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
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