Arman Tatoyan, founder of the Wings of Unity initiative, reflected on the Spitak earthquake in a Facebook post, emphasizing the power of unity among Armenians both inside and outside the country.

He noted that any threat can be overcome if people stand together.

“I was at school on December 7, 1988. It was around noon when we were all evacuated. Anxiety and fear — there had been an earthquake. I remember clearly that my father, Hakob, left for Leninakan that same day with friends.

I saw on TV that thousands had died in Leninakan (Gyumri), Spitak, and Kirovakan (Vanadzor), and entire towns were reduced to rubble. It took me years to grasp the full scale of the tragedy.

Back then, everyone rushed to help. We united not only within Armenia but globally, from the Soviet Union to Europe, from the Middle East to America. Armenians in the diaspora, Americans, French, Russians — they all came together.

It was a global act of solidarity around pain and disaster. That day, we were one. Disagreements were forgotten. The only goal was to overcome the national tragedy. It proved that kindness, compassion, and shared grief speak every language.

For me, this day symbolizes our ability to unite.

They say we can't unite. Those days proved the opposite.

Today, we need that same unity not just to survive pain, but to rise and grow stronger. We can overcome any threat if we stand side by side. The strength of our people lies in unity, in reaching out to one another, and in the power to make the impossible possible,” he wrote.

The Spitak earthquake occurred on December 7, 1988, at 7:41 a.m. GMT. The destruction zone, where seismic intensity reached 8 or more on the Richter scale, spanned 3,000 square kilometers. It affected 21 cities and districts, 342 villages, left 514,000 homeless, and injured around 20,000 people — 12,500 of whom were hospitalized. The death toll reached 25,000.