Darkest days of Armenia remembered

Boston Globe, MA
April 23 2006

Armenian-Americans throughout the Boston area are gathering this
weekend and next week to commemorate the genocide that resulted in
the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923.

Armenians mark Monday as the 91st anniversary of the night in 1915
when the Ottoman Turkish government arrested 200 Armenian community
leaders in Constantinople — the beginning of the campaign.

The Turkish government denies the claims, but, for Armenians and
their descendants throughout the world, the events are pivotal in
their people’s history.

“It was one of the defining events in Armenian history and certainly
modern Armenian history,” said Marc Mamigonian, director of programs
and publications at the National Association for Armenian Studies
and Research.

“It’s the reason most of us are living” in the United States “in one
way or another. Most everyone around here can trace a family member
to the Armenian genocide either as a survivor or someone who was lost.”

Many commemoration events are taking place in the Boston area.

Today at 3 p.m., St. James Armenian Apostolic Church in Watertown,
465 Mount Auburn St., will hold an annual Remembrance and Commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide.

Also today at 3 p.m. there will be a remembrance ceremony at North
Andover High School, 430 Osgood Street.

The ceremony will consist of a cultural presentation and requiem
service.

On Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., the public is invited to gather in the
Goddard Chapel at Tufts University in Medford for a program by the
Tufts University Armenian Club titled “Beyond Genocide Recognition —
Our Next Challenge.”

Stephen Kurkjian, senior assistant metropolitan editor at The Boston
Globe, will speak at the North Andover and Medford events.

Donna Novak