Name of Student : Yazan Al-Shihabi
Although most of my time int he UK Parliament Internship was spent corresponding with constituents, there were other clerical tasks which I had to fulfill. One of those was that of diary management. Many of the e-mails and letters we received were invitations to events and various social/formal events. I attended some of these events with her, such as the Sri Lankan Violence Committee Meeting. However, there were other events which I attended on her behalf such as the Labour Friends of Palestine and Middle East fund raiser, where me and Omar Kalouti volunteered to run the event. Due to MP Qureshi’s increasing involvement in international affairs, she had many visitors from abroad. On many occasions, I had to meet with those visitors since she was always double-booked for appointments. I once met with Mr. Habashi who is the leader of the Bahrain Opposition movement in England. We discussed the ongoing issues in Bahrain and the reaction of the GCC. I expressed my support for his people but clarified that I did not represent MP Qureshi or the Kuwaiti government in any way.
The final task I had was to deal with the media. This included anything from online newspaper reporters, to BBC reporters, to social media. I had to be extremely careful when answering telephone calls because there was always a possibility that I was speaking to a reporter who could quote me the wrong way. So I learned to listen attentively to exactly what they asked, take a message, and respond after I thought about it for a while.
Although work commenced at 10 a.m. and concluded at 6 p.m., some days would go on to 10 or 11 p.m. due to the occasional occurrence of a 3-line WHIP or a late formal event. The great thing about the late hours was that although the atmosphere remained professional, attitudes towards one-another became extremely social which allowed for intense networking. Regardless of the hours spent in or out of the office, I appreciated every second I spent in London. I was submerged in a world I did not know and I learned more about the functions of UK Parliament than I ever thought possible. I am very grateful to MP Yasmin Qureshi and Sadia Ali who taught me everything I know about politics in the UK, and I sincerely thank everyone in LOYAC who made this wonderful insightful experience come to life.
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