Hillary and me
When I met Hillary Rodham Clinton, in November of 1997, I had no clue that I would one day be considering her as a candidate for President. Who did, back then? She was the First Lady.
I was living and teaching in the ancient city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan when, one day, I received a message from our ambassador to Tashkent. He and his wife were my good friends and the ambassador occasionally asked me to meet with and tour visiting dignitaries in Bukhara’s historic “Old City.” When he told me that the First Lady would be coming to visit us, I was excited. It would give me a chance to show off my high school students and my work with Bukhara’s crafts community.
The advance team from the White House arrived several weeks before the state visit, and we worked through my suggestions for her proposed itinerary in great detail. The Uzbek authorities were nervous about her seeing things they considered less than exemplary, like the condition of the school where I taught, but I prevailed and she came anyway.
The big day arrived, and the elaborate motorcade came to our school directly from the airport, as it was on the main road into the city. A boy and a girl from my class, costumed in traditional garb, met the entourage and presented Mrs. Clinton with traditional bread and salt, before she proceeded to my classroom.
I selected about twenty of my students for their English language skills, and they were waiting. They were soon surrounded by three television crews with lights blazing (including CNN), the First Lady of Uzbekistan, the governor of the province, the mayor of the city, the head-mistress of all of the city’s schools, numerous other dignitaries and assorted security personnel. The kids looked terrified!
One of the girls had been an exchange student in Louisiana the year before and she thanked Mrs. Clinton for the experience. She told her that she had even visited the White House, but told the First Lady “you weren’t at home.”
Hillary instantly responded, “That’s why I came to Bukhara, because I missed you when you came to visit me.” She was just wonderful.
Several students and I were privileged to play tour guide to our distinguished visitors for hours in the beautiful old city. Later, there was a banquet and I was seated at a table with other Peace Corps volunteers. When Clinton entered, she came directly to our table, put her arms around my shoulders and said that I must be so proud of my students, and that, so far, it was the highlight of her trip to Central Asia.
She sat with us for a photo and told us that she always asked to visit with Peace Corps volunteers when she was abroad, as “you always know what’s happening with the real people,” unlike embassy personnel, “looking out the windows of their limousines.” I thought of that comment when she was named Secretary of State.
Later in her trip, she unhesitatingly informed the students of the Diplomatic University of Tashkent that they would someday be responsible for their nation, and that they must be prepared to end the terrible human rights record for which Uzbekistan was unfortunately too well known.
After I returned to the states in the fall of 1998, a less than flattering article about Clinton appeared in The New York Times Magazine. I wrote a letter to the editor, telling of my personal experience with her, and it was published. Several weeks later I received a very gracious thank you note from her.
During the 2008 primary campaign, Mrs. Clinton was often referred to as a cold, calculating woman, and I felt a responsibility to do what I could to correct that false impression. I found her to be a generously warm and intelligent woman, as well as a commanding presence. I can assure you that my former students in Uzbekistan will never forget her – nor will I.
When she was appointed by President Obama to be his Secretary of State I was extremely happy with his choice – as I have been since. Clinton represents what I consider to be the best of America, especially as regards our relations with the other peoples of the world. She understands diplomacy, but will never back away from speaking the plain, unvarnished truth, as we Americans see it.
USA citizens who frequently travel and enter into discourse with others are in a better position to advise the USA Government officials regarding developing long term strategies to promote USA interests. But the tragedy is that their opinions least count in USA and thus the government of USA remain hostage to lobbies and fail to look after the genuine long term USA interests. Author should write more such articles.
I would request the author to read the story of my kidnapping by Uzbekistan Security Agencies and detention at tashkent rehabilitation Center. By victimizing the innocents the Uzbekistan Government and Tashkent authorities are making the USA task even more difficult. http://www.harleytourism.com/haroonchoudhry.html
I am saddened, but not surprised by this frightening story of illegal detention in Uzbekistan. I know many such stories.
One of my former students was sentenced to prison for supposedly being homosexual [illegal in that country], but everyone knows it was because of his underground journalistic activities. I worked with Sen. Russ Feingold’s office and Human Rights Watch and we eventually got him released. He was given permission to come to the US, and is now living in California.
I know of another young man who spent several years at a Connecticut university and was arrested when he returned home to Uzbekistan. He is still there…
The Peace Corps was kicked out of Uzbekistan several years ago, I assume because the volunteers – like me – were telling their students “the truth,” and the regime didn’t like that. They also expelled almost all of the NGOs that were working to help the Uzbek people.
It’s a scary place – – –