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Vanadzor Fire Victims: “We’re living in despair and uncertainty”

By Gayaneh Sargsyan

Two days after a fire swept through a neighborhood of wooden cabins in the northern Armenian town of Vanadzor, those left homeless complain of being forgotten by municipal officials who promised to help.

Four families left homeless have been forced to move in with friends or relatives.

24-year-old Lousineh Khachatryan, who gave birth seven days ago, has moved in with her mother-in-law, along with her husband and five-year-old son. The house is small to accommodate 6 people.

“There’s just the one bed and a couch. My sister-in-law was forced to move out and stay with friends just to make room for us,” Lousineh says.

The family says no assistance has been forthcoming from the municipality.

“They tell us there are no vacant huts,” says Lousineh’s mother-in-law Svetlana, adding that Vanadzor Mayor Mamikon Aslanyan told her that it’s the end of the year and the municipality has no money left in the budget. Svetlana says the mayor promised to try and help nevertheless.

All Lousineh Khachatryan’s possessions were destroyed in the fire. She was only able to save the baby’s crib. The family’s sole income is a monthly stipend of 23,000 AMD (US$48).

The blaze partially engulfed the cabin of Sousanna Kirakosyan. Neighbors managed to remove many of her possessions, but they were broken in the process.

“My television, refrigerator and the closets were all thrown outside. They weren’t burnt but broke,” says Kirakosyan

“The municipality told me to stay elsewhere that night. We’ve been staying at my father’s place since. The roof was partially burnt and is collapsing. We can’t move back,” says Kirakosyan.

The municipality has allocated vacant cabins to the families of Siroun Tzatouryan and Armineh Tzatouryan, but they complain that they are uninhabitable.

“There’s no water, no doors and the walls are damp. It’s not fit for the young children. They’ll contract tuberculosis,” says Siroun Tzatouryan, whose family now lives in the home of a son’s friend.

“How long can we stay at another person’s house? All our winter provisions were destroyed,” says Siroun, who has to tend to her large family.

The family gets by on Siroun’s 39,000 AMD monthly pension and a family stipend of 36,000 AMD.

“We are in despair and uncertainty. They aren’t doing anything to help,” says Armineh. “We have two students and have to pay 320,000 AMD for tuition.”

Armineh’s family has moved in with friends.

“It’s impossible to live in the place they allotted. The whole place must be repaired. They told us to share the place with another family. How much must we spend to make it a house to live in?” Armineh asks.

As this reporter leaves, a frightened resident says she was told not to complain about the municipality to reporters.

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