Carolyn February 22-25

Last week was a short but intense week at Amnesty. It started on Tuesday with my supervisor's farewell party and lunch, which was bittersweet. The whole day he was wrapping up administrative tasks and giving me last minute instructions on the kind of things I am going to take over when he leaves. I am not necessarily intimidated by any of my new jobs, however multitasking is sometimes difficult for me. Throughout the day I respond to emails, format press releases, compile a daily report, and work on researching and developing media lists, and do designated projects as they come up. I now have several more responsibilities and the days are going to be filled!

In the news this week were continued reports of unrest in the Middle East. Different countries are dealing with varying levels of unrest and response from dictators, Colonel Gaddafi being perhaps the most brutal and provoking the higest amount of unrest. At this point, Gaddafi has pledged that he will not give up his control on Libya no matter what the protestors say. It is hard to believe that Gaddafi is taking such an unreasonable approach and will continue to contribute to the unrest within Libya. The president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, recently announced that he will not seek reelection in 2013 as a response to protestors. Protestors were not satisfied with this concession and said they would only accept an immediate relinquishing of power. As of now there has been no negotiation on the issue, and Saleh expressed his opinion that America has been fueling the unrest in the Middle East and involving itself in matters that are not related to it. I sincerely hope that countries in the Middle East will be able to stabilize and stop the deaths of innocent civilians, which seems to be one of the most tragic byproducts of the protests.

Last week essentially was my first week in the position of Media Relations Assistant/Intern, and for the most part I think it went well. On Friday I was the only one on the media team in the office, and I did not have any major problems. It was interesting being able to make decisions while on the phone with the press, and I got everything done that I needed to do- compiling a report, a digest, doing some mailings, and writing a synposis of the events of the week. It is hard to believe I have been working here for nearly 2 months. I have learned so much about the workings of the media and the reality of a job working with the press. I'm sure as I spend more time in this new position I will continue to become more acclimated. I am going to New York City this weekend and I can't wait!!