Since the day I found out about the organization I wanted to join and learn from them. The work done by this human rights defenders is very important and life changing for many.
In my case it was as well. Despite I spend a shot time, I learnt a lot and I was able to even travel to some villages to meet tribal women, participate in awareness-raising and human rights activities, meet victims of human rights violations. Also the organization gave me the opportunity and trust to compile the annual report, which was very profound for me.
In summary I can honestly say, that this internship gave me a lot of understanding of the reality and hardships of this field but also the motivation and strength that I have today as a professional and human right defender.

As an intern at Masum in 2014, I was deeply moved by the commitment to justice displayed by the human rights advocates at MASUM in the face of fierce repression by their government. It was a powerful learning experience about the challenges of human rights advocacy, both in the overt danger that advocates face as well as the significant dedication of time and effort their work requires. Working with the organization has been a powerful motivation for me to continue seeking opportunities to accompany and support advocates for justice and human rights in my own life.
I have many wonderful memories from my time in West Bengal, from sharing lunches with the staff of the organization and discussing topics of everyday life in India to politics and philosophy to making field visits to the different places MASUM does its work. A truly special memory for me was visiting some of the rural border communities and the generosity that the people of those communities showed me.
Something that I continue to think about from my time with MASUM is the organization’s sophisticated analysis of how inequalities across and within countries become magnified at the border, how the border is a zone where the police state reveals itself in controlling what kinds of capital and migrant flows it will allow and which it will violently repress.