My ride from DCA felt like something out of a movie. The moment Annie arrives wide-eyed at Daddy Warbucks’ mansion or Dorothy steps into Munchkinland. I’ve been to D.C. countless times; part of my childhood was spent just thirty minutes away. But this time was different.
Growing up, my after-school routine was to watch a few documentaries on international affairs, then read a book about the Lost Boys of Sudan or femicide in Mexico. On a really good day, I’d run to whoever would listen with some random factoid about a place they’d never heard of, delivering it like it was breaking news they couldn’t go to sleep without knowing. I’ve always loved international affairs and culture, so landing at the epicenter of American policymaking brought back that same childlike wonder.
At Human Rights Watch, I’ve spent my days learning the machinery behind the reports and documentaries I’ve always loved. I assumed before this summer that the researchers and the writers were the whole story. What I’ve learned this summer is that none of that research changes anything on its own. It takes a team that knows how to get it in front of the right people and communicate it effectively.
Take the Human Rights Watch report on the rise in deaths in immigration detention. I’ve sat in the room where immigration lawyers were preparing testimony for Congress based on HRW research, deciding which numbers, stories, and framing to take before legislators. I’ve helped build the press lists that got the findings into the hands of the reporters most likely to carry them further, and used tools like Meltwater and Cision to track whether it worked, watching a single report’s reach multiply into millions of readers across hundreds of publications.
The most heart-wrenching research in the world has little impact if no one beyond the research team can understand how it’s presented. Facts only become meaningful when they reach the people who can act on them.
Alongside all of this, I’ve gained such a beautiful bond with my cohort and noticed growth within myself. I’ve conquered my fear of Lime bikes in the same week I stopped being afraid of not making friends in a new city. I no longer need Google Maps to get to work. I’ve made friends with my building’s doorman. I cheered for Team Mexico surrounded by more people than the building could hold, and I’ve been disappointed by the no-show animals at the zoo.
This fellowship has shown me how central communication is to global change. As the world wonders, “Why doesn’t anyone do anything?” I feel so privileged to work alongside a team that is doing everything to effect change.