US state of Kansas proclaimed December 7 as day of memory of victims  of Spitak earthquake.

ArmInfo.The US state of Kansas proclaimed December 7 as the day of memory of the victims of the Spitak earthquake. This is stated in the text of the Declaration of  the State of Kansas (USA), received by ArmInfo. A delegation of the  State of Kansas on December 7 laid a wreath at the monument to  victims of the Spitak earthquake in the courtyard of the Church of  the Savior in Gyumri.

As State Governor Jeff Colyer noted, the day of December 7, 1988 was  a turning point in his life. "Then, 30 years ago, I could not even  imagine that I would return to Gyumri as a head of state," recalls  Colyer . That day, surgeon Jeff Colyer, who was engaged in  volunteering in various parts of the world, came to work at the State  Department, where he learned about the tragic event in Armenia. The  American leadership decided not to remain indifferent in the face of  such a tragedy, and within a few hours a plane with 70 US citizens on  board flew to Armenia. "There are not enough words to describe what  we then saw. I can only note the fantastic spirit of kindness and  love with which the Armenians overcame the pain of the tragedy," he  said. The state governor is sure that Armenia has a bright future,  because she remembers and honors her past, which makes this nation  special.

On this tragic day for Armenia, Germany also rushed to the aid of the  Armenian people. As Andrej Konstantin , a member of the German  Bundestag, recalls, among other things, huge donations were collected  to the victims in the disaster zone. "Only the German Red Cross  collected donations worth 120 million German marks, an unprecedented  amount in the history of the German Red Cross," he said. After the  tragedy, Germany provided substantial assistance to Armenian partners  in the formation of the rescue service. According to him, even today,  cooperation between various structures of Armenia and Germany  continues to develop intensively. "Partners for many years have  become real friends and this is exactly the value that you definitely  need to preserve and increase," said the MP of the German Bundestag.

 "The tragedy of Armenia shook the whole world," Deputy Minister of  Emergency Situations Nikolai Grechushkin noted in his speech.  According to him, back in 1988, the whole Soviet Union came to the  aid of the Spitaks. "But life goes on, and today it is our duty to  honor the memory of those killed on that fateful day on December 7,  1988, and to remember with gratitude all those who came to the  Armenian people at a difficult moment," the deputy minister said.