Oral history interview with Alexander Myteberi and Valbona Myteberi, 2021
Abstract
Alex and Valbona Myteberi discuss the Myteberi family's immigration to the United States from Albania, the development of Alex's interest in migration issues and commitment to the plight of refugees around the world, and the letter Alex sent to President Obama in 2016, after he saw a photograph of Omran Daqneesh, the Syrian five year old who was wounded in an air strike in Aleppo. Alex and Valbona recount Alex's motivations for writing to the president, remember the composition of the letter, and describe the experience of learning that Obama had read the letter and would incorporate its language into his address to the 2016 United Nations Leaders' Summit on Refugees. The Myteberis also provide details about the media attention that followed the publication of their letter; the Myteberi family's visit to the White House in November 2016, which included a meeting with the president in the Oval Office; and other encounters with notable Obama administration officials
Presidents--United States; Emigration and immigration--Government policy--United States; Refugee children--Social conditions; War victims; Syria History; Myteberi, Alexander; Myteberi, Valbona; Obama, Barack
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
94 pages
Note (Biographical)
Alex Myteberi, at the age of six, wrote to President Obama after he saw the image of five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, who was rescued after an airstrike in Aleppo, Syria, in 2016. Myteberi's written words were a source of inspiration to Obama, who refere nced his letter at the Summit for Refugees at the United Nations on September 20, 2016, and met with the Myteberi family at the White House soon after. At the time of the interview, Myteberi was continuing to use his voice to advocate for refugee rights, and his mother, Valbona Myteberi, was the associate dean for graduate, international, and online programs at Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University
Note
Interviewed by Rebecca Feldherr on September 9, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Alexander Myteberi and Valbona Myteberi, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023