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Wicked Local, MA
Jan 6 2014
Armenian Genocide survivor gets citation from Waltham's Koutoujian
WALTHAM -
On the 101st birthday of Armenian Genocide survivor Vahram Nahikian,
his family and friends gathered at Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church
in Belmont to hear his family's survival story shared by his
granddaughter Anaide Nahikian, and to see him receive a citation from
Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian of Waltham.
Rev. Raphael Andonian of the parish hosted the Dec. 8 ceremony.
`I was honored to join Mr. Nahikian and his family as our community
gathered to celebrate his birthday and his contribution to our shared
heritage,' said Koutoujian, a parishioner at Holy Cross who is
actively involved in the Armenian American community. `His personal
account of the extreme hardships suffered by our ancestors allows us
to remain connected to the events that changed the destiny of our
people.'
The gathering was arranged by Lalig Musserian of Belmont, the
coordinator of the committee for the 29th annual Massachusetts State
House Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. That event, to have been
held April 19 to recognize the 98th anniversary of the genocide, was
canceled because of the Boston Marathon bombings. Since that time,
Musserian and fellow Belmont resident Jirair Hovsepian have been
reaching out to survivors making it possible for them to receive their
Armenian Martyrs Day Proclamations.
"It is an incredible experience to me to meet with genocide survivors.
I look through their eyes and feel that I can see all the horrors
those eyes have seen. I can almost hear the echoes of cries for help,
which never came. And when those eyes are still able to smile and look
beyond the pain. I am humbled by the strength and power of the human
spirit," Musserian said of the gathering for Vahram Nahikian.
That experience was told vividly by Nahikian's granddaughter Anaide
Nahikian, as she recounted the family's story.
"A survivor himself, Vahram Nahikian also represents the persecution
and sacrifice of two generations before him: his father, Dr. Nechan
Nahiguian, an intellectual and leader who was killed during his
resistance in the 1915 genocide, along with most of his family
members, and his grandfather, Priest Der Vahram Nahiguian, martyr for
his faith and killed with his family in the 1895 Hamidian Massacres."
Sen. William Brownsberger, D-Belmont, presented a proclamation from
Gov. Deval Patrick.
"It is very meaningful to show respect to the survivors and always
uplifting for me to do so,' Brownsberger said. `It reminds us how
fortunate we are and helps us to keep in the front of our minds the
goal of preventing future genocide."
The commemoration committee is already planning the 99th State House
Commemoration that will take place on Friday, April 11, 2014.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/waltham/news/x1275656288/Armenian-Genocide-survivor-gets-citation-from-Walthams-Koutoujian
Jan 6 2014
Armenian Genocide survivor gets citation from Waltham's Koutoujian
WALTHAM -
On the 101st birthday of Armenian Genocide survivor Vahram Nahikian,
his family and friends gathered at Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church
in Belmont to hear his family's survival story shared by his
granddaughter Anaide Nahikian, and to see him receive a citation from
Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian of Waltham.
Rev. Raphael Andonian of the parish hosted the Dec. 8 ceremony.
`I was honored to join Mr. Nahikian and his family as our community
gathered to celebrate his birthday and his contribution to our shared
heritage,' said Koutoujian, a parishioner at Holy Cross who is
actively involved in the Armenian American community. `His personal
account of the extreme hardships suffered by our ancestors allows us
to remain connected to the events that changed the destiny of our
people.'
The gathering was arranged by Lalig Musserian of Belmont, the
coordinator of the committee for the 29th annual Massachusetts State
House Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. That event, to have been
held April 19 to recognize the 98th anniversary of the genocide, was
canceled because of the Boston Marathon bombings. Since that time,
Musserian and fellow Belmont resident Jirair Hovsepian have been
reaching out to survivors making it possible for them to receive their
Armenian Martyrs Day Proclamations.
"It is an incredible experience to me to meet with genocide survivors.
I look through their eyes and feel that I can see all the horrors
those eyes have seen. I can almost hear the echoes of cries for help,
which never came. And when those eyes are still able to smile and look
beyond the pain. I am humbled by the strength and power of the human
spirit," Musserian said of the gathering for Vahram Nahikian.
That experience was told vividly by Nahikian's granddaughter Anaide
Nahikian, as she recounted the family's story.
"A survivor himself, Vahram Nahikian also represents the persecution
and sacrifice of two generations before him: his father, Dr. Nechan
Nahiguian, an intellectual and leader who was killed during his
resistance in the 1915 genocide, along with most of his family
members, and his grandfather, Priest Der Vahram Nahiguian, martyr for
his faith and killed with his family in the 1895 Hamidian Massacres."
Sen. William Brownsberger, D-Belmont, presented a proclamation from
Gov. Deval Patrick.
"It is very meaningful to show respect to the survivors and always
uplifting for me to do so,' Brownsberger said. `It reminds us how
fortunate we are and helps us to keep in the front of our minds the
goal of preventing future genocide."
The commemoration committee is already planning the 99th State House
Commemoration that will take place on Friday, April 11, 2014.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/waltham/news/x1275656288/Armenian-Genocide-survivor-gets-citation-from-Walthams-Koutoujian