On the Wednesday morning of RMT's AGM, we started off not knowing who the people we were introducing actually were. We watched a film called 'In the Name of the Father', and at the end of the film, there was complete silence, after we had witnessed what the Guildford Four had been through in 1970.
At 21, Gerry Conlon, an Irishman from Belfast, was residing in Guildford. When the IRA bombed a pub used by mainly soliders, because Gerry was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but was Irish, he was forced/tortured by the police into confessing to a crime, he was always innocent for.
The Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (MOJO), who help people who have been imprisoned despite being innocent, brought Gerry Conlon (Guildford Four) and Paddy Hill (Birmingham Six) - pictured above with RMT young member Ashely Farrant - to the AGM, and it was our honour to introduce them to the group of AGM delegates who attended the Fringe Meeting. It was standing room only!
To hear what these innocent people had been through in the periods of their lives was sad but amazing. They were there to tell their story, and that they did! Members of the meeting asked relevant questions.
The RMT is committed to helping MOJO, and supports MOJO's application to build a centre for innocent people once they leave prision (as there is no help avaiable).
It also touched the hearts of all the Young Members that at 21, Gerry and many others lost their entire youth to the prision service and as our way of giving something back to them, Gerry and Paddy spent the night with all 18 Young Members, which included us taking them for dinner, where we listened to their stories for hours.
For more information please click the links above, and I recommend buying the Film 'In the name of the father' to gather a little insight to what Gerry and many others had to and still do have to face.
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