28 passed since Spitak earthquake, but still much needs to be done-Shirak Governor

28 years have passed since the Spital earthquake, much has been done in the disaster zone, however, still works need to be done, Shirak Governor Hovsep Simonyan told in an interview with “Armenpress”.

“Of course, 28 years are quite a long time. Generation has changed. We are trying to present criticism in order not to appreciate each other’s work. We have always raised the issue of buildings and forgot about the human losses who must have restored this economy. We have lost a serious generation and now we feel this gap. Unfortunately, for 28 years people learned that there is a duty towards them, of course there is, every state and government has a duty towards its people, but there is also the opposite, the citizen as well must think about himself/herself”, Hovsep Simonyan said.

Speaking about Shirak being as socially poorest province in Armenia, Simonyan said it has its own reasons. “After 1988 everything started from zero in this province starting from home up to furnishing and other issues, it is obvious it demands great efforts. We must not forget that there has been a governance system change, from socialism to capitalism. It is natural, the restoration process was long. In 2017 we will complete solving the housing issue of those who left homeless due to the earthquake, but, of course, the homeless issue will not be entirely solved in the province. We should not forget that many were growing families and almost a certain part has been moved to apartments, the remaining people are still in the huts and etc. This year we will complete the housing program in Akhuryan, however, there are still 171 homeless families in 19 rural communities”, he said.

Hovsep Simonyan also highlighted the psychological change. “Many understood within 28 years that they will solve their problems by restoring the previous proud. We don’t have a right to speak from the positions of “the poor and demanding”. We should be proud and understand that we still have works to do. If we regularly compare with the past, with the Soviet years and the period before the earthquake, we will not move forward”, he said.

Armenuhi Mkhoyan