Raffi’s Talk with Digin Lilik

Tuesday night around 8:30pm after dinner, a couple group members including myself were in the mood for some hot tea. I went downstairs to the kitchen where Digin Lilig (our host mom) was preparing delicious homemade jam to store for the winter months coming up. I asked her, “Digin Lilig garoghank tey oonenal,” (translation: Digin Lilik may we have some tea). With a huge smile she responded, “Raffi Jan, anshoushd, kani meh robe bidi ellah, nsdenk khosenk,” (translation: Raffi Jan, of course, it will take a couple minutes, let’s sit and talk).

So I sat down, and the conversation began.She began to tell me about how so many Armenians from this country are packing up and moving to either Europe or United States. She sounded confused as to why everyone was leaving Armenia because of the problems they are facing. She claimed that economic problems are everywhere today; even America. She stated that moving would only create more problems for them. They would have to adjust to completely different culture, language, and lifestyle.

After discussing life and economical problems that exist throughout the world, she jumped into a new topic, regarding life in Armenia during the Soviet Union and after the Soviet Union collapsed. She explained how during the Soviet Union era, her life and her family’s life was easier and care-free in some ways. Yes they did have problems dealing with the government and had limited freedom, but economically, they were happy and well-off. She and her husband both had well paying jobs. They worked five days a week and had money to take care of their family. Everyday they would come home from work, make dinner for their kids, and then decide where to go out that night. They wouldn’t spend money on water, electricity or gas. Everything was given to the household by the government. Everyone who worked was given the right to take one month off from work and still get paid $1,000 for that month.

In her words, her first 25 years were amazing. She was married with 2 beautiful kids, money, a home, and no worries, until that one morning on December 7, 1988, when everyone’s life in Gyumri drastically changed. On December 7, 1988, at 11:41 a.m, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Gyumri out of nowhere, unexpected entirely. She said, “I remember it like it was yesterday. Are you sure you want me to talk about it? It’s a very emotional experience.” And of course, I wanted to hear every detail about it, if she was comfortable enough to talk about it. And so, she continued,”It was around 11:30 a.m, I was at school teaching my class, when a loud roaring noise began and shaking. I wasn’t completely sure what it was but knew something wasn’t right. I ran towards the window, followed by my students, punched the window, broke it, climbed through it and went out into the courtyard. I didn’t care that my hand was cut and bleeding because of the window, because I knew it was better than being inside a building at that time. We were in the courtyard, I was on my knees with my hands on the floor as well, after the shaking stopped, I realized that my hands and knees weren’t even on the ground anymore. The shaking stopped, so I thought the earthquake was done, I realized I didn’t have my jacket, I ran back in through the same window, I got my jacket and the aftershock shaking began. I didn’t want to stay in the building, so I ran again going to the same window, but this time while climbing through the window along with the shacking, I lost my balance, fell out of the window and cut my leg along the broken pieces of the window. The shaking continued, buildings started to collapse, part of the school collapsed with teachers and students still inside, it was devastating. My husband was at work, they felt a small shake but nothing happened to the building and no one was hurt. My three year old son and my year and a half old daughter were home with their grandmother. They felt the shake and were scared and crying, but thankfully nothing happened to them, to my mother in-law, or to the house.”

I was already in complete shock after just this part of the story. I had a hunger to know more though. That wasn’t enough. She was ready to cover everything for me. She continued, “Raffi jan, you wouldn’t believe the devastation that had hit this city, total destruction. Buildings were either partly destroyed, or half the building had collapsed, or even the entire building had been leveled to the floor, dust from the broken bricks and concrete everywhere, parts of the building in the middle of the street, or at least what was a street before the earthquake. People were yelling, screaming, crying, confused on what to do next. Dogs were running through the streets barking, police cars, ambulances and fire trucks filled the streets. I remember running home. along my path I could only see dead bodies, injured people, destroyed buildings – just complete and total destruction of a city. I was in complete shock of what we had just experienced, my emotions were confused, but once I got home and saw my husband, kids and mother in law were fine, I was a little relieved at the moment. Thousands of people died; everyone was affected by this tragedy. Even my family lost few members, the most devastating of which was the loss of my 14 year old nephew, whose body was never even found. We never saw him again.” That’s just what one family had to deal with. Imagine what every other family went through. They could have experienced much worse than this.

After hearing about the day of the earthquake and it’s treacherous memories,  I wanted to know about the aid that they received and about the aftermath of the quake. “The aid the country received was unbelievable. So many countries helped, including the United States, France, Italy, Japan and many others. They sent Armenia money, rescue equipment, search teams, medical supplies, and food in unbelievable amounts, but not everything made it to the people. This is why the Soviet Union wasn’t the greatest form of government, because once the government received all this aid, they kept a large amount and gave very little to the public, which desperately needed assistance. People received almost nothing from the government and they needed to survive and rebuild their lives off of very little. For about four or five months, the city was still in complete chaos; aid was very limited, people were still struggling, and bodies were still on the streets and were being thrown away with the rest of the city trash. People were getting rich by stealing jewelry, food, money, clothing etc. from stores that were destroyed and abandoned by their owners. Life changed after that; the Soviet Union collapsed, and the people were struck with poverty. People in Gyumri hit a new low and we couldn’t do anything about it. The government wasn’t helping; we were on our own. It’s been 22 years since the quake and were still rebuilding the city, the buildings, but most importantly our lives.”

A simple request for tea turned into a 45 minute discussion about Gyumri, the earthquake, and Digin Lilik’s life before and after the earthquake. I’m happy that I had this opportunity to sit and talk with a deghatsi about their life and their struggles. She added to this Youth Corps experience in one of the greatest ways, and I’m extremely grateful for meeting her and becoming close with her through this experience.

