if everyone would please take their seats i want to welcome everyone to the one hundred second anniversary commemoration of the armenian genocide so our friends family clergy members colleagues fellow armenians armenians  commemoration well there are many familiar faces here in the crowd for those that don't know me my name's david meridian a representative of the ninth was to district the communities of grafton north bridge and  as we aim to host this event as close to the twenty fourth as possible we certainly respect each of your schedules and appreciate you making time to be here today is a pleasure and an honor to welcome you into this house for this let us pray heavenly father as we come before you this morning to ask for your blessing we want to thank you for giving us the gift of life you give that we do not always value as you do we praise you for saving your people and bringing us to safe harbors you brought us to the shores of freedom the shores of the land of the free and the home of the brave you spared a remnant of armenians and you gave us grace to start again to rebuild a new today as we remember the injustice of an ottoman perpetrated genocide one hundred two years ago and yet also celebrate our survival and our reestablish ment as a growing people in this world and especially in these blessed united states of america we ask that you help us to continue blessing others as we are blessed by your grace to the savior jesus we ask that you bless this gathering by being tangibly present we ask that you cause a supernatural shift in the results of our labors regarding the recognition of the genocide by all of the international community especially the united states we ask that you as the god who avenge is would sovereignty move on rb have to render justice mercy and grace to end the suffering of a deny genocide to end the genocide of our memory our heritage our we come asking for justice when will your justice ring if not but when you decide to intervene in man's affairs when will there be a complete and total recognition if you do not rend the heavens an but thankfully we declare that by your power we have already had justice by your strength we have survived thrived in grown into a prosperous try we look forward to the day when your divine justice will be complete we look forward to the day where not only will the genocide be recognized but having been healed of our collectively wounded memory we will be an even brighter light in this world for peace for justice for love and for your kingdom i pray all this in the name of jesus christ our lord  thank you pastor gary b d and for those that can still stand please do so as i would like this my colleague representative david rogers serving twenty fourth middlesex district to lead us in the pledge of allegiance good morning and welcome to the people's house please join me reciting the pledge i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which is stands one  to continue with our commemorative opening as the you join me in welcoming the children of st stephen's armenian elementary school who will lead us in america the beautiful as well as mere irony the armenian national distinct all honor of introducing someone who is certainly a friend to the armenian community and has been for many many years robert j dileo is from winthrop and is now in his fifth term speaker of the house someone who has always shown compassion and care especially as the father of two children speaker julio immediately responded to our request for him to take part in today's commemoration ladies and gentleman friends in attendance the speaker of the house robert thank you very much thank you thank you so much thank you represent a moravian and it's great to see that you're going to be heading up but today's remembrance and  except for the best fact that he's a republican he's really not a bad guy i'd have to say if i didn't like his parents so much and he didn't represent his district and represent the commonwealth so well morning and thank you all for joining us today over the past few years it has been a special and unique on or to host this commemoration in this story chamber our house example pfizer our american democracy the commonwealth is and has been a place that cherishes freedom and that legacy resonates today as we mark this solemn occasion we highlight the contributions of the members of our i mean the community and all that they all the contributions that they may i came to this issue through the through the traditions of the house of representatives my predecessor speaker can vary and begin this commemoration years ago he havard the courage to speak up at a time when many americans did not know about the genocide today it's a pleasure to have the speaker's brother jack with us along with his wife neary his wife dorothy i'm sorry and mary welcome you leaders like speaker very and i have learned more about the armenian heritage in the armenian genocide and i believe that we also be hearing a little bit later on from the attorney healy who's a strong advocate for justice here in massachusetts and throughout the country good to welcome or here today residual pain won the pulitzer won the pulitzer prize just last year through blakey and writing i have learned that there was a group of vocal americans who are committed to raising awareness of the genocide even as it was happening during world war one as we look towards the future i hope that events such as this will encourage people across this nation and the world to fully and completely recognize these atrocities for what they were a genocide we are at a very important moment for this country's recognition of the genocide just last week the film the promise the first hollywood motion picture to address this