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homeland, but at practically every stop along her itinerary. They were represented in the ranks of the American embassy personnel who arrived from Kyiv to help with the advance planning of her visit; they were among the volunteers who had been coopted from the Lviv population to help with logistics that day; they were even on the First Lady's staff. Their unique understanding of Ukrainian society, of Lviv, of the nuances of Ukrainian cultural and political life were invaluable assets to the First Lady's planning team. Unquestionably the highlight of the First Lady's trip to Lviv was her appearance and speech at the Ivan Franko Opera House on the morning of November 18. Every seat in this recently restored elegant hall was taken as Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Kuchma and other VIPs took the stage. The First Lady of the United States was introduced by her Chief of Staff, Melanne Verveer, a second generation Ukrainian American who delivered her introduction in Ukrainian. "This is an honor," she said, that comes only once in a lifetime." The audience was clearly appreciative of Ms. Verveer's efforts to speak the language of her ancestors and rewarded her with much applause. I cannot presume to know what the First Lady's Chief of Staff was feeling at that moment, but if her feelings were anything like mine when I was interpreting Mrs. Clinton's speech into Ukrainian, it was probably intense pride at being privileged enough to play a role in strengthening the relationship between the United States — a country that opened its doors to our grandparents and gave them, a life free of Soviet tyranny, a country which allowed us to strive to reach our full human potential, and Ukraine -- our spiritual homeland, the country whose national anthem we sang when we were children, whose freedom we demanded during countless street demonstrations in the 70s and 80s and whose existence as a "captive Nation" had given our lives a higher purpose. The First Lady began her speech by thanking her Chief of Staff for the introduction, acknowledging her by her maiden name, Melanne Starinshak Verveer, and attributing her wisdom, compassion and good humor in large measure to her Ukrainian heritage. "Like over one million Ukrainian Americans," Mrs. Clinton said of Verveer, "she has made immeasurable contributions to the life of my country." Mrs. Clinton joked that standing on the stage of the opera house tempted her to sing, but that in the interest of preserving strong and warm ties between our two countries she would refrain. "But," she continued, "I would like to speak to you of voices — the voices of women, the voices of young people, the voices of those throughout Ukraine ... who are speaking a new language of freedom and democracy and then turning their words into concrete action." Mrs. Clinton said it was appropriate that she do this in Lviv where in 1879 the Union of Ukrainian Women was established. She went on to praise this organization for all that it did to teach Ukrainian women to better their lives and the life of Ukrainian society as a whole. She congratulated the Ukrainian people for achieving so much in six short years of independence, yet stated that there is still much be done to solidify democracy, establish a truly free market, create a society in whose sphere family and community life, religious traditions and participation in volunteer organizations reside. The key, she said, is non-governmental organizations which any govern ment that considers itself truly democratic must take seriously. Mrs. Clinton directly addressed the women gathered in the opera house, who time and time again applauded her remarks: "You have chosen to fight for women's health, to run for political office, to clean up the environment, to start summer camps for the children of Chomobyl. Whether you are gathering in civic associations, places of worship or even in your neighbor's home, you are strengthening civil society and making it clear that the most important person in any democracy ... is a citizen." She lamented the fact that women are still under-represented af'the table where decisions are made" and stated unambiguously, "Democracy without the full participation of women is a contradiction in terms. A country's progress depends on the progress of women." Following the speech, 75 special guests, women who represented the best and brightest from among the thousand strong audience, were invited to the wonderfully ornate Hall of Mirrors on the second floor of the Opera House to personally meet with the First Lady. Among them were women familiar to the Ukrainian American community , such as former dissidents Iryna Kalynets and Stefania Shabatura; Atena Pashko, president of Soyuz Ukrainok in Ukraine; and Maria Drach, president of Zhinocha Hromada. There were also women whose names may not be familiar, yet who work tirelessly on behalf of the Ukrainian community of Lviv, its women and its children. There were women athletes, professors, artists, designers, rising politicians, members of Parliament and businesswomen. Their comments upon meeting Mrs. Clinton were overwhelmingly Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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