The following blog was written by Lior Azariya , who interned with JWW this past summer.
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I have always been interested in international politics. Yet, I had not found a real passion for human rights and development until I studied abroad in London during my junior year of college and took classes studying that field. These classes showed me how the needs of many people in the world can be ignored and how something should and can be done to help them. It was because of this new passion of mine that I felt an internship at Jewish World Watch would be a perfect way to spend my summer.
During my time here I had a wide range of tasks and responsibilities, but I was lucky enough to work in an environment where I was allowed to spend my time exploring areas that I had a particular interest in. During my first week here, I was asked what I was interested in doing this summer; when I said that I had a particular affinity for research and analysis, I was assigned just that. One of my first assignments was researching and writing a blog post for the JWW website about the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma. This project was particularly enjoyable for me because not only was I able to write about and research a topic I knew little to nothing about, but I was also given the opportunity to refine my skills in this area. Throughout the summer, I was also able to do research for many other topics, such as genocide prevention, conflict minerals, and negotiated settlements. It was in this capacity that I was able to learn just what can be done to help in preventing genocide and how to stop it when prevention efforts have failed.
One of my more important and extensive tasks this summer was setting up, preparing for, and attending meetings with members of Congress. In a thorough lesson in persistence (edited to add by JWW stafff: HA!), I was asked to call and set meetings with about 20 in-district offices. In these efforts, I learned not to take no for an answer. I capped off the August recess having set up a number of meetings and even attended three. In preparation for these meetings, I was asked to research and put together informational sheets, including a series about the members of Congress with whom we were meeting and one about South Sudan. Working on the congressional meetings in so many different stages taught me in practice what I had learned in theory at school: there are ways to help the people in the world that need it and every chance to do so should be taken.
In addition to learning in greater detail about conflicts I previously had only basic knowledge about, interning at JWW provided me with opportunities to expand my own interests and abilities and also create new ones. I was able to expand my research and analysis skills while also gaining interest and understanding in how development can assist in preventing mass atrocities and genocide. Furthermore, participating in the anti-genocide movement this summer taught me about conflicts and atrocities that are unfortunately not talked about in the greater international relations discourse as much as I feel they should. I am excited to take what I have learned here into my future studies and endeavors, and I hope that I can contribute to the movement in the future as much as I have seen Jewish World Watch do.