Overcoming the Past

 

This past weekend I attended a planning session for a youth camp to be held next summer.  About 3 hours to the northeast of my site and adjacent to Armenia's border with Turkey is the City of Gyumri.   Twenty years ago next month, the whole area suffered a devastating earthquake from which both the buildings and the city's economy are still recovering.  

 Having a population of approximately 120,000, Gyumri is the second largest city in Armenia.  At one time the population was twice that size.  As we approached the outskirts of the city on a local "marshutni" (a mini-bus built for 12 that often carries 20 people), several vivid reminders of its history appeared: a very large cemetery and a number of abandoned industrial buildings from the Soviet period.  

 But once we arrived at the bus station, the mood quickly changed.  As I walked the two blocks to the Square, I was suddenly engulfed in a hub of commerce, with tables and kiosks lining both sides of the street.   The vendors on that first block were well aware that winter was just a couple weeks away.  They displayed a vast array of products from sheet metal stove pipes for furnaces to woolen socks and fur-lined boots.  (At 5,000 dram or $15, the boots were more affordable than I expected.) 

 As I moved along to the next block, the more popular Armenian wares appeared: cell phones, woman's fashions and cigarettes.  In addition to their commercial value it was apparent that these two blocks also filled a vital social function for the city's residents.  But not being much of a shopper myself, I was rather relieved to reach the end of the gauntlet and into Freedom Square, appropriately named for my feelings at the time.

 While I waited for fellow Volunteer's bus to arrive, I enjoyed exploring the city streets which offered quite a variety of architectural styles.  As the photos indicate there were many examples of classic 19th Century architecture as well as stark reminders of December 7th, 1988.   My attention was also drawn to one older building whose face was covered with electrical panels. I couldn't decide if this was really some kind of neighborhood transfer station for electricity or the wires were needed to keep the structure standing.

Stepping Over the 20th Century

As I was leaving Gyumri Sunday afternoon, I had this strange sense that something was missing in the city.  It finally dawned on me.  What was missing was The 20th Century.  Their medieval churches had a new neighbor: the electronics chain I have seen before in Armenia: ZigZag. And the statues in the square honoring their ancient heroes had a new backdrop: Samsung.  Yes, the 21st Century featuring a wide array of electronic toys had now arrived in Gyumri.

Yet there seemed to be no bridge from the 20th Century.  All the city had to show for that period was the effects of the devastating earthquake of 1988 and the industrial collapse of the USSR in the early 90's.   Even with all the humanitarian aid that came to the area after the earthquake to rebuild structures, it is obviously going to take a lot longer to rebuild the economy.  Hopefully the future will bring a resolution of their conflict with Turkey and provide an open border to stimulate trade.