On September 23, 2007 President Valdis Zatlers and Mrs. Lilita Zatlere met with New York’s Latvian community. The Latvian delegation attended church services, which were led by the Archbishop of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church outside Latvia, Elmârs Ernsts Rozîtis. Afterwards, President Zatlers addressed New York’s Latvian community. Dr. Zatlers’ address follows: It is a true pleasure to speak to you in this Church. I was last here long ago, only a few days after shots rang out in Vilnius in 1991. You had gathered here to pray for the Republic of Latvia. It’s wonderful to recognize a few faces I saw on that visit again today. Today I am here as the President of a free Latvia. When life takes us back to places we have been at another significant point in time, we’re moved to contemplate enduring values. The consciousness of the Latvian people and the freedom of our Republic are invaluable to us. Therefore I come to this question – how did the miracle of regaining our independence take place? My answer is that everyone who feels Latvian did something to restore our sovereignty. Every part of our people did great work. First we should think of those who survived Siberia and thereby proved that the Republic of Latvia cannot be destroyed. Our people and our statehood are stronger than any brute power. Those of you who kept the dream of a free Republic alive in foreign lands, never allowing the world to forget about our existence, are a second great part of our nation. I belong to a third part – those who would not allow our land to become part of another country. It is only because these three parts worked together that I can stand before you as the President of a free Latvia and represent our nation at the United Nations. The world has changed and Latvia is changing. No matter what country I visit these days, I meet Latvians. It is an important duty for me to meet with the Latvians living abroad. Latvia itself is changing, too. We need to think about what we wish our country to be tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, a decade from now and even further in the future. What Latvia will become is our responsibility. To see into the future, we must also look into the past. The past shows us that Latvians’ determination to be free has endured. We must also realize that we cannot live only in the past if we are to have a future. That is why it is so important to focus upon what sort of future we wish for our country. Things may seem difficult today, but we’ve never had it easy. The current situation, when Latvia has made the difficult decision to conclude the Border Agreement with Russia, in effect giving away land, is certainly not an easy one. Is this an instance of weakness or strength? I think – strength, because we are no longer afraid and can overcome our own resistance. This is a hard step to take, but it is a step forward – a step towards a secure future. Along this frontier we can see that the border is well-kempt and professionally guarded on the Latvian side. On the other side an overgrown road begins. We don’t want this overgrown road to enter our territory. We want to be proud of what we are. It is also difficult to understand how Latvia can achieve such rapid economic growth but find it so difficult to slow when it becomes clear that the growth is too rapid. This a complex task, but I believe that we will accomplish it. I am very happy that I can thank you for being Latvian in your hearts – happy that I can say that it doesn’t matter where a Latvian is as long as he feels a connection to his homeland and his nation. After the speech, the President, Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks, and Andrejs Pildegovičs, Latvia’s Ambassador to the United States, and Latvia’s UN Representative Solveiga Silkalne watched a performance by the pupils of the Latvian Sunday school. The President responded to questions and signed the guest book.