ArmInfo."Your pain is in my heart, your needs are in my thoughts, your dreams are in my soul. Thus, I can say with confidence that everything will actually be fine," the Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated on December 7 in the city of Gyumri of the Armenian Shirak region addressing the residents of the "disaster zone".
Acting Prime Minister recalled that on December 7, 1988 a catastrophic earthquake occurred. A series of aftershocks in 30 seconds almost destroyed the city of Spitak and caused severe destruction to the cities of Leninakan (now Gyumri), Kirovakan (now Vanadzor) and Stepanavan. The earthquake, according to official data, killed 25 thousand people, 140 thousand became disabled, and more than 500 thousand people lost their homes.
This tragic event, as noted by Pashinyan, rallied the entire Armenian people. "Hundreds of thousands of Armenians from the Diaspora turned their gaze towards the historical homeland. The world-famous French chanson of Armenian origin, Charles Aznavour, who visited Armenia immediately after the earthquake, was the most vivid example", Pashinyan stated. The earthquake has become a peculiar reason for human unity as well. The friendly countries of Armenia of the USSR and the whole world, as the Acting Prime Minister extended a helping hand to the Armenian people.
Nevertheless, according to Pashinyan, even after 30 years, the concept of "disaster zone" continues to be on the agenda of the government of the country. "Talking about the "disaster zone", we understand the existence of housing problems for people affected by the earthquake, problems with the construction of schools and kindergartens," Pashinyan stressed. Meanwhile, as he pointed out, it must be remembered that earthquakes not only left hundreds of thousands of people homeless, but also destroyed about 40% of the industrial potential of the republic.
"Thus, speaking of the restoration of the" disaster zone ", we must understand that we have to solve not only housing problems and the construction of schools and kindergartens, but also the restoration of the economic potential of the region," Nikol Pashinyan stressed. According to him, perhaps the worst consequences of the 1988 earthquake remain in the souls of people and their memory. "After the earthquake, Armenia turned into one big "disaster zone" psychologically.
Our main task is to overcome this psychological trauma," he stressed. In this context, as stated by the. the prime minister, in the "disaster zone", the authorities of the country should first of all take care of restoring people's faith in tomorrow, their confidence in a bright future. Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan laid a wreath at the monument to the victims of the Spitak earthquake in the courtyard of the Amenaprkich Church (All-Savior) in Gyumri.