issue for me as a matter of fact i was just reading in the small awning in one of boston's newspaper hopefully this will cause other americans to learn about and embrace this cause as i have i believe that with this signal it's meant our communities begin to begin a new phase of healing and reaffirm ourselves to shared values that lift us up while we remember those who perished we must vowed to carry on their legacy to ensure that the world never forget as humans as americans we must ensure that the human spirit out shines in humanity today's commemoration will help us renewed that commitment thank you for coming to the state house today and thank you for allowing me to say a few words thank you very someone else certainly no stranger to us in the armenian community his massachusetts attorney general mark milley have to be in victorious in two thousand and fourteen election cycle attorney general healing a right to work for all of us in the commonwealth and last year was a key partner in the fight to combat prescription drug abuse and the heroin epidemic as well as opium crisis infant child trafficking the attorney general just might be one of the smarter people in this room today  realized how great it would be to marry an armenian and she currently resides in charleston with her partner the real is by pleasure to introduce our featured speaker the massachusetts attorney general ar opening up his wonderful chamber to all of us here this morning thank you mr speaker we debate food all the time and i know he has a real reverence for the tally in food but i tell oh you know you've got to you've got to  you know you've got i got you you have no idea senator brownsburg or it's wonderful to see you certainly representative moravian how great is it to have to have one of your own here represented in the state legislature i see representative rogers represented in the sally treasure to goldberg governors council marilyn deveny from watertown it is great to be among you all  i want to speak in particular thank the members of the armenian genocide commemoration committee and in particular share alike mistery and for putting together today's event working so hard to put on this wonderful wonderful commemoration and to you and certainly to members of the clergy who have joined with us here this morning thank you for your ministry and all that you do it is truly an honor to be with you as we mark this important day every year we come together as a community here in massachusetts to remember one of the darkest chapters in world history the armenian genocide we reflect and speakable tragedy the armenian genocide was an attempt to race not just your lives but the entire life of your people your culture you history your community and importantly and rightly we gather today to remember those lost as we look back and we  reflect on history in the history of armenian ancestors the history of the armenian people those lost those who survived but are not with us today we also about looking forward and i am so heartened to see the young faces in front of me on the floor are you guys all on break this week this is school vacation isn't it yeah so pretty cool thing to do on school vacation i look at the young faces here on the floor of the house chamber and the young people before us standing and this is i think the best possible way to symbolize the importance of what this is also about it's about looking forward as the armenian people always have because genocide was a failure here in massachusetts and across this country we have seen the indomitable the sustaining force of armenia and the armenian people their faith their many contributions to the arts to music architecture language we could go on yes genocide was a failure and today we celebrate the ultimate rebuke to genocide a healthy thriving armenian community one in which i am proud to have many friends and family now as attorney general i know the importance of the rule of law and armenians here and across this country have made many contributions to the rule of law i think about our wonderful share peter thank think about the many lawyers and members of the armenian bar association an active chapter here in the commonwealth i think about the many judges who sit on courts across this state and have particular reverence for the country's highest armenian judge my partner g you are people with much to be proud of now as attorney general i also know the importance of calling out crimes for what they are and for holding perpetrators accountable it's why it is so shameful for anyone or any country to refuse to recognize the armenian genocide and it's why we must continue the work and go forward today in my office we look to support that effort here and abroad we work hard day in and day out to fight hate crimes to reject discrimination and bias and persecution in any form whether it's based on race or ethnicity or religion we work to uphold the law and protect civil rights to protect civil liberties and abroad we are working as well in fact i'm proud to announce that two members of my office will soon travel to armenia on a state department funded trip this is significant and i'm so proud that i will be sending to prosecutors from your attorney general's office to armenia to work and train local law enforcement officials and prosecutors on how to review and handle cases including matters of public integrity public corruption human rights violations organized crime and human trafficking cases i proud to be able to do this i'm proud that we're able to use our resources here to support and to work with the country of armenia now the recent vote in turkey confirmed our worst fears and just the other day i was speaking with a lawyer here in town who has close colleagues that