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Transcription: [00:15:15]
[[BACKGROUND NOISE]] {ALEXANDER MALIK}: And he's working. Some of the states to have all these branches which have under different jurisdictions in the old country to be one united American [[??]]

[00:15:31]
And I hope before the end come that I'll see that. Because this is my desire and my prayer. Now I'll come back. {SPEAKER 2} Yes, please.

[00:15:42]
{ALEXANDER MALIK}: To the million Syrian and Lebanese. First the people come from the old country. Not only from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine. Even Egypt.

[00:16:01]
Even Iraq. And Saudi Arabia. They all call them Syrians. {SPEAKER 2}: Why did they all call them (--)[[Interrupted]]

[00:16:08]
{ALEXANDER MALIK}: The reason for that, because the first family, because the first family immigrated to this country. Which was, I think, about, I will say right now about 78, 79 years ago.

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Was a Syrian family. When they come to New York, the immigration office, that family, they call themselves Syrians.

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{SPEAKER 2}: Do you know what their names were? {ALEXANDER MALIK}: Habib. Habib. {SPEAKER 2}: Yes.

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{ALEXANDER MALIK}: And everyone come who speak Arabic they called them Syrian. {SPEAKER 2}: That makes sense you know.

[00:16:51]
{ALEXANDER MALIK}: And we kept on calling Syrians until Lebanon became an independent. {SPEAKER 2}: Yes.

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{ALEXANDER MALIK} And Syria became independent. And each one of those two nations have the rest of the Arabic nations. They are a representative. To United States.

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{SPEAKER 2}: So I think I can [[unintelligible]]

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{ALEXANDER MALIK}: All these nations have the representative. And one have the greatest statesman who come from the middle east and who will present Lebanon. His name Charles Malik.

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{SPEAKER 2} Yes. He's related to you. {ALEXANDER MALIK} Yes. He's a distant cousin.

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{ALEXANDER MALIK} He was so able to represent Lebanon, that he brought the name of Lebanon to the American attention.

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And since then, we were, all who come from Lebanon, proud. For two reasons: To have such a good representative. And to belong to such nice, great