In central Yerevan, last years' fire victims live in tents amidst ruins

In Yerevan, three out of the fourteen families affected by fire at night on November 25, 2010, at No. 23 Koryun Street, are still living in tents on the site of the fire. According to the victims, the Mayoralty has stopped giving them money to rent housing.

After the fire, which burnt down 14 privately owned houses, the then newly appointed Mayor Karen Karapetyan came to visit the place. He invited the victims to live - until their problems were settled - for about four months in rented apartments.

Within 8 months, the Mayoralty of Yerevan paid 150,000 drams every month to each of the affected families. However, the housing problem remained unsolved. The victims rented apartments all this time in other parts of the city in anticipation of the final solution of their housing problems. On August 24, the funding stopped; the residents do not know what could be the cause; and those who failed to settle the housing problem through their own efforts, once again found them on the street.

Many residents believe that it was arson. According to their story, the fire fighters appeared under the call without enough water. Larisa Israelyan, a resident of that very yard, said that the houses were on fire for 4-5 hours. She is sure that such a fire could have been localized in a shorter time.

All the 14 families lost their belongings amidst the cold winter night and found themselves on the street. For a month and four days, the people lived in tents set up instead of their houses, right in the heart of the capital of Armenia. According to their story, nobody from the authorities came to ask what had happened.

According to Maria Agadjanyan, the stress after the fire resulted in enuresis, insomnia and depression in her children.

"We are confident that our houses were set on fire deliberately to alienate the land. Some people say that some elite houses will be built, others - an entertainment centre," said Arthur Sargsyan.

However, some of the fire victims have rebuilt their houses with their own efforts. According to the residents, immediately after the fire officials from the Mayoralty and the Red Cross came to them to appraise the fire damage; and that was all. The Mayoralty paid compensation to rent housing proportionally to the damage.

At the same time, Arthur Gevorgyan, the PR head of the Mayoralty, asserts that they had not set up any commission to appraise the damage.

"We addressed the Mayoralty, the government, but wherever we wrote, the answer was the same: your house is your private property; therefore, you should yourself rebuild it," said Ruben Sargsyan. "Of course, our house was not burnt down completely; but that was not our fault; so, they could have helped at least a little."

The residents of the yard sent repeated appeals to the president and, prime minister and city mayor. Many local media reported the desperate situation with these people; however, the problem remains unsettled.

The Mayoralty refuses to comment, explaining that they currently negotiate with developers.