Honor all victims of Mideast violence
With each passing day of the ongoing war in Gaza, the Sudbury Road memorial feels increasingly incomplete to me.
For many of us living in Acton, our home provides a much-needed respite from the vitriol and intolerance that defines so much of modern-day life. Ours seems to be one of the ever diminishing number of communities in this country where discourse and disagreement are welcome and characterized by civility. I hope that it is in this spirit that my comments below will be received.
Over the past year, those of us visiting the Acton Free Public Library have, upon exiting the library onto Sudbury Road, been confronted by the sight of 1,200 Israeli flags planted in a private yard. These flags are accompanied by a sign that reads: “1200 Flags in Memory of 1200+ Israeli Victims murdered on October 7, 2023.”
Like so many Concordians, I feel great sadness over the brutal October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, and my sympathy for the victims of these attacks is enduring. Having said this, with each passing day of the ongoing war in Gaza, the Sudbury Road memorial feels increasingly incomplete to me.
I would ask the creators of the Sudbury Road memorial, my fellow Concordians, to update their memorial by including reference to the innocent Palestinian victims of the Gaza war — those tens of thousands of non-combatant men, women, and children who have either perished, become crippled, lost a child, or been made an orphan, or who now face homelessness and starvation.
Together, let all of us as Concordians share compassion and empathy that recognize no borders and remain unbound by political and religious affiliation.
Edward Garmey
Main Street
