Merage luncheon attracts some big names

B.W. COOK

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright addressed a gathering

this week at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach on behalf

of the Merage Foundation for The American Dream.

“I had the honor of attending a naturalization ceremony in New

York in 1998, witnessing immigrants take the oath of allegiance. It

happened to be the 50th anniversary of my own arrival in America,

which occurred on Nov. 11, 1948,” said the woman who served under

President Bill Clinton. “After the event, a man from Ethiopia came up

to me and said, ‘Only in America could a new citizen, a man from

Ethiopia, meet the secretary of state.’ I replied: ‘Only in America

could a woman, an immigrant from Czechoslovakia, become the secretary

of state.’”

The Merage Foundation for The American Dream is concerned with

turning possibilities into the promises of tomorrow. Albright fronted

a presentation supported the dream and leadership of Iranian-American

immigrant and businessman Paul Merage, his wife Lilly and their

philanthropic family. Merage welcomed Albright and a host of

distinguished guests with a message.

“This is about building opportunity for immigrants to the United

States,” Merage said. “It’s about giving back so that others may

realize their dreams in a country that makes dreams possible.”

The positive message was taken a step further by Albright.

“The American dream comes down to people, and the fundamental

difference that opportunity creates in the lives of individuals and

families.” Albright said. “Yet some feel threatened. Some believe

that the day their family arrived in America, the door was closed.”

The diminutive woman in a navy blue suit with a large pin on her

lapel, fashioned after the American flag, went on to say: “There are

those who fear that America is losing it’s unique identity, it’s

character, as a result of immigration. In fact, it is the opposite.

While every wave of immigration in difficult times throughout

American history has been met by such warnings, immigrants are not a

burden. They come to America as dreamers and as doers.

“We are all equal shareholders in The American Dream, whether we

came in the 17th century or just arrived in the 21st.”

Her address was brief and to the point. Albright told the

audience: “We must not become consumers of liberty, but rather

defenders of liberty. We must participate in our democracy.”

Quoting President Harry S. Truman, Albright reflected on her own

beginnings when, as an 11-year-old, her family fled Prague,

Czechoslovakia, after surviving Nazi rule and then communism.

Truman said, “Americans are diverse people. Respect for his or her

right to be different is part of the true American way. It’s

essential to democracy, and America is the hope of the world.”

In addition to recognizing Albright, the Merage Foundation honored

other successful immigrant- Americans who have also affected the

lives of others. They included Cuban-American businessman and

philanthropist Armando Cordina; Pulitzer Prize winner and former New

York Times editor Max Frankel; Nobel Laureate Mario Molina; and Dr.

David Ho, the respected AIDS and SARS researcher and Time magazine’s

1996 Man of the Year.

Perhaps most impressive was the introduction of some 29 young

guests of the Merage Foundation. They came from all over the world

and stood proudly at tables throughout the Balboa Bay Club ballroom.

One by one, these foreign-born Americans introduced themselves.

They included Onyi Offor from Nigeria and a graduate of Harvard

University; Shijun X, an MIT graduate from China; Alina Rekhtman of

Russia and a graduate of Princeton University; Laurel Yong-Hwa Lee,

an MIT graduate from South Korea; Russian-born Katerina Kelman, a

graduate of Stanford; and Congolese Eric Mvukiyehe, a graduate of the

University of Washington. They and the others addressed the crowd and

shared their dreams for the future.

Did they aspire to go shopping with a celebrity, buy a BMW

convertible and go to an all-night rave party? No, they spoke of

curing cancer, taking care of the aged, becoming judges in family

court, serving the poor and disenfranchised both in the United States

and in their native lands, working for social justice, serving in

uniform health care, improving education and creating business

opportunities for people with limited access to resources. They spoke

about the future of humankind. And they spoke about the potential

future of America.

Jeffrey Davidow, president of the Institute of the Americas and

the former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, introduced his former boss and

said, “There are 35 million immigrants living in the U.S. today. That

means there are more foreign-born citizens in the U.S. than there are

Canadians in Canada.”

“Some one million immigrants come to America legally each and

every year,” Merage said.

Albright summed up the point of view: “America is strong because

we have brought together the strength of so many people -- so many

diverse people -- from sea to shining sea,” Albright said.

Spotted in the crowd were O.C. residents Maralou and Jerry

Harrington, Judy and Joel Slutzky, Twyla Martin, Elizabeth and John

Stahr, Jim Warsaw, Bob Bassett, Victoria and Gilbert LeVasseur, John

Jolliffe and Marshall Kaplan.

Also attending were Merage family members, including children of

Paul and Lilly Merage: Richard Merage, Lauren Merage and Michelle

Janavs. Extended family members -- including Louise Merage, Cam

Merage and Greg Merage -- also were front and center in support of

the foundation.

For more information on the Merage Foundation for The American

Dream, call (949) 474-5880.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.