InternationalA story of a grandmother and her grandchild
Published: Saturday November 29, 2008
Zorik and Seda Argamanian. Armenian Reporter.
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Spitak, Lori Province, Armenia - From the adjacent room, Zorik Arghamanian, 23, brought photos of his parents, David and Alina, and his little brother Sergey, set in two large frames. He placed them on the couch and sat next to his grandmother. Seda Arghamanian, 75, glanced at the pictures and started recounting a story. It was a tragic story, but also a story of faith and endurance.
"Zorik was three years old. He was in my arms for a year. He constantly called out 'Mother, mother, mother.' However, when he grew up a bit, he stopped asking for his father and mother. My husband and I raised Zorik. A few years later he already understood that his parents had passed away. I took him with me to the graveyard, to the tombs of his father, mother, and brother," said Seda Arghamanian.
The Arghamanian house is one of the few homes in Spitak that did not collapse during the earthquake. On the day of the disaster, Spitak was almost completely leveled to the ground and about 4,000 of the 20,000 residents died; thousands of others were injured. The Arghamanian house remained standing, but unfortunately, on December 7, 1988, when the earthquake struck, no one was home.
"My grandchild David was two years old; he died at the kindergarten. My other grandchild, my daughter's three-month-old baby boy died at the same kindergarten. My 25-year-old daughter-in-law died at school: she was a teacher. My son, 27-year-old David, died at the factory. I was working at the kindergarten when the earthquake took place. I was trapped under the ruins but the rescuers managed to save me," she said.
Zorik is now 23 years old. He graduated from the law department of the Hrachia Ajarian University in Yerevan. He got married two months ago and is currently looking for a job.
"That day I was at the kindergarten. Our teacher was telling us a story. I remember that the building shook and it felt as the world was collapsing. We were under the ruins. There was another child in front of me who dug the soil with his hands and we came out. I remember that I had lost my shoe, and that is why I was crying. I knew the way to our house, but I was afraid to go home. I sat next to the kindergarten. People were screaming, running, but I did not understand what was happening. On the road I saw my paternal aunt and her son. They took me with them. I hardly remember my parents," said Zorik.
Three-year-old Zorik's paternal aunt took care of him until his grandmother's health was restored. She then cared for him, like a mother, for the next 20 years.
Seda Arghamanian does not complain about their living conditions. She and her husband worked and raised Zorik.
"Until recently I had a cow, but now I am old and I can no longer milk; my hands have lost their strength. My daughter-in-law does everything now. My husband died in 2002. He loved Zorik very much. He hoped to live until he got married, but he did not manage to do so," she said.
This woman, just like thousands of other people who suffered from the earthquake, managed to confront the bitter blows of destiny with dignity, and with their hard work, raised their orphaned grandchildren and relatives.
"On the birthdays of my son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren I go to the cemetery and cry. I have not forgotten about them for even a single day. However, now, when Zorik is married, my life has changed and I live more easily than I have during the past 20 years. I was anxiously waiting for the day Zorik would marry and now I am waiting for the birth of his child in order to name him after my son who died during the earthquake," recounts the woman who has neared the sunset of life.
