Local residents of Armenian descent will gather at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Lowell Saturday at 10 a.m. for their annual remembrance of the roughly 1.5 million Armenians who were killed just over a century ago, but this year the gathering will occur as President Biden reportedly plans to become the first American president to officially recognize the genocide, the Lowell Sun reports.
For those like Steve Dulgarian, 87, of Chelmsford, whose parents met and married in Lowell after fleeing the genocide — each losing loved ones to murder and starvation first — the recognition would be the culmination of a goal sought for years by thousands of local Armenians whose families put down roots here after fleeing from the killing.
“It would be a number one priority for Armenians who live in this country to have the president come forward and recognize what happened,” Dulgarian said. “Two million Armenians were slaughtered on the death marches, millions were forced to become Muslim, and millions fled, like my mother and father.”
Saturday’s remembrance, which is held annually and is unconnected to Biden’s reported plans, will be held outside Lowell City Hall at the memorial knowns as “A Mother’s Hands,” which was dedicated in remembrance of the genocide in 2014.
Mayor John Leahy is expected to read a proclamation in remembrance of the century’s first genocide in 1915.
