Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright took a particular interest in refugees and young girls and did not forget her experience of being forced to flee her homeland as a child, her daughter Alice P. Albright said in an April 27 funeral service.
“Mom took a particular interest whenever I let her know that I was visiting refugees or working to help girls get a better chance for an education. Often, her voice would grow a bit deeper, the conversation slower, and I could tell that she was reminded of being an 11-year-old immigrant girl who survived the Blitz, moved around repeatedly, left her homeland and arrived in the United States in 1948 with her sister, brother and parents, seeking refuge and wanting a better and safer future,” Alice said.
Albright died last month at the age of 84 after a battle with cancer. Alice Albright spoke alongside her sisters, Anne K. Albright and Katharine M. Albright, during a service at the Washington National Cathedral.
Alice said her mother described herself as “a grateful American” who took pride in representing her adopted country abroad.
“Even though she became one of the world’s top diplomats. Mom never forget where she came from, and how precarious circumstances were when she first arrived in the United States. This explains why Mom never took anything for granted and was always grateful for everything,” she said.
Anne Albright said their mother took an active interest in their careers — in her case, this meant the law and her work as a public defender.
She recounted one night when she cancelled a dinner date with her mother because she was with a client in jail. “
After Anne became a judge, Madeleine Albright drove to her courtroom to “watch me in action”.
“‘Effective courts’, she said, ‘were essential to a strong democracy.’ Mom’s example meant much to me and my sisters,” Anne said.
Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state, was also a child of Czech refugees who fled from a Nazi invasion, used her experience growing up in communist Yugoslavia before fleeing to the U.S. to inform her dedication to world affairs, becoming a staunch defender of democracy and human rights and a forceful opponent to fascism.
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