The week of April 18th was a pretty interesting week for me at Amnesty International. Aside from my daily administrative tasks (which I have explained several times and will not bore you with again) there were a few things that particularly stood out to me.
The first one was when I got to sit in on the taping of a press video about Amnesty International's collaboration with The Center for Ethics in Science and Technology on their work in geospatially mapping Yodŏk, a concentration camp in North Korea.
Geospatial mapping is the practice of using satellite imagery to map out a region that can not be accessed to be mapped manually. Geospatial mapping has been used for several years, and it is now being used by Amnesty International to find out information about Yodŏk, which is a high-security camp for political prisoners in North Korea that has been the site of deplorable human rights violations. Amnesty began creating geospatial maps of Yodŏk in 2001, and since then the camp has grown exponentially. Through the development of bigger work farms, gold mines, and guards' quarters Amnesty has inferred that Yodŏk is housing larger amounts of prisoners. Meanwhile, the North Korean government - Kim Jong-il - continue to deny that the camp exists.
The press video was about the work that Amnesty has been able to do in assessing the state of human rights violations in the camp with the help of the geospatial capabilities of The Center for Ethics in Science and Technology. The human rights violations are very disturbing, and have been expounded upon partially by the few prisoners who have been able to escape from the camp. It was really interesting watching a scientist explain the maps and their significance to an Amnesty representative, and it was exciting to be able to watch progressive research in the field.
This week I also had a conversation about the fact that there is nothing on the street level to indicate the Amnesty office and nothing on our office doors. I never thought much of that, aside from the fact that since we aren't a store or trying to solicit business that there is no need for a noticeable presence. However, while listening to the representative explain Amnesty's work with mapping the concentration camp, I wondered if the lack of signage was also a deliberate attempt to keep the Amnesty office unnoticeable. I asked my supervisor about this, and she said that was a large part of it. In addition to the lack of distinction for the office, there are fire-proof/bullet-proof doors and panic buttons. These safety precautions do not surprise me, and are becoming more and more utilized by all types of businesses. However, some of Amnesty's goals are particularly controversial and have engendered threatening behavior in the past. This reminded me of the CLP trip to the Anti-Defamation League last spring where the staffer explained to us that any organization that defends rights and criticizes the actions of governments or individuals often receives threats. This idea is present in a lot of Amnesty's work, but seemed particularly relevant while watching the scientist and the Amnesty representative explain the geospatial research of the area that North Korea has tried to keep completely secret.
Another interesting conversation that I had this week was with a fellow U of I alum who is working as a lawyer in Arlington. I was put in contact with him from another U of I alum who I actually met at the Cline Symposium! He asked me how my time was going in DC, if I felt that I had had a successful professional experience, and if there was anything that he could do to assist me with my goals before the end of my internship. I explained to him my desire to do international writing, and he said that he thought it was an attainable goal and gave me tips of concrete steps to work toward it. I especially appreciate when people provide specific, succinct advice. It was really encouraging to hear advice from someone who is fairly versed in the journalism industry and knows a lot about the market in DC. I was happy that the Cline Symposium had provided me with the opportunity to meet these alumni.
Amnesty has gotten much busier in the past few weeks (as I mentioned in the last post) and this has resulted in me taking signficantly more requests from journalists for interviews with different sources. I really like being able to set up an interview between a journalist and the appropriate Amnesty contact. I know that the interviews get Amnesty's message out to the public, and I am glad that I can have a role in facilitating that. The most remote call I have received to date was a British journalist calling from her post in Qatar.
I will end this post with how Easter went! I had originally planned on going home for Easter, but since I went home a few weeks ago I decided it would be better to stay in DC. I ended up going to Mass with a few of my friends here, and then we spent the perfect, sunny day outside. I have a history of interesting Easters, especially the Easter of 2009 while studying abroad that I spent in Stockholm. Have a great week everyone!
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