he works with and estimable he was reporting to me on the arrests of lawyers of academics of journalists just this week it is terribly terribly troubling no one should have to live under oppression and all of us have to speak out w democracy is challenge and it is being challenged right now god that we as a government and a nation do the right thing i'm also so disheartened as i know you are when you turn to the news or look at the paper and see the ongoing h disaster in syria now i know syria has a special deep resonance with so many in this community many many years ago so many armenians found refuge in syria and built lives in syria many of the armenian american families in our state came through syria maybe some of your own the intentional slaughter of men women and children in syria some of them armenia armenian all of them innocent it's an affront to our common humanity and respect for the value in the dignity and the worst of every human life again i think it's a challenge for all of us particularly as americans to stand strong and to do what is needed to support efforts there to bring about peace and to bring about justice and and oppression we have work to do but as i look out at this community this morning i am continually heartened and inspired by your complements by your perseverance by your achievements and what you have passed on generation to generation the great armenian poet once wrote we are few but we are armenians i like that and of course you know and it's one of my favorite quotes of his william saroyan for when two of them meet anywhere in the world see if they will not create a new i mean to me you are a testament to that very sentiment what you have done how you have persevered how you have carried on how you have enriched and built lives not just for your families or for the armenian community but i think about the contributions the wonderful and amazing contributions you have made and continue to make to this country and all across the world today indeed all of us are many ends and thank you for your strength thank you for the strength of this community as a result of your strength there are there are more and more of us every day god bless all of you and your  someone who is always a supporter of human rights thank you so much attorney general m a longtime champion of armenian values in history in his time serving in the house and now senate senator will brownsburg announce serves the second suffolk in middlesex district our friend and i went to these junior high school up many of my friends and classmates were i mean ian but i certainly knew nothing of the history of armenia or of the armenian genocide we just did the things that kids do together  helping people and the community and i still do government is what we do to meet our common goals economic development education keeping the peace keeping the roads and bridges working in the  ninety s when i was an assistant attorney general i got interested in the issue of how we can use the criminal justice system a part of government to address the problem of substance abuse i embraced the view that we could coerce people with addictions into treatment and ultimately into abstinence i traveled around the country advising communities to create more drug courts courts in which the threat of incarceration is used systematically to push people into recovery but it is certain point i got tired of talking about people with addictions and wanted to listen to people with addictions i went to work as a defense attorney in drug courts myself and i suddenly discover how much it meant to me to stand next to someone who was facing down a system that was threatening to take away their liberty very shortly i found myself devoted full time to the practice of criminal defense which meant i did not a great deal to me and i learned a lot listening to my drug court clients and other clients and began to understand how much harm the clumsy power of government can do in the lives of individuals so as i learned from my clients some years ago i have also learned from my constituents about the injustices the and as i have discovered how much it meant to me to do defense work i have discovered that what has meant to me most what what is meant the most to me as a legislator have been the opportunities that i've had to remedy in justice or advance the cause of liberty by protecting people from those who would harm them or limit their freedoms in particular for me is a legislator has meant a great deal to learn more about the tragic history and rich coast cultural  rich culture of my childhood armenian peers participating in these annual events seeing joyce vandyke's searing play about the memories of survivors seeing the photographs in the armenian museum many many events and conversations that's all the way of letting you know how significant it is for me to be with you here today as you gather to commemorate the armenian genocide the great injustice was visited visited on their meaning people and it's fitting that we annually commemorate that tragedy i salute the courage of all the survivors as well as well as the courage of those who perished nothing means more than me to be and to be with you here today to stand with you for justice thank you for that opportunity it's a proclamation from them and i'd like to read it to you and it reads whereas on april twenty fourth one nine hundred fifteen a mass genocide of the armenian population began in the ottoman turkish empire the first genocide in the twentieth century and whereas armenian families for up rooted from their ancestral homeland in brutally exposed to very indignities resulting in more than half of the are now being in population kill and whereas we consider these atrocities against the armenian