Armenia holds action in support of victims of Spitak earthquake

Tigran Amasyan, an Armenian jazz pianist and composer, has given a performance in his hometown Gyumri to support the families who have lost their homes during the Spitak earthquake and still live in temporary shelters. Activists raise funds for new housing for 13 families.

The earthquake, which is referred to as the "Spitak earthquake", took place in Armenia on December 7, 1988. The highest seismic activity was registered near the village of Nalband, which had gone completely underground. Besides, the disaster also severely damaged 20 cities and more than 340 villages. The town of Spitak was destroyed completely, and Gyumri, Stepanavan, and Vanadzor partially. 25,000 people fell victim to the tragedy, and 500,000 local residents lost their homes.

On February 27, within the SOS campaign, Tigran Amasyan, a world famous musician and composer, gave a charity concert in Gyumri in front of one of the houses, which accommodated people affected by the earthquake. The location was specifically chosen to attract the attention of the authorities and the public to the problem of housing for Gyumri residents, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by photographer Aik Barsegyan.

The photographer is engaged in collecting funds for the purchase of housing for the people who still live in temporary shelters. The fundraising through crowd funding website www.crowdfunder.co.uk was launched on January 20, 2015.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.