[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2057]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING ALEXIS ``LEXIE'' KAMERMAN

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on January 17, just days before our Nation 
observed a day in remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr., a man 
recognized for his nonviolent activism during the civil rights 
movement, a restaurant in Kabul, Afghanistan, popular with foreigners 
and expatriates, including Americans, was rocked by a terrorist attack, 
killing 21 people.
  Tragically, we lost one of our own from Illinois during this act of 
senseless violence: Ms. Alexis ``Lexie'' Kamerman, a Chicago native who 
for years had dedicated herself to serving others and only the year 
prior had moved to Afghanistan, working with the American University 
there to help increase access to education for Afghan girls and women.
  Lexie grew up in Chicago in my home State. She was a 2004 graduate of 
the Latin School of Chicago, a 2008 graduate of Knox College--where she 
was also an all-star conference water polo player--and she went on to 
receive her Masters in Higher Education from the University of Arizona.
  Countless friends and family have described Lexie as generous, 
fearless, and passionate about helping to create a better world. It's 
no surprise that the 27-year-old found herself in Kabul, working as a 
student development specialist with American University of Afghanistan. 
American University of Afghanistan has been committed for years to 
extend high-quality, affordable education for Afghans, especially 
girls, who may not have had access to it otherwise.
  Sadly, American University of Afghanistan lost another member of its 
family in the same attack: 29-year-old political science professor 
Alexandros Petersen from Washington, DC. He and Lexie both were too 
young, too bright, and too dedicated to helping others to be leaving 
the world so soon.
  Afghanistan has seen many ups and downs over the years. But these 
heinous attacks on innocent civilians, people such as Lexie who work 
every day to help the Afghan people achieve a better future, are among 
the lowest of lows.
  My deepest sympathies go out to Lexie's parents, Jack and Alison, and 
the rest of her family, as well as the family at American University of 
Afghanistan and to all victims of the attack and their loved ones. It 
is only fitting that Knox College has created a scholarship in Lexie's 
name, a well-deserved tribute for a young woman who was so dedicated to 
others and to the value of education during her all-too-short life.

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