The Foreign Service Journal, December 2010

60 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / DE C EMB E R 2 0 1 0 T he day after Matthew Southerland fledBeijing, Chinese soldiers driving along the nearby road shot at his home, a diplomatic compound. He was 6 years old. Southerlanddoesn’t remember all that much from the time, but some images remain: The throngs of people in the streets. Living inHongKongwithhismother and his sister for twoweeks following the crack- down. And the afternoon spent counting bullet holes in the edificeof their apartment complex with his father. Matt’s father, Dan Southerland, was Beijingbureauchief for the WashingtonPost at the time. He had been in the family’s apartment when shots burst into the neighboring buildings in the complex on themorning of June 7, 1989. Dan imme- diately calledhis office inWashington,D.C. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he recalls saying, “but listen to this.” Onlymuch laterwouldDan figure out what had happened. The soldiers seemto have takendeliberate aimat thediplomatic compound—and specifically gunned for thehomes ofmilitaryattachés. Theyappar- ently didn’t appreciate foreigners observ- ing theirmilitary operations in themiddle of the city. Life in Beijing was very confusing for a while after the crackdown, Dan says. But in July 1989, when things had calmed down andhis wife andchildrenhad returned to Beijing, hewent out to investigate. Dan, ever the reporter, needed to know how many bullets hit the buildings. Sohe brought his son to help him count the hundreds of holes notched by machine guns and small arms fire. It would be enough to scare off anyone from returning to China. And, in fact, it scared off many. “The shocking thing was the effect on [Matt’s] friends, because some never came back to the internation- al school,” Dan said. “The families just decided, that’s it.” But the Southerland family remained in Beijing until 1990, when Dan’s stint as bureau chief was up. Years later, Matt revisitedChina several times in pursuit of his academic studies. Andnow, witha gen- erous grant from the Robertson Found- ation for Government, he hopes to live in its capital oncemore, this time as a Foreign Service officer. Matt Southerland is a member of the inaugural class of RobertsonFellows at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. The fellowship grants full scholar- ships and internship stipends to a select group of students in exchange for their commitment to work for the federal gov- ernment for at least three of their first five years after graduation. “I think it’s really excitingbecause I real- ly believe in what the fellowship is all about,” Matt said. “And I think it’s fan- tastic they’re supporting stu- dents and encouraging students toward public service with an international focus.” A Path to the Foreign Service Matt didn’t growupwanting to be a Foreign Service officer. Like many children, he once wanted to be an astronaut. And when he studied anthropology at Georgetown University, he thought more along the lines of teaching. He even toyedwith the idea of becoming a United Nations peacekeeper. But some- A F S A N E W S Matthew Southerland (right) visits the Great Wall of China with a friend. His family was living in Beijing during the student-led protests and the subsequent crackdown in Tiananmen Square. MatthewSoutherland and his father, Dan, pose for a picture inHangzhou, China, in 1987. Dan Southerland was Beijing bureau chief for the Washington Post at the time. MURIEL SOUTHERLAND MURIEL SOUTHERLAND From Beijing to a Bureau Robertson Fellow with Chinese background aims for Foreign Service future BY AMY MCKEEVER