Mme. Secretary had meet-and-greets with two embassy staffs and their
families today. These are always important to the people who work so
hard and put in so much time and effort to keep her visits flowing
smoothly and safely. We all appreciate their service.
by Secretary Clinton: October 2011 » Meeting With Staff and Families of Embassy Valletta
Meeting With Staff and Families of Embassy Valletta
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Malta International Airport
Valletta, Malta
October 18, 2011
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Thank you all. Well, I am absolutely delighted to be here and to have
this opportunity to thank you in person for such an extraordinarily
well-done job, because for me, watching from afar the way you supported
all of our Embassy family across this region was absolutely remarkable.
And Rick, thank you for those kind words, but it was long overdue that
the Secretary of State come back to Malta, and I’m happy that it could
be me. I’m only sorry that it’s for such a short visit. So as I told the
prime minister earlier today, that just means I have to come back for a
longer one.
I know that oftentimes, many, many of the posts
across the world just do their jobs every single day. They get up and
they do the work that is required to deepen and strengthen and manage
the full panoply of work that is required. And I know this is, by a lot
of standards, a small team, and yet you have performed far above your
size and far beyond any expectations. It took a crisis, perhaps, for the
entire world’s eyes to be focused on Malta, and for Washington’s eyes
to be focused on you. But you have performed brilliantly.
There
are so many stories that came out of the last year – the six members of
this Embassy team led by Tracy Brown, who joined other TDYs and
colleagues in Tripoli on that ferry to get the Americans evacuating and
others we were taking along with us home. I’m sure you won’t forget the
18-foot swells and some of the other challenges, but it was an
extraordinary act of professionalism and kindness. And then when
everyone got to Malta, the rest of you were there to process visas,
replace lost passports, and to book flights that took people home.
But
throughout the crisis, there was a constant stream of American
expatriates from Libya. You were there for them again; you provided
medical assistance; you advanced loans, I heard; you reissued passports;
and you persuaded the Maltese Government to waive immigration
formalities so that you could get everyone moving home as quickly as
possible.
And now, as Embassy Tripoli rebuilds itself literally
from the ground up, your support has been absolutely crucial. Again,
you’ve arranged flights, you’ve shipped vehicles, oxygen, MREs, water,
medical supplies, and sensitive material, acting in the very best
traditions of this post and of the Foreign Service. I was just there.
What once was the Ambassador’s residence is now the new chancery and
people are working three and four in a room that once was a guest room
or some other purpose. They could not do it without you. And I
understand that from our friends in Tripoli, popcorn and bananas are the
only two food that there’s an abundance of, so once again, you’re
helping them by literally shopping to put something different on the
tables.
Now, you’ve been busy the last few weeks. You had a CODEL
for Senator McCain, a high-profile visit by Assistant Secretary Feltman
who is here somewhere with us, and then my own visit, which you have
just handled magnificently under very, very short notice. And a special
thank you to Laura Danylin and her team for that. And I want to thank
Rick Mills as chargé for his superb management of this extraordinary
level of support, Carlos Dhabhar for the general services work that’s
been done, and somebody told me that perhaps Carlos and Lauralee will be
welcoming a new member of the Embassy team not too long from now.
And
I met the Marines from your contingent this morning and I thanked them,
and there’s just so much that has been done. Now, I’m particularly
regretful that I did not get to go to the new Embassy, the new chancery
which I’ve seen pictures of and everyone reports is truly a tribute to
all of the work that went into a making it an environmentally exemplary
building. And I also want to thank all of the locally employed staff. I
took a picture with, I think, six of the longest serving. I think Joyce
Dixon has been with the Embassy for 27 years and she must have started
at, I don't know, kindergarten or something. (Laughter.) And I
understand you just had a new granddaughter, so congratulations to you.
Now
we have a lot of work to do ahead of us, and I also thanked the
Government of Malta today for everything they’ve done. They’ve been
wonderful partners in helping us deal with all of the consequences of
the historical movements that are sweeping the region. And we will
continue to work closely with them on a range of important issues. The
White House has announced the nomination of a career diplomat, Gina
Abercrombie-Winstanley, as your new ambassador. We’re
hopeful the confirmation process, which you never can tell for sure in
Washington these days, moves quickly so that Mission Malta can be up to
full strength.
But please know that we really appreciate what you
have done and the above-and-beyond commitment that so many of you have
generated. And I just want now to shake your hands and personally thank
you on behalf of our government and the American people. Thank you all
very much.
Remarks to Embassy Staff and Families
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
U.S. Embassy
Tripoli, Libya
October 18, 2011
SECRETARY CLINTON:
As Gene and Assistant Secretary Feltman and I were walking through
here, they were talking about how the last time Jeff was here was when
we were very worried that Qadhafi and Sanussi were going to kill you.