people to be repulsive in horror and civilized society and whereas americans of armenian descent have contributed to the quality of life in the united states in massachusetts in the best traditions of our nation and stayed in times of war and peace and whereas the armenian citizens around the world and of the commonwealth are dedicated to honoring the memory of the brave men and women who died and whereas our thoughts offered in memory of the armenian martyrs of nine hundred fifteen will serve to remind everyone that persecution torture and killing must cease forever now therefore i charles de big here governor of the commonwealth of massachusetts proclaimed that april twenty fourth two thousand and seventeen to be armenian genocide remember instead from the governor of the commonwealth patty louise good morning i am on earth to present joint senate and house resolutions to a group of outstanding people whose exemplary contributions to the local and global armenian community have made significant democratic member of the massachusetts house of representatives and boston city councilor and among many other contributions to the armenian community he has helped raise millions of dollars of supporter and advocate for the armenian community in the commonwealth and his being on earth for his advocacy and awareness while serving as the mayor of the city of boston raymond flynn helped raise millions of dollars for medical aid and assistance for victims of the one nine hundred eighty eight speech earthquake and has traveled to armenia to witness firsthand the tragic devastation of the city of speed and the surrounding communities and are his long and distinguished career of public service raymond flynn has never wavered from speaking about the armenian genocide as a historical fact and continues to work for broader recognition commemoration of the armenian genocide and be it further resolved that a copy of these resolutions be forwarded by the clerk of the house of representatives to enormous history contributions of the union people across the world i consider myself nobody more than a person an average american like so many other people who love history and when far when reading history read about injustice read about persecution read about discrimination when i read about that history of the armenian people it really bothered me no wind and as result of that i was committed to do all that i could to shed li bring public attention to the injustice that took place in one nine hundred fifteen in armenia i consider myself a lucky man but knowing this history phone learning about you warning about what you went through what your family went through like many other families of other nationalities myself included that's what we are as americans we're advocates and spokespeople for justice and against persecution and discrimination my friends the meaning community has been a major part of history and for that we are greatly thankful for all that you have done i accept this proclamation and appreciate it but i do so on behalf of good people across america who once they hear about injustice and persecution they are willing to get involved stan in the fight is an advocates for you and for all people who are discriminated against the community the community and people have more and have taught us a lot about life and about history and for that i accept this proclamation on behalf of these american people in banks to all that the union community and continues to do here in america and across the world god bless your world thank you thank you very much ambassador flynn our next recipients are certainly no strangers in our community they are the three co chairs of the armenian genocide centennial commemoration committee together they plan to coordinate it and executed the armenian genocide centennial event in two thousand and fifteen bringing together various churches in their organizations to collaborate on the commemoration and the efforts resulted in so many wonderful and memorable events to justly honor and remember the victims of our genocide when the president of armenia was visiting last year the triumvirate the three co chairs also put together a committee very quickly to organize wonderful events here at the state house and we are very blessed to have them in our community and amongst us i've had the honor to work with these gentlemen individually and collectively on several initiatives and i admired their tireless efforts and endless energy on behalf of the army community i'd like to start with anthony barsamian who is a managing partner at hutchins parsi mian and was elected last year as the very first armenian president of the massachusetts council he is also a political activist and what i can only describe as someone who's deeply ingrained in the fabric of the armenian community and in his spare time anthony is also the co chair of the armenian assembly of america another armenian community trailblazer he is on the supreme council of the armenian church the classy asked governing body of the armenian church and at the same time he's also chair  eastern diocesan council he was a pioneer and a pillar of the armenian heritage park and one of the key reasons that we have the park today ian is assistant professor in orthopedic surgery at the harvard medical school and when he's not publishing articles in research on bone compositions or musculoskeletal growth he's helped key leadership positions in several armenian organizations throughout many years of dedicated service each co chair will receive their own resolution but since they are identical in content i would like to read one for you after which i will invite anthony to say a few words on behalf of his c chaired the armenian genocide centennial commemoration