Today while remembering what happened on April 30th, exactly three years ago, I recollect my memories of that day, trying to once again understand the logic, the incentive and the sickening state of mind of the person who committed that terrible crime. His name was Ferda Gadirov, a Georgian national who entered the school that day with a fully loaded gun and started shooting. It didn't matter at whom, he was just shooting. At the end he shot himself as well. According to official numbers 12 people lost their lives while 13 received wounds of different degrees. Some say there were more but where to find that information and how to confirm it...
An article shared today by Radio Liberty Azerbaijani service, shares few videos from that day and commemoration a year later [AZ]. Once again the face of our state police- the little humanity they have in them shows itself all over- dispersing the crowd of young people from gathering in front of the academy, shouting at them, not letting them place carnations on the stairs of the academy. Seeing them I cannot help but wonder, what if one of those students was his son or daughter or maybe a relative- a nephew, a niece? Would it be that easy if that was the case? Or are they so brutal that even something like that would have made no difference? Who knows...
And then another article published by another online news outlet talks about how the president of Azerbaijan paid families of those who were killed a sum of 30.000AZN and to families of those injured 15.000AZN. Some of you might think this was a sign of sympathy, or generosity but it wasn't. A true act of sympathy would have been to let people live their pain, organize a commemoration for all those innocent lives, to allow for people to gather. Instead, any act of remembrance was prevented, because there was a much more important event to be held, 10 days later, it was the notorious Flower Day celebration organized to celebrate the birthday of Azerbaijan's late president Heydar Aliyev. No one cared about lives lost only 10 days prior. A celebratory concert was organized to praise the president and his achievements. You know how much Azerbaijani government spent to hold this celebration? Millions (a debated number for 2009 was around 20 million). Because its more important than lives or ordinary citizens.
If its all about remembering and commemorating (in fashion) that it should be done equally but equality is a loose term for many of Azerbaijani officials meaning little especially when it comes to ordinary citizens of this country.
As to many of us who do remember today and to all those lives lost on April 30th, I can only express my deepest condolences and add, rest in peace young men and women of the State Oil Academy...
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