Dec 7, 1988

Mom says it was an unusually warm winter. I was 7 months old, can’t remember anything, but all the stories make me feel like my mind can go that far and see that day imprinted in my memories. I was in my crib, may be sleeping, may be staring at the ceiling, what do 7 months old kids do? Mom was in the kitchen, making lunch, or doing something else… what would you generally do at 11.41 am? She felt a shake. Scared to death she came and grabbed me quickly. All she knew the next second is she is flying down the stairs, to go outside of the building. All of that happened in a second.

We were in Kirovakan. Mom, pregnant with my sister, carrying me in her hands, didn’t know what to think. Where is everybody… nobody was at home… I guess she could see the building in front of ours go down in front of her eyes, screams and shouts and cries coming from everywhere… how long could anyone wait in that situation to figure out if there is anyone alive in the other end of the city? There appeared my grandma, in slippers, running towards my mom. I can picture that in my mind, knowing so well, how they both would feel. Dad didn’t come home immediately. He went to school where my cousins were studying. All he could find in that mob of screaming kids and their parents was my cousin’s jacket, he says red and white color, turned black from people walking on it. He was terrorized. But thanks God he saw the two siblings looking around, trying to find someone to rescue them from that mess. They were both alive.

That day I was the only one who slept at night, in the car… Next day all our family came to Yerevan, to my dad’s parental house. All of us were alive, sound and happy to find each other after that mess.

Dad would travel every day for 2-3 hours to take care of wounded people. Mom decided to come back with dad one day, and all she could see now were not just ruins, but ruins covered with coffins…. coffins everywhere, people sobbing, whining, shouting, crying, weeping and screaming everywhere… that was too much for one to take… it snowed next day…

The earthquake killed at least 25,000 people, 140,000 were handicapped, more than 500,000 lost their homes.

21 cities and 350 small towns/villages were affected by the earthquake, 58 of which were completely destroyed.

Let us stop for a minute and reflect upon the loss we had, pray for the families who lost their kids, brothers, friends… pray for those, who passed away in ruins, pray for those who were never found to be buried…Let their souls rest in peace…

Thanks to all those kind souls who helped the Armenian families survive this disastrous period. With all your help we were able to raise again, carry on, and become what we are now!