committee to plan and execute successful commemorative events across massachusetts in two thousand and fifteen where is the co chair the massachusetts armenian community which organized a successful visit of the president of armenia his excellency seringe sarkozy and to the commonwealth in two thousand and sixteen and through their example of leadership they have demonstrated that the armenian community of the commonwealth is a united strong and active community and by their activism they have advanced the cause of justice and human rights by drawing the public's attention to the history of the armenian genocide and the suffering of victims of all genocides so therefore let it be resolved that the massachusetts general court here by commend anthony jim and ira for their contributions to the twenty seven thousand commemoration the armenian genocide in the commonwealth and be it further that a copy of these resolutions be forwarded by the clerk of the house of representatives to anthony jim and outta thank you i'll be very brief our behalf of jim and i were all are to receive this proclamation you know it's an opportunity to work with all of you and that's what we've done in this community it's a very very united community we work together and we work side by side jim tirelessly spearheaded the park which is heritage park which we're all indebted to him for doing and now he's the chairman of the conservancy that runs the entire conservancy from boston when we commemorated the hundredth i made sure that every armenian organization every cultural group everyone was represented understands the community from a real grassroots perspective and that is such a gift to us and also he our nia bringing medical supplies know how in medical technology from his base and of work and it's been wonderful to work with god as well we're proud of our community we're proud to serve here in massachusetts we understand our grandparents and our genocide survivors how important this is for you and to our children how important this is for all of us thirty years ago i had the privilege of working with speaker covariant and i used to walk out of that door the speaker's office and the speaker used to say to me make us proud i mean ask our next generation underneath here please make us proud because now we're giving it over so you know work whether it's in massachusetts or whether it's working in armenia it's working with the supreme council and that's me ads in or doing medical technology or working with carolyn you guys are in the army tree project we're all in this together this community has a lot to be proud of but also we have a lot more work to do we want to make all of you proud but also we need to be together as a community to work hard please keep the promise because this is the weekend to keep the promise to fight for justice and human rights for all especially for those who suffer today thank you thank you so much for all those kind words investor and gentleman is very much appreciate all the work that you've done for armenian community please allow me a few moments to recognize the many special guess elected officials who have joined  or who have helped make today possible if you please hold your much deserved a pause until the end of this list that would be very much appreciated i also sincerely apologize if i've overlooked someone who doesn't happen to be on the list amy grindr of the massachusetts immigrant and refugee coalition chief richard mcgarvie one of the belmont police department editor of the armenian mirror spectator healing gregorian editor of the armenian starry l amy and as well as ninety four year old victoria sure betty and who is a resident of the armenian nursing and rehabilitation center in jamaica plain ladies and gentlemen these two women are both genocide survivor and i must tell you for starry she has been able to see five generations be thriving in the united states thirty six grandchildren great grandchildren great great grandchildren am lucky enough to have the eye and at the end of my last name i do get to share the honor of being an armenian in the massachusetts legislature with a fine man and a good friend in jim misselling thanks this time i would like to introduce my good friend jim misselling representative of the nineteenth middlesex district to introduce our musical programs got a doctor appear and i'd like him to look at my hip i had replaced recently and i'm not satisfied with the outcome yet seriously it's a very serious occasion i'd be remiss if i didn't tell you about my own i mean inheritor my name is jim a selling i grew up in the north then my father was from sicily and my mother was born in torture esther and her mother and father came from the old country and my mother's maiden name was dimension and i'll tell you my mother i didn't realize it at that time had such foresight grew up in the north then which was a real on the committee and education is great to see and hear today but my mother had the foresight she would send me to my grandmother's house for two weeks every summer and this went on for years and i'd sit around a table and i can still picture it today my grandmother might be for tearing dinner a large and she'd tell me about my heritage as far as the i mean side of my family was concerned and one of the think she emphasized i was the genocide so from a very early age i was aware of it and those with days that i'll treasure and i had the benefit of having two parents who are just way ahead in their thinking and i'll say it again it was great growing up in the north and it was fantastic and i always will treasure those two weeks i spent with my grandmother my grandfather passed away but they both came from i mean he had to and i just thought i'd mention that