As Double R interns, we heard stories about interns running out of the office, camera and mics in tow, in order to catch a news story occurring right outside.
We never thought that this would happen to us.
On July 5th, Rosemary told us to drop everything and literally run to Dupont Circle to capture a protest that traveled by the office. We had never been so frazzled as we tried to make sure that we had everything we would need and reassure ourselves that we would know how to make an impromptu news story.
Unlike any of the other shoots, we stood completely on our own, looking for the right angles to shoot the protests and the people. The Uyghur protesters screamed against China and marched to remember the July 5th riots in Xinjing, an autonomous region in northern China. We moved from spot to spot, capturing tight, medium, and wide shots and double-checking that our audio worked.
We felt nervous at first to approach these strangers to ask them for an interview, but we were extremely lucky. Someone guided us to Omer Kanat, the Vice President of the Uyghur American Association. After his interview, Omer introduced us to Rebiya Kadeer. I didn’t know until we researched her the next day that she is one of the coolest women I will ever meet: businesswoman, activist, mother of 11, opposer to the Chinese government. When the interview was over, she gently motioned that she wanted to take a picture with us. We had no idea what a powerful woman she is.
This has been one of the most eye-opening experiences at Double R so far, and everyday I’m happy that this internship pushes me outside my comfort boundaries to meet new people and learn new skills.
