A Dream Visit: Meeting President Clinton

After touring the Harlem office, we made a stop at the legendary Apollo Theatre nearby. Zak Miller, one of the Foundation’s development assistants accompanied us. Along with a nice group of tourists, we learned the history of the theatre. It was a pleasure to get acquainted with the other guests and enjoy their talents. The executive director of the theatre invited volunteers to participate in an impromptu program.

This was an occasion not to miss. I knew I had to participate to talk about Armenia and let them know that I am an Armenian American and the daughter of a genocide survivor. I gave them a taste of our Armenian culture by singing Dzaghgigner dzaghigner and made sure that they know about Lake Sevan and other bits of our geography. Many of the ladies and gentlemen in the audience came to me afterwards to tell me about their Armenian friends, and to ask me about the history of Armenia and about the Genocide. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to educate my fellow Americans about how Armenians were the first nation to adopt Christianity as our official religion, about Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, which is older than Rome, and our rich culture in art, literature, craftsmanship and music.

After our theatre tour, we were treated to a sumptuous lunch at the famous Harlem Restaurant, the Red Rooster. From there, we were taken to the midtown offices of the  foundation where we were greeted by Justin Brady, the development officer, and Joseph Leskody, development assistant. What amazed me was the impeccable atmosphere and the impressive efficiency of the employees, which total 2,300.

At 5 p.m., we were taken to one of lower Manhattan’s most architecturally and historically significant edifices, Cipriani on Broadway, to attend the cocktail hour. After the president and his chief of staff arrived, my self-esteem skyrocketed when Ms. Tina, who is a Harvard graduate and who has held many important legal and political positions with the Democratic Party, told me that I had left an impression on the president, who had spoken to her about me and my Harvard connection via my life partner.

There were many familiar faces present that we usually see on TV. It was exhilarating to be able to talk with Donna Shalala, president of Miami University who was promoted to be the CEO of the foundation, and with Lanny Davis, author and famous lawyer, who had served as special counsel to the former president and was a classmate of Hillary Clinton.

When we were invited to take photographs with Mr. Clinton, I took the opportunity to speak about Armenian history. I started by telling him that, in my humble opinion, President Barack Obama won the election because of his speech at the Democratic Convention and Mitt Romney’s 42 percent. I mentioned that I hoped he would use his charm and persuasive ability to make sure that the United States would finally elect a woman president. I added that this year is the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and that US Ambassador Henry Morgenthau was the first to alert the world that the Ottoman Empire was committing genocide. The Near East Relief Organization, which was the largest charitable organization in U.S. history, was formed to help Armenian orphans. Turkey’s denial adds an extra layer of depth to the heinous cruelty of the massacres.