i look forward to this every year i think i missed last year for the first time in many years and i'm glad to see on the program today we're talking about judge varian with whom i had the honor of serving an outstanding speaker and honorary an honorable gentleman and caring person similar to the speaker we have today but de leo now on the program it says i'm supposed to introduce this musical program and it's a great honor because among my other attributes i'm a frustrated musician i studied music for fifteen years and when i went to my father one day and said you know i think i want to go into business and have a kid  still going to do the music i said i think i'm going to lay that aside he thought he's going to throw me out the window but anyway i always enjoy good music and from what i understand the musical of music in boston since one thousand nine hundred eighty and we know that school is the epitome of a great school for music john received a bachelor's degree in music education from berkeley and later a master's degree  mary's love for music singing and performing began at a very young age and isn't in separate pat of her daily life she's been taking voice lessons since january of two thousand and five for the past four it's always an honor to be here play for one of the genocide ceremonies as i'm getting older i preach more and more i started doing this when i was quite young and  and then he played french  armenian heritage park and if you remember it was one of the coldest april twenty fourth in history and i remember my hands shivering and just trying to think how my going to play that it's just discolored and  but it occurred to me at the time that what we were going through at that time was nothing compared to what our ancestors it is a great honor for me to perform today i would like to say thank you for giving me this opportunity to be part of this event which not only remembers the troubles the difficulties and the family i mean in community of greater boston on behalf of the entire covariant family thank you for the opportunity to speak before you today thirty two years ago speaker of the house george varian stood here at this podium in this chamber to initiate this very special and important commemoration today i stand here at this same podium in this same chamber at this same special and important commemoration as i once did twenty seven years ago reciting an armenian poem as part of the armenian sisters academy's participation with my uncle sitting right there just like you guys all are down there here i am now standing here in front of all of you in an effort to carry on the memory of my uncle what an incredible honor earlier this year my grandfather and i were talking about who are god god was god god or as most of you know him as mr speaker dedicated his entire life to public service he served his community with a full heart represented the commonwealth with admirable leadership and taught us all the importance of giving back my uncle believed in democracy and he made a career in public service he cared about education and valued it's opportunity it doesn't matter where you go to college he would say it's what you make of it most importantly my uncle had a passion for helping others he cared about the little guy his remarkable all tourism showed itself when he reached out to a family in need supported the children by setting up their education and position them to succeed once they could stand on their own two feet george varian lives lived for helping others my uncle was an incredible man one of a kind still to this day when people see my last name just happened yesterday strangers will immediately start to tell me stories about my home how my uncle personally helped them in some way the stories that i hear in my meet each day to be a better person and how important it is for his legacy to continue forward for generations to come i remember the days where my mother would bring me here from the armenian sisters academy straight to visit my uncle with plenty of doma in hand who who was at the time speaker of the house here speaker julio and anyone else that has ever entered his office since then i sincerely apologize for the smell of garlic that probably still lingers in the office today i will blat gladly blame that one on my mother who like any armenian mother would certainly left her mark although he had an incredibly demanding schedule he would always find time for truly anyone he was proud to be armenian he both of his parents fled turkey to escape the armenian genocide in one nine hundred fifteen my uncle is part of the reason why i have stayed so true to my armenian heritage he's also the reason why i am so heavily involved today within the armenian community and continue to donate my time to helping others like he once did as i got older he would challenge me on every major decision i made starting with what classes to take in high school to what college i should attend to what job offer i should accept someone look at his conversations to be argumentative i knew better than that they were to challenge me to ensure that i was making the most best decision i possibly could having him a part of my life has helped shape me into the person that i am today i know that since his passing in spirit he has been with me in every major decision that i have made thus far in my career with my uncle's uncle's undeniably selfless character and incredible passion for helping others we hope to inspire for generations to come to gift humanity as he has gifted many of the of you in the room today in an effort to carry his remarkable legacy forward the george vary in public service scholarship was created since its inception my family has worked to create a committee to move the scholarship