ANCA Leo Sarkisian 2015 interns visiting with Congresswoman Jackie Speier. From L to R: Dickran Khodanian, Denise Altounian, Erik Khzmalyan, Congresswoman Speier, Ripsime Biyazyan, Shaunt Tchakmak, Arevig Afarian and Patrick Babajanian.
BY AREVIG AFARIAN
University of Montreal, Class of 2018
ANCA LSI 2015 Intern
“I want to become a pharmacist.” I kept repeating that sentence to my friends, family and acquaintances, hoping that if I said it enough times, I would start believing it myself — that pharmacy was my life’s calling…
Two years later, here I am in Washington, DC as a first year political science student from Canada interning with the Armenian National Committee of America. Who would have thought?
My parents met while advancing Canadian Armenian concerns and have been involved within the community ever since. Their passion was transferred to me since my early childhood, and since then, I have tried to find my own path to help the Cause. I am an active member of the AYF Levon Shant and Pegor Ashod Chapters. I always look for opportunities to “spread the word” about our issues wherever I go. Recently, I teamed up with the some friends to re-activate the Armenian Student Association of the University of Montreal, and became a visiting member of the ARF Armen Karo Student Association. Applying to this internship seemed like the best way to pick up some specialized skills to help my community in Montreal, while gaining a better understanding of American politics. I also applied in the hopes that Washington DC will help me make some tough decisions regarding my future profession.
On June 12th, with great apprehension and excitement, I arrived in the capital of our powerful neighbor—eager to learn, to work and to experience. Needless to say, everything was new to me, and my knowledge of American internal politics was poorer than I thought. Thankfully, the individual project assigned to me made me feel competent again and it stirred my interest. My project is basically hunting (it feels more like hunting than researching at times) for every Armenian Genocide related motion, resolution and bill ever adopted in countries around the world—on the federal and provincial level—and locally when possible. To get a complete and documented account is tougher than you might think.
I have been in the United States for 5 weeks now. With the briefings of ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian and of ANCA Communications Director Elizabeth Chouldjian, our Capitol Hill meetings with Members of Congress, our fascinating talks with high-profile individuals, and our visit to the Library of Congress, I have enough material to write a twenty page essay. The reason why I did not name any of the individuals we met is that I want to focus on one political figure that stood out for me: Congresswoman Jackie Speier.
To be honest, I had never heard about this Congresswoman of Armenian descent before actually meeting her. She has been representing her California district since 2008, though her career as a public servant had begun much earlier. After meeting with her for less than 15 minutes, I was confused on why she had such a strong impact on me. Just like all the other Congressional leaders we had met, she took pictures with us, humbly introduced herself, asked each of us to introduce ourselves, and finally, answered our questions. What makes her significantly different from the rest? The fact that she is a woman.
I am not one to get into feminist discussions, but in the U.S. Congress only 19.8% of the seats are held by women (104 seats of 535). Of course, Congresswoman Jackie Speier cannot be defined by her gender alone, but being part of a minority group has definitely made her more inclined to defend groups that are often disregarded by politicians, and also, more driven to fight for what she believes is right. As we were about to leave, she told us a terrifying and heart wrenching story that took place years ago—when she, a legislative staffer at the time, had joined Congressman Leo Ryan and news reporters on a fact finding mission to Guyana, to investigate human rights abuses. Representative Speier left out the details. Her mentor, Congressman Ryan, was assassinated as a result of that mission, and she herself almost lost her life. It was one of those moments I wish I had a photographic memory; I would have loved to quote Representative Speier word for word her concluding remarks with a simple yet powerful premise: Nothing should stop politicians to exert their political mandate truthfully and do the right thing.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier has spent her entire career loyal to her own advice: from advancing women’s rights; from speaking out for rape and assault victims in the Army; to ensuring equal pay for equal work; in one breath taking on sensitive LGBT issues and in the other, advocating for family leave laws. And she has not forgotten her Armenian roots – joining fellow Armenian American Congresswoman Anna Eshoo recently in urging House consideration of the Armenian Genocide Truth + Justice Resolution (H.Res.154).
She has done all of this fearlessly, never scared to undertake highly unpopular social problems and bring them on the Congress floor. That is inspiring, and that makes me truly admire her.
Right before I left her office, my eyes caught a small discreet sign on a door that said: A Woman’s Place is in the House… of Representatives.
I could not help but smile. I knew before coming to Washington DC that I want to dedicate my life defending minority rights, but I had no idea how to do so. Congresswoman Jackie Speier just might have given me the answer.
Source: Asbarez
Link: A Woman’s Place Is in the House…
