Traders at Yerevan’s Malatia street market say its closure today due to fire safety violations will throw hundreds out of work.

70-year-old Kima Darabyan, who’s worked at the market for thirty years, told Hetq that she and the other traders will press their demand to keep the market open.   

"I think management will relay the concern of so many people to the right place, and the market will resume its work. We will both ask for and demand this. If our request is not accepted, we will repeat our demand,” Mrs. Darbyan said.

She had purchased goods for the upcoming Feast of the Presentation of the Lord to the Temple (Dyarnuntarach) holiday and now doesn’t know what she’ll do with the unsold stock if the market remains closed.

Trader Liana Avetisyan says they were surprised to learn about the market’s closure. She and her husband have sold clothing there for sixteen years.

"Our market is good. We are used to it, we work. We don't want it to close because we can't imagine a better job elsewhere. I don't ask anyone for alms. I don't accept debt. I work, I live,” Avetisyan said.

She said safety regulations at the market are observed and any defects are quickly corrected.  

"There are powerful water pipes here that will extinguish the fire in a second. Defects are everywhere, they are corrected. It is not possible to leave so many people unemployed."

Another trader, who wished to remain anonymous, said she’s the family’s only breadwinner.

"I didn't sleep all night, thinking about how I’ll earn a living tomorrow. What will I do? Medicine keeps me alive. Management tells us to wait. They say they’ve fixed all existing issues but that some construction standard violations are beyond their means. We’re human. We’ve worked. If there are issues, they can be resolved in such a way that the people do not suffer. Now they want to solve problems at the expense of our livelihoods. Let them work it out. What do we have to do with this.”

The Yerevan Municipality’s safety inspection agency says they’ve agreed to resolve the violations with market management and that the market will reopen once everything is corrected.