Sarah Drury, 2L Jubilee Campaign
Refugees/Religious Freedom
Washington, DC
My first experience in Fairfax was getting lost. It must
have been a sign of things to come... Since starting my internship, I have more
fully realized how much of an amateur I am when it comes to law and human
rights, and I frequently feel lost -like I have no clue what my next step
should be or where I should go. However, this is proving to be a terrific
growing experience for me as I am forced to rely even more heavily upon God to
provide the strength for me to accomplish the tasks I am given. As much as I
wish I knew more about what I was doing, I have very much enjoyed working for
Ann Buwalda, the director of Jubilee Campaign. She is a superb model of living
a life dedicated to helping others. I am humbled that I have this chance to get
to work for her and see firsthand what working in the human rights field is
like.
Since beginning my internship a little over three weeks ago,
I have attended various Congressional hearings. One such hearing was the
emergency hearing on Chen Guangcheng. Getting to hear Chen call in during the
meeting was definitely one of the highlights of my summer so far! I’ve also
been able to attend various press conferences and meetings relating to human
rights issues, all of which have been held in Washington, DC. As I had never previously
visited Washington, navigating my way around had initially sounded daunting.
However, I have always managed to find my way to my destination (even on time,
I might add!), and I have thoroughly enjoyed the chance to see quite a bit of
Washington! I have discovered that I love riding the metro (grungy carpets and
all) and that the absolute best way to see a city is to walk through it.
Whenever I find my way to a new location by using a new line of the metro and
walking, I feel like a 16 year old who has just received her driver’s license. That
arriving on time and in one piece to a destination seems like such a triumph
for me perhaps has something to do with my notoriously horrible navigation
skills... ironically, this is one area of my internship in which I do not feel lost! J
At the office, I have been working on researching issues
related to violence in the northern states of Nigeria. During my first two
weeks, I was given the task of researching Nigeria and helping to prepare a
preliminary draft of an analysis on the interim report on Nigeria by the Office
of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC). Of course, the
analysis that was actually submitted to the ICC had been heavily edited by my
superiors, so I only claim “participation,” not “credit” for it. J It was definitely a
learning experience, as I had about 3,000 pages (plus online material) to read
before I began writing what turned into a 22 page rough draft within the two
weeks. Currently, I am working on a campaign to get a terrorist organization (one
which has killed over a thousand people) on the Foreign Terrorist Organization
list. It is difficult to not be discouraged and overwhelmed with how much I
have to learn before I can be effective in this field. But, at the same time, I
am very grateful for the opportunity I have to begin learning as much as
possible. I am also grateful for a God who is always faithful. I have decided
that I don’t get lost, I just embark
on adventures – ones which have
destinations that may often be surprising. I look forward to my next adventure
here in Fairfax or Washington!
- Sarah Drury, 5/24/12
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