, suburban and wealthy, everybody has their own paradise here, as they often say)

 

But I never thought of writing to brothers in prison. Why not! I'm in.

May I ask: how do you find addresses for those who have lost loved ones to a tragedy? I would love to write encouraging letters, but getting addresses is a real challenge.