ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVOR RECEIVES PROCLAMATION AND CITATION
COMMUNITY | DECEMBER 23, 2013 6:29 PM
BELMONT, Mass. – On the 101st birthday of Armenian Genocide survivor
Vahram Nahikian, his family and friends gathered at Holy Cross Armenian
Catholic Church to hear his family’s survival story shared by his
granddaughter Anaide Nahikian, and to see him receive a proclamation
presented by state Sen. Will Brownsberger and a citation from Middlesex
County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian. Very Rev. Raphael Andonian of the
parish hosted the December 8 ceremony.
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, was cancelled due to 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.”
“An example of our Armenian forefathers’ resilience and tenacity,
Vahram Nahikian illustrates the determination that gave strength and
hope through the darkness of the Genocide,” said Anaide Nahikian. “The
legacy and memory of our past lives in all of us today. We continue
to rebuild, to contribute to our communities, and to exemplify the
enduring power of our Christian faith, family values, and persistence
of our Armenian heritage.”
Brownsberger of Belmont presented the proclamation from Gov. Deval
Patrick. “It is very meaningful to show respect to the survivors and
always uplifting for me to do so, said Brownsberger, “It reminds us
how fortunate we are and helps us to keep in the front of our minds
the goal of preventing future genocide.”
Koutoujian, a parishioner at Holy Cross and actively involved in the
Armenian-American community, presented a citation. “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,”
Sheriff Peter Koutoujian said. “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 commemoration committee is already planning the 99th State House
Commemoration that will take place on Friday, April 11, 2014.
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From: A. Papazian