Thursday, June 30, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
NEWSLETTER
ՀԱՅ
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
ՀԱՅ
No Result
View All Result

Armenia Remembers Devastating 1988 Earthquake

by Asbarez Staff
December 8, 2008
in News
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

GYUMRI (Combined Sources)–Armenia marked on Sunday the 20th anniversary of a catastrophic earthquake that killed about 25,000 people and devastated much of its two northern regions that have still not been completely rebuilt.

President Serzh Sarkisian reiterated his administration’s pledge to finish the protracted reconstruction by 2013 as he led official commemoration ceremonies in Gyumri, the country’s second largest city hit hard by the disaster.

This and other ceremonies were attended by former government officials and construction and rescue workers from the across the former Soviet Union who had helped the small South Caucasus republic cope with its devastating consequences.

Armenia’s also received messages of sympathy from the presidents of Russia and the United States on the occasion.

“On this solemn anniversary we are reminded of the strong bonds between America and Armenia and the resilience of the Armenian people,” President George W. Bush said in his written address. “They rose from this tragedy and have reclaimed a bright future of hope and opportunity.”

Sarkisian opened a new memorial to the earthquake’s victims in Gyumri’s central square after attending a special church service presided over by Catholicos Karekin II, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The mass, broadcast live by national television, involved a minute of silence observed at 11:41 a.m — the exact time the quake struck on December 7, 1988.

Unveiling the monument, Sarkisian thanked the international community for its large-scale assistance that began pouring into then Soviet Armenia just hours after the calamity.

"Twenty years ago, all peoples rallied to our side, despite the Cold War, ideological differences and different political views," Sarkisian said. "From the first days, our people felt like the whole world was with us."

Armenia’s in the Diaspora also organized massive aid campaigns almost immediately, some traveling to the shattered republic to provide personal assistance.

Nikolay Ryzhkov, a former Soviet prime minister who personally coordinated the rescue and reconstruction efforts, also delivered a speech, reading out a message from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"We bow our heads before the memory of the thousands of victims of this natural disaster,” Medvedev said. “We remember with deep respect and gratitude today the courage of the rescuers who answered the call for help."

That help was badly needed by as many as 500,000 people whose homes, built in apparent violation of seismic safety standards, were destroyed by two powerful tremors that rocked much of Armenia’s territory 20 years ago. The Ryzhkov-led Soviet government pledged to rebuild them in two years. Dozens of construction companies from across the Soviet Union were assigned to the earthquake zone in the following months.

However, the massive reconstruction effort fizzled out with the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union. Independent Armenia’s successive governmen’s were too cash-strapped to complete it.

The reconstruction gained fresh momentum in the early 2000s when thousands of new houses and apartmen’s were built in the economically depressed area with the financial assistance of U.S.-Armenian billionaire Kirk Kerkorian.

Nonetheless, as many as 7,000 families in the quake-hit Shirak and Lori regions still lack permanent housing, huddling in metal and wooden shacks devoid of basic amenities.

“We still live in a shack, and there are no jobs here,” one elderly woman told RFE/RL as she stood outside the Gyumri cathedral along with several dozen other local residents hoping to hand letters to Sarkisian. “They [government officials] visit nice streets here and think that Gyumri is 100 percent rebuilt,” she complained. “Let them go into the nearby neighborhoods, talk to people.”

“We feel neglected, humiliated,” said another woman. “My son works in Russia and doesn’t want to return home. Why? Because he hates our shack.”

“Within a few years we will manage to overcome all consequences of the disaster,” Sarkisian said in his speech. “When I say completely I mean that there will be no families left homeless as a result of the earthquake and the improving life will return to normal.” “We have promised this and we will deliver.”

Parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamian reaffirmed this pledge as he led commemoration ceremonies in Lori’s capital Vanadzor attended by Georgia’s last Communist-era leader, Jumber Patiashvili, and builders and rescuers from Russia and Ukraine who had worked in the earthquake zone in 1988-1990.

Armenia’s government announced plans last month to spend 252 million dollars (199 million euros) for reconstruction efforts starting next year, aimed at finally rehousing all those who lost their homes in the quake by 2013.

"I believe, and I will ensure, that in the next few years there will not be one family in the affected area without a roof over their heads, despite the global financial crisis," Sarkisian said at the ceremony Sunday.

According to Urban Development Minister Vartan Vartanian, large-scale construction in the area will start next year and end by 2013. “All the preparatory work has already been done,” he told RFE/RL in Vanadzor. “Most of the [construction] tenders have already been held, and construction work will get underway in 2009.”

Subsequent Armenian governmen’s have struggled to find funds to rebuild as Armenia’s economy collapsed after independence and it was hit by economic embargoes from neighbors Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Former President Robert Kocharian similarly pledged to rebuild the disaster zone during his ten-year tenure.

He also attended the Gyumri ceremonies with Sarkisian and the Catholicos on Sunday. Unlike the current president, he stopped to talk to local residents and hear their grievances. Some of them complained that they are still homeless 20 years after the tragedy.

“I am not in office anymore but will do all I can, as second president, to help [Gyumri,]” Kocharian told journalists afterward. “There is a new president, a new government that are also determined to continue the job.”

Read the President’s statement

Asbarez Staff

Asbarez Staff

Next Post

Deal Allows All EU Airlines to Fly to Armenia

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

ANCA Colorado-Sponsored Youth Complete New American Leaders Summit

18 hours ago
Key U.S. House Appropriations Panel Proposes $60 Million for Armenia; Needs Assessment for Artsakh

Key U.S. House Appropriations Panel Proposes $60 Million for Armenia; Needs Assessment for Artsakh

22 hours ago

Connect with us

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

Accessibility

Accessibility modes

Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.

Online Dictionary

    Readable Experience

    Content Scaling
    Default
    Text Magnifier
    Readable Font
    Dyslexia Friendly
    Highlight Titles
    Highlight Links
    Font Sizing
    Default
    Line Height
    Default
    Letter Spacing
    Default
    Left Aligned
    Center Aligned
    Right Aligned

    Visually Pleasing Experience

    Dark Contrast
    Light Contrast
    Monochrome
    High Contrast
    High Saturation
    Low Saturation
    Adjust Text Colors
    Adjust Title Colors
    Adjust Background Colors

    Easy Orientation

    Mute Sounds
    Hide Images
    Virtual Keyboard
    Reading Guide
    Stop Animations
    Reading Mask
    Highlight Hover
    Highlight Focus
    Big Dark Cursor
    Big Light Cursor
    Navigation Keys

    Asbarez.com Accessibility Statement

    Accessibility Statement

    • asbarez.com
    • June 30, 2022

    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to