by Betsy Robichaud

Dusk was just beginning to settle over Roslindale's Adams Park as the first participants began arriving. Unlike the summer concerts, Easter Egg Hunts and Arts Festivals, the purpose of this gathering was much more somber indeed. It was Tuesday evening, October 28, and along with dozens of similar events held across the Commonwealth, Healthy Roslindale Coalition was sponsoring a Candlelight Vigil to mark October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Coordinator of the event, Antonia Chronis, welcomed the more than 100 people who assembled at the park. A lawyer by profession, she has seen the face of violence first-hand, originally as a volunteer at battered women's shelters and now as a specialist in domestic violence counseling at the Department of Social Services.

The next speaker, Mitch Rothenburg, was there on behalf of "Common Purpose." This group intervenes with men who have been convicted as batterers. "We ask men to seek help" he said, adding, "Individual men can change, so we urge them to put us out of business."

Yvette Modestin from Casa Myrna Vazquez was next. She stated that she was gratified to see so many kids there. She told them that "Domestic violence is not prejudiced. It does not have cultural preferences, nor does violence discriminate against age, race or ethnicity, nor is it strictly a Latino issue. It touches all facets of society."

Rev. Dan Rozewski from the Roslindale Congregational Church led the group in an interfaith prayer. Bich Nguyen from Temple Vietnam read "The Five Awarenesses," the first of which stressed "awareness of the suffering caused by the destruction of life," and affirmed, "I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people."

Representing the business community, Linda Burnett addressed the crowd. "Wow," she commented, "the Five Awarenesses are a hard act to follow." She stated that business people can become alert to signs of domestic violence around them and advised, "If you see a customer or co-worker who doesn't look right, ask some questions and perhaps pierce the veil of silence, shame and embarrassment."

It was now time for the Vigil to begin. Each person gathered in the park was handed an unlit candle. During the period from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003, there were 18 persons murdered in Massachusetts because of domestic violence or intimate partner homicide. The youngest was five years old and the oldest was 66.

Event co-coordinators, Cathy Slade and Sister Nancy Braceland, CSC, each took turns reading the names of the victims while Abdoulaye Sall provided quiet African drumming in the background. As each name was spoken, someone from the assembly would take his or her candle and light it on behalf of the victim. Tragically enough, three of the deceased were Roslindale residents and their candles were lit by a family member or friend. The Roslindale residents we lost were: Mabel Melo, age 20, mother of a nineteen month-old baby; Amelia Gomez, age 49; and Berenice Tejada, age 52.

Finally, those candles were used to light the candles of all. The only sources of illumination were the tiny flickering flames piercing the darkness. In closing, Sister Roseann Alnico, CSC, herself a Roslindale resident, sang the appropriate "Let There Be Peace On Earth."

Following this final song, the crowd began to disperse in silence. In a particularly poignant moment, a family member of a Roslindale victim approached one of the Vigil's organizers and said, "Thank You so much. The world goes on but it's nice to know that people still remember."