AMBASSADOR CRETZ: Yeah. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY CLINTON:
And we were debating and just pulling our hair out about what to do and
how to respond to it, and then the threats got worse and the
intimidation got worse, and so we had to bring Gene home for
consultations, as they say. But here you are, you’re back and Qadhafi’s
gone. (Laughter.) So it somehow seems to be all’s right with the world.
(Applause.)
I am very pleased to have this chance to thank each
and every one of you, and to return as Secretary of State to a free
Libya. And what an amazing experience. And I’ve had the opportunity
today to meet with a number of the officials of the Transitional
National Council, students and faculty at Tripoli University, and then I
just came from the medical center, where I met with doctors and
patients and heard about the very serious needs of a lot of the wounded
fighters who made the liberation of Libya possible.
I want to
thank Gene, of course, and Joan, because I remember also those – where’s
Joan? There you are. Hi, Joan. (Applause.) Come on up here. Come on up
here a minute. Ah, come on.
I remember when Joan was evacuating
and we got her on the ferry from Malta, and then the ferry from Malta
didn’t leave, and then once it left, it was a very rough passage. So
indeed, you’re back as well. And those of you who have worked with Gene
and Joan to basically turn what had been the ambassador’s residence into
our temporary Embassy, I am very, very grateful to each and every one
of you. I know that you’re working in very difficult, cramped
conditions, three and four of you to a room. I just saw some of that.
You had no OpenNet and almost no basic office resources, and we all know
that Libya is the land where Blackberrys come to die. (Laughter.) They
don’t seem able to get their current going. But I think it’s remarkable,
particularly for those of you who stayed throughout the last seven
months, to be here back as part of our team on behalf of Embassy
Tripoli.
I also want to really express – I know how many of you
are feeling. The loss of our Embassy was a very personal one to many of
you. You had worked so hard to get it built up and get it going. And the
damages, the looting, were just appalling. But I am personally relieved
that no damage was done to any of our staff members, because I know
many of you were checking on it and trying to keep us informed. And I
know, too, that the memories of the last very stressful eight months
will be with you always. But at the same time, I hope you’re thinking
about the future and what a new Libya will mean to you.
Thank you
to all of the American staff who went through so much to evacuate all
those homes and cars and family photos, even pets that you had to leave
behind. I know how wrenching that was for our American team. The
goodbyes you had to say, not only to friends but in some cases family
members. Yes, indeed, the 18-foot waves you endured, and finally making
it to safety.
But I know that the time was especially difficult
for our Libyan colleagues. You endured great suspicion and harassment
from the regime’s security forces. Yet in spite of that, many of you,
with great personal risk, kept working, and I will always be grateful to
you. You helped to safeguard our property. You helped to keep basic
Embassy functions running. I know that almost everyone is back. There
are a few who are still out there fighting, and we hope they return
safely as well. And we look forward to working with you for many years
ahead.
A lot has happened in the past, and I am very, very
confident that the future will be worthy of the sacrifices that were
made. I am also very confident that the relationship between the United
States and Libya will only get stronger and deeper as we look for new
ways to partner with one another. And I can only imagine the emotions of
just less than a month ago when you raised the flags over our new
Embassy territory. That is the very same flag that you rolled up and
brought back to the United States, Joan. So I think you so much for
that. And I heard that you not only played the American national anthem
but the new anthem of a free Libya, which was especially welcome.
So
I am grateful to you. I had an excellent pair of meetings with Chairman
Jalil and Prime Minister Jibril. We went over a lot of the issues that
we are working on together with our Libyan friends. This is the end,
perhaps, of one phase, but it’s going to be the beginning of a very
challenging period for all of us. I know the times are uncertain, and I
know fighting continues as we speak. When we hear gunshots, we don’t
know whether it’s fighting or celebratory. (Laughter.) I wish we could
get the word out: Don’t waste your ammunition on – (laughter) – when
you’re shooting in the air. That’s really not useful, and actually could
come down and hit somebody, which would be dreadful. But I want you to
know we’re really in this together with you, and we’re in it for the
long run. We’re going to be a good partner to Libya, and of course, we
remain grateful to all of you for everything you have done.
I want
to shake as many hands as I can to thank you all personally, but it was
very heartwarming and inspiring to hear the stories we heard from what
you were doing, and how you were really continuing to represent
America’s hope in the kind of Libya that you are now being given the
privilege to help create. I am very, very excited, and I can only look
forward to returning here in the not too distant future to see even more
progress that is being made in Libya.
So thank you all so very
much, and give yourselves a round of applause for everything you’ve done
to make this happen so well. Thank you. (Applause.)
