Boyes article

2005 press releases

Remarks by Public Affairs Officer Juliet Wurr: Homage to Dr. Henry R. Boyes

September 29, 2005

Thank you very much for inviting the U.S. Embassy to participate in this ceremony honoring the American Dr. Henry R. Boyes. Ambassador Feltman is very disappointed that he could not join you today, but insisted that we represent him and sends his very best wishes to you.

I am delighted to be here—my first trip to al Mina Tripoli. I’ve been in Lebanon as Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy for a year now but I have been trying to get to Tripoli for many years. When I was a small girl growing up in California, I enjoyed looking at my mother’s old photograph albums. My favorite album was one filled with tiny black and white photos taken by my mother, when she was 18 years of age and had just finished school in England.

Leaving behind a cold and somber post World War II England, she flew into Damascus airport. Her uncle, who worked for IPC (Iraq Petroleum Company) drove her to Beirut, where they stayed at the fabled Hotel St. George, and the next day, drove on to Tripoli. The memories of that magical summer in 1949 spent with her Uncle Bill and Auntie Gwen remain very vivid for my mother.

And now, in one of those unimaginable moments—did I ever believe as a young girl in California that I would ever retrace my mother’s early journey? —I find myself here as you celebrate an American humanitarian, Dr. Henry R. Boyes.

Dr. Boyes left a lasting impression on the people of Tripoli, caring for its people for fifty years, and making their health and well being the goal of his work. Dr. Boyes recognized that communal spirit and community life were important components of a healthy life—and he helped turn the American Hospital in al Mina, with its beautiful gardens, into a center of community life.

Although the building that was once the American Hospital no longer exists, it is obvious that community life is thriving in Tripoli—demonstrated by the participation today of a number of very dynamic organizations, including Beit al Fenn. You honor the spirit of Dr. Boyes with your own community involvement and the pride you exude in your culture and traditions.

Today you honor an American who once came and cared for the people of Tripoli. But I want you to know that sometimes aid and assistance travels in the other direction as well. As many of you know, the people of the American states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, were hit by devastating natural disasters recently—Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the terrible aftermath of flooding. This natural disaster caused unimaginable damage and destruction across a huge area of the southern United States.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut received numerous emails, letters and telephone calls from Lebanese from all walks of life, with their sympathies, offers of help and generous contributions to our government and to organizations, such as the American Red Cross, who are helping those whose lives have been upturned. I want you to know how deeply touched we are by the response from the people of Lebanon, and from others around the world. The American people have a long tradition of extending a hand to those in need. Now in our own time of need, we are grateful and thankful for support from others—support that is very much in the tradition and spirit of the great humanitarian Dr. Henry R. Boyes.

Thank you for including the U.S. Embassy in this ceremony today. It really is a celebration of the strong ties of friendship and cooperation between our two peoples—the Lebanese and American. The dedication of this monument to an American who clearly loved both Lebanon and the Lebanese people offers us an opportunity to re-dedicate ourselves to nurturing and developing the relationship between the American people and you—the people of al Mina Tripoli.