State Representative Arciero Attends Annual Armenian Flag Day Ceremony on Westford Common

Released April 2022

WESTFORD – State Representative James Arciero recently joined local residents of Armenian-American descent to raise the Armenian flag on the Westford Common, commemorating the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.  

Representative Arciero joined John and Violet Dagdigian, of Westford, who are Armenian-American descendants of genocide survivors as they publicly shared personal stories of the effects of the massacre at the flag-raising ceremony. 

“It was moving to stand alongside and listen to Westford residents with Armenian ties tell their first-hand knowledge of this horrific tragedy that is still felt today by thousands of Armenian Americans,” Representative Arciero said.  

The Armenian Genocide saw the systematic killing and oppression of over a million-and-a-half Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1920. The genocide included mass deportations, death marches, Islamization and confiscation of personal property.  

There are an estimated 2 million Americans of Armenian heritage and/or family ties to the genocide, according to a 2021 Reuters report. United States President Joseph Biden formally recognized the event in April of 2021, breaking from previous White House traditions regarding the matter. 

Representative Arciero previously voted to pass a law, S.2557, An Act Concerning Genocide Education, last November, making the teaching of genocide mandatory in all Massachusetts public schools. 

“The Armenian flag raising ceremony serves as a solemn reminder of how religious and ethnic bigotry can have ever-lasting effects on generations of people and how, in order to make a more civil and just society, we must recognize and condemn acts of violence against vulnerable populations past and present,” Representative Arciero added.