program forward our mission reads to preserve the memory and values of george by recognizing the contribution of students who have made or have viable plans to contribute to the field of public service and to work to advance the principles of democracy we are working toward solidifying a relationship with a qualified nonprofit who will support administering the scholarship our plans are to utilize this event on an annual basis to award a student who exemplifies the late speaker covariance core beliefs and democracy and public service the recipient of this scholarship will be individuals that represent him and use his life story as an inspiration for their own if you are interested in learning more or would like to be notified when the application period opens i highly encourage you to e mail us as our contact information is provided in today's program i'd like to leave you today with some ideas on personal reflection today we all stick we are today we are all together standing strong as armenian american our culture in our community thrives when we support each other i mean work together towards a common goal i encourage you to consider using my uncle as your inspiration or how you would personally help move forward your beliefs on democracy  published public service maybe you mentor someone who's applying to college maybe you take that saturday to donate your time to your church i can assure you from my own experiences of mentoring others through my entrepreneurial ventures there is nothing more gratifying than helping others this is who my uncle was and as i stand before you today in hopes that you will help me in continuing to keep his legacy alive by practicing his core beliefs i hope to hear from many of you as we near the launch of our scholarship program in its first application season over the next twelve months thank you award winning cable gazette writer and photographer for fifty years as well as armenian community activists who passed away last november we remember his dedication to the armenian community and his efforts on the armenian genocide commemorative committee of merrimack valley as well as the armenian genocide monument committee and law may rest in peace i would also like to extend the debt of gratitude to the knights  air at large number one for funding the buses for transportation as they always have done to the armenian genocide commemorative committee for all the hard work to put together this program and to the many state house aides in interns who have helped organize today i would also like to finally recognize representative john hecht who is on a family trip to china and cannot be here today we certainly thank him for his numerous years of leadership in coordinating in organizing the state house annual commemoration please allow this to be a friendly reminder that tomorrow saturday april twenty second at two pm will be a prayer service for the armenian community hosted by the greek orthodox metropolis of boston as well as on sunday april twenty third at three pm when there will be an annual commemoration at the heritage park and will you all join us downstairs in the hall flags light refreshments at the conclusion of the ceremony we have heard from many wonderful organizations as well as quite inspirational speakers who so eloquently put into words are many feelings today nothing more than a flickering flame to a candle almost burnt at a time were pure the darkest were our collective which was at its lowest our flame never went through all the tragedy and suffering through the hopelessness and despair our flame never went out our flame flickered that's for sure but i was all in our fortitude to survive carried us on we cannot redefine or rewrite history but we can have a hand in defining in writing our future justice quite possibly may never be reached in the eyes of some even in the eyes of many here today but our survival our survival will define these next hundred years thank you all for attending today god bless you all four hundred years armenians have gathered on april twenty fourth in sorrow and in inconsolable sadness to pray for the souls of their family members friends and fellow countrymen who were killed in an inhumane manner during the armenian genocide two years ago that changed when the armenian church declared sainthood for all of those who lost their lives who were killed as martyrs during the genocide and so today since then we come together as a people as a church and as a community to ask them to pray for us without forgetting however the inhumane man air in which they died and without taking one iota of importance away from the fact that genocide was perpetrated on them and that we eons this generation and future generations have the responsibility and obligation to seek justice but today our sadness s turn to joy in the presence of the sainted martyrs of the armenian genocide and i would like to pray the prayer of intercession to our genocide saints give the hermit melody oss the bishop and george the soldier through the intercession memory and prayers of the holy martyrs who gave their lives during the armenian genocide for faith and for triumph and you do the will of all who fear you looking after your creatures with love and kindness hear us from your holy and heavenly realm by the intercession of the holy mother god and by the prayers of all your saints and especially the holy martyrs who gave their lives during the armenian genocide for faith and fatherland hear us lord and show us your mercy for give every demon pardon our sins make us worthy to thankfully glorify you with the father and with your holy spirit now and always and on through the ages of ages a and again thank you all for joining us today please join us downstairs for light refresh