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Remembering the other victims-Government
Center City Weekly When Judy Kensley McKie opened the newspaper and saw the photo of the two hooded suspects accused of murdering 10-year-old Trina Persad of Dorchester, she said, her mind flashed to a single image. She recalled similar photos, below a different headline in 1990, that captured the young men later found guilty of killing her son, 21-year-old Jesse, in Cambridge. "It just sometimes renews all the original feelings of despair," said McKie, of Cambridge. "It's very discouraging to read and see and hear about increases in violence, because I feel like we're at a point where we should be doing something about it." The wound of her loss festers each time she gets news of another act of violence, especially involving youth. For McKie, though, one way to ease her anger is to work for the Garden of Peace Memorial next to the Saltonstall Building downtown. The memorial at Cambridge and Bowdoin streets, dedicated to local and statewide homicide victims, has been in the works for more than a decade, and finally broke ground last month. McKie is crafting the 15-foot bronze sculpture that will sit in the center of the garden, which is being designed to emulate a dry riverbed, with the names, birth and death dates of the slain engraved on permanently installed smooth river stones that will lead to a deep pool. Along the way, the riverbed will turn into a trickle of water. Rising from the water will be McKie's sculpture, "Ibis Ascending," depicting three birds ascending upward into the heavens, an image McKie said represents the journey through the grief process. "That image just started to creep into my work," said McKie. "I was making that image for my son. When I used that image, I had him in mind - him transcending this earth. "I don't know if art is able to heal anyone completely from murder, but for me, being able to make things that address my sorrow and grief is the thing that helps me get through." The garden will include evergreen and birch trees and other plants and will serve as a place to hold anti-violence rallies and community protests. Once a year, new names will be inscribed on stones during a special ceremony. Memorial stones cost $100, but for those unable to pay, organizers hope the public will help create a fund for those who cannot afford to memorialize their own lost loved ones. The original idea for the Garden came from Paul Rober of Braintree after his 23-year old son, Paul Jr., a paraplegic, was murdered in 1986 after asking his killer to pay back a $5 loan. Rober, who then developed a support group, Parents for Murdered Children, ran into various stumbling blocks involving the site and fundraising. In 2000 Rober died of stomach cancer, and his son James has taken over the effort. "This truly was my father's dying wish," said James
Rober, of Brockton. "I don't think anyone wants to take away
from what happened on 9-11. We want to build memorials, yet at the
same time, every day, a child, a mom, a dad is murdered for no reason.
A memorial should pay homage to those victims. The main mission
is to send a statement that (we don't forget about) these victims
being our brothers and sisters…"
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