On Thurs., April 26, Peabody Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt led the flag-raising ceremony in commemoration of the Armenian Genocide on the front lawn of Peabody City Hall.
The late Mayor Peter Torigian, who began the ceremony in Peabody in the early 1990’s, and whose mother survived the genocide, had said, “This ceremony is our small way of paying tribute to the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide.”
Torigian was first elected mayor of Peabody in 1979 and served for 23 years until his retirement in 2002. He also served for four terms on the Peabody City Council. He was once voted by his colleagues throughout the state as the “Best Mayor in Massachusetts,” and ranked as the longest-reigning mayor in Massachusetts history. Torigian created the Peabody International Festival, the “Pride in Peabody” campaign, and numerous cultural and social programs.
Former Mayor Michael J. Bonfanti; Torigian’s widow, Jackie Torigian; and Torigian’s sister, Mary Torigian Foley have organized this annual commemoration. And now the new mayor, Edward A. Bettencourt, continues this tradition and cordially invites the public to attend each year.
Following the flag-raising ceremony, and the singing of the Armenian and U.S. National Anthems, the ceremony continued inside, where Bonfanti presented his greetings, explained the importance of the ceremony, and introduced Bettencourt.
The new mayor stressed that the commemorations would continue, and introduced the middle and high school students he had invited to attend.
Rev. Bedros Shetilian of St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church from Indian Orchard, Springfield, Mass., and Deacon Avedis Garavanian of the North Andover St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church gave blessings and a requiem service to memorialize the victims of the genocide.
Patrice Tierney represented Congressman John Tierney who was in Washington, and District Attorney Jonathon Blodgett gave greetings.
Bettencourt then invited the main speaker, Dr. Pam Steiner Ph.D., the great grand-daughter of Ambassador Henry Morgenthau. Her book, Henry Morgenthau’s Voice in History and a View on it from a Practice in Conflict Resolution, will be published this year in English and Greek by the Euxeinos Club of Thessaloniki, Greece.
Steiner directs the Inter-communal Trust-Building Project, which aims to contribute to an improvement in the relationship between the Armenian and Turkish communities. To date, the project’s primary activities have been track-two workshops for Armenian and Turkish participants in 2007 and 2009 and a public meeting with Hasan Camel in 2009. A larger enterprise entitled, “Dealing with 1915 in order to move forward together in 2015,” is planned but not yet funded.
After the ceremony, a light luncheon was served in the Wiggin Auditorium, sponsored by Anahid and Arelian Mardiros.
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