Our groups’ time in Gyumri is quickly coming to an end, and before we make our way to Shushi I want to reflect on the city of Gyumri and its current condition.  Gyumri is Armenia’s second largest city and in a lot of ways it’s a microcosm of Armenia.

There exists governmental corruption, widespread poverty, and infrastructural neglect.  Sadly, remnants of the 1988 Spitak earthquake can still be seen, from the collapsed steeple of —- Sourp Amenaprgich Church, to the countless families still living without running water and electricity in domiks throughout the city.  However, the city also has incredible natural beauty, rich history, friendly people, and a bright new generation, who are proud Gyumretsis.

During our time in Gyumri I conducted an extremely informal survey amongst people in the city; kids, adults, really anyone I could have a five minute conversation with.  When I asked them about what they saw as the city’s most important needs here were the most consistent responses:

1)      Roads- the roads in Gyumri are abhorrent.  To a naïve eye, they look almost impassable.  To a local, it’s a norm that they have become accustomed to ever since the 70’s/80’s when the last repaving took place.  Potholes, boulders, and pits exist where asphalt should, especially in the residential areas, making it a journey to get anywhere.

2)      Street lights- the city has incredible architecture, and natural beauty, but walking around in the evenings is difficult because most street lights are non-functional or non-existent.  The general gloom leads the city to become a ghost town after dusk.

3)      Trash disposal- just teaching kids in our camp that it’s not okay to throw the wrappers of their sandwiches on the floor in the yard of our school was an ordeal, especially when they routinely watch trash just getting burned nearby.  The idea of an organized trash pickup that comes a certain day of the week and takes the trash to a proper disposal area, along with public trash bins, doesn’t exist and is the reason behind rampant littering.

It sounds really simple when it’s written down like this.  It would make perfect sense for the local government to invest in fixing the roads in the city, which in turn would increase accessibility and ease of transportation (car and foot).  It’s a no-brainer to put in, or repair street lights, which would increase public safety and give life to the city outside Republic Square.  And it would seem logical to set up a system of trash pick-up and disposal which would increase sanitation and beautify the city.  But sadly it’s not that simple.

New York City in the 1980’s was in the grips of one of the worst crime epidemics in its history.  This wave declined in the 1990’s and one of the theories to explain the phenomenon is called the “broken window theory”.  The crux of the theory says that simple societal problems coupled with neglect can have a far reaching impact.  For example, a broken window in a building which is left unrepaired will lead people walking by to think that no one cares, and no one is in charge.  Soon enough more windows will be broken and the sense of disorder will spread.   Things like unpaved roads, non-functional street lights, and lacking sanitation are equivalent to broken windows, and are an invitation to anarchy.

In New York, city officials began by targeting the subway system.  They began by cleaning up all the graffiti, then moved on to busting fare-beaters and drunks.  Arresting those who rode the subway without paying, and those disturbing the peace inevitably meant arresting people with outstanding warrants, and people carrying illegal weapons, and this led to an eventual drop in crime.  The result was that by 1996 New York City became the safest big city in America.

Thankfully, Gyumri does not have serious issues with violent crime, but the same changes New York saw can be replicated here.  The point is that seemingly small changes can bring about revolutionary change.  In a city like Gyumri, properly addressing the issue of roads, lights, and sanitation can lead to an increase in civic pride and a brighter future.

What is needed is the will to do so.

Vache Thomassian



As kids, one of our only worries was who was going to make our cuts and scrapes feel better and go away. On the second to last day of our Gyumri Jambar, I took a trip down memory lane. During lunch time we had a little free time, so Sevana and I started racing with the kids. We had to run to the wall and back. Since there were many of us in a confined space, as I’m about to tap the wall, little Vazrik turned around and we clashed and both fell. The little trooper was up two minutes later tying his shoes. I have a scab on my left elbow to remember the blue-eyed, blonde-haired kid by.

It was our last day of Jambar yesterday. Surprisingly, I didn’t cry as we all said our goodbyes. Once we gave all the kids our group picture, I took another trip down memory lane, because they all came running around by the counselors with the picture and a pen like we would do at AYF Camp, so we could write a little note and our info.

All the kids were seriously great, but a few stuck out to me. Jiro was a charageegee, but every morning he would come to give me a big hug and wouldn’t let go, and as we would line the kids up, he would pick out flowers and bring them to me. Vartoohi would always give me a hug and kiss in the morning and hold my hand, or else she wouldn’t walk in to the school. She was the one who actually noticed my elbow and busted out Wet Wipes so I could clean it. The older girls like Leanna, Diana, Ani, Gohar were always talkative, but they would smile and listen to me. Every time they saw my camera they each wanted a picture and we had to take a hundred of them. Gayaneh and Angela made me bracelets that I probably won’t take off until they fall off. Armen was a very handsome kid who would try to mess around, but when it came down to serious things like song practice, he was one of our best kids. We saw him and his parents when we went out to the Hrabarag last night [the Republic Square where people always go to hang out; probably something in between our Glendale Marketplace and Americana] and talked to them. The mom told us that we strongly influenced the kids and shaped them up because they really look up to us and they are going to remember us for a really long time, which of course made us feel even better than we already did.

We played with the kids, taught them a lot, got mad at them, messed around with them, but in the end it was time for goodbye, and I definitely feel like as much as they took and learned from us, we learned from them even more. We’ll miss you Gyumri <3 .

Meghry Achekian