From Game of Thrones to the reality of a 20 year old conflict

Originally published on The Neutral Zone. 

“Those boys didn’t kill your sons […] They were just boys, look at them”.

Generally, I abstain from quoting lines from movies, TV series, or songs. But sometimes, there are some lines that are worth quoting; sometimes they are even worth writing down somewhere, and reading them every day to remind ourselves of who we are, what we have become, what we want to be, or where we are headed. When I heard these words, I wrote them down to remind myself and hopefully others of what we have become or will become if we do not stop seeking vengeance.

Some of you might be familiar with the “Game of Thrones” an epic fantasy television drama series. The series are based on a fantasy novel series written by George R. R. Martin. In season three, there is an episode when two captive, innocent boys are murdered by soldiers out of vengeance – their uncle’s soldiers killed the two sons of another fighter. The perpetrators are punished for committing this crime even though the captives are from the enemy line. The leader (the King of North) refuses to accept this act as crime committed out of justice. He says these boys were just boys and were not there when the two sons of the man who killed them were murdered.

Yes, it is a movie. Yes, it is a novel. But doesn’t this accusation hold true today, in many conflicts around the world? The act of revenge, vengeance, retaliation – there are so many ways to say it – but most of the time just one way to get it – ending someone’s life forever. Even if it means to kill an innocent child…

Often, this is what I think of nationalism that has taken over the minds and souls of many Azerbaijanis and Armenians. Isn’t this their “argument” – claiming lives of more innocents just because they are the enemies who once fought us and killed our brothers and sisters, uncles, fathers, mothers, and sometimes did much more than just killing?

But aren’t we forgetting something? Aren’t “those boys just boys”?! Why do we find it so easy to demand, to take the life of the other?! Did we give that life to them? No! Did we take part in the upbringing of that person? No! Then how can we so easily just say that someone deserves to die simply because that person comes from a certain country, nationality, blood, or race?

True, those who are responsible for the acts of violence should be held responsible but in no way can we hold a young Azerbaijani or an Armenian responsible for something that was done 20 years ago, perhaps when these innocent people were only infants. And instilling hatred and anger from a young age, influencing the decision and thinking of younger people based on history of violence isn’t the right way either. No one says let’s forget it all together and give up. History is an important part of our life, shaping our countries just as it shapes our lives. But it should not be used as an excuse or a weapon. Respecting history and paying homage to it is one thing; killing and seeking vengeance based on it is something else…

'Azerbaijani Movie and TV World'

A recent article I wrote on Azerbaijan's cinema world.

Azerbaijani Movie and Tv World

Azerbaijan of 1918, 2012 and the future

Google images

"Its over now, calm down" said a Twitter user in response to my tweets about democracy issues in Azerbaijan during the final night of Eurovision song contest. Neglecting the reality is an easy way today in Azerbaijan and been this way for the last few years. Its easier to dust it off your shoulders and simply go with the flow. Its easy because you are untouched. Its easy because getting involved in the struggle for democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression puts you one step closer to a prison cell. It makes you the enemy of the state and puts you on the list of "wanted people". Sometimes I imagine that if it was a scene from one of the Westerns there will be small posters all over town pinned to the walls of buildings, coffee shops and restaurants with photos of activists, organizers and outspoken figures all with "WANTED" printed on them.

Its tiring to see constant criticisms of a country that could have potentially be the beacon of hope, the country rich in oil and gas resources with prospering life standards, well paid jobs for all, equality, free press and much more. But its not. And its unfortunate. Azerbaijan, today, though once a democratic state of 1918 is a corrupted, authoritarian, undemocratic state. Its current leadership and the ruling family has no respect to its past and especially to those two very significant years of our history. In fact, the name of the person who played an important role in bringing about this democratic state to life is systematically neglected. A spot where a statue should have been erected to M.E. Rasulzade is home to yet another fountain. And thats what is more important for Azerbaijani authorities than its history- fountains, parks, glamor and bling. 

Google images

In fact, just like many other things, history in Azerbaijan is used and referred to only at moments when it suits certain interests and when it comes to certain issues. But alas we speak of 1918 democratic state. We choose to butter up certain individuals when talking about them than pay our respects to leaders of the past. We choose to spend thousands or millions on imported flowers when celebrating a birthday of the late president than face the truth and do something about it. 

What we as people of Azerbaijan are failing at as a mass is making sure we have healthy, educated generations to take care of this country once there is no more oil and gas. What we have now is uneducated large portion of young society living in a lala land, disconnected from the world, sucked in to the vicious circle of devastating outcomes of being uneducated. Moreover we are raising generations who have little knowledge about people like Rasulzade and the significance of May 28th. We must change the way we think! We must work to raise educated generations and prevent further societal degradation.

Reconciliation and its importance

What is reconciliation and how it is perceived by people around the world who have lived through conflicts and the pain of it all? This and some other insights about the phenomenon of reconciliation were discussed this year at the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism 2012 in a roundtable discussion moderated by Andrew Stelzer who works at Making Contact: National Radio Project.

The four speakers were Ivan Marovic, Ahmad Mahmoud, Anele Mdzikwa and me. You can listen to the interview here or visit the official website where you would find more information about the speakers, their work and the projects.

The new Baku, demolishing and “beautifying”

This is an article I recently wrote for Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso.

The women in a video recently posted on Rfe/Rl website are desperately screaming protesting violation of their rights; a man in the background shouts “şərəfsiz” [AZ] (without dignity); the building hosting the offices of the human rights organization “Institute for Peace and Democracy” and two other NGOs is being demolished. The whole scene resembles chaos. Young men start demolishing the building in front of desperate people that look helplessly at the scene, then cranes intervene.

This demolition is part of an urban development project- a new park known as the ‘Winter Boulevard’. Angered men and women in this video are residents of this old neighborhood of Baku that is being destroyed. They were not alone in protesting against the demolition of this building. The UN high commissioner for human rights expressed concern regarding this event, while the European Union representative in Baku and Human Rights Watch openly condemned the demolition. 

“Beautifying” the city comes at high costs 

The ‘Winter Boulevard’ project is said to be under the supervision of the first lady, Mehriban Aliyeva. Nonetheless, the authorities don't seem to care about answering to the questions and demands of the local residents forcefully evicted from their homes. The body in charge of the demolition is the Baku City Council, however, its officials remain silent about the issue. The area envisaged for the construction of this project is partially a historical district of an old Baku with some of the buildings dating as far as to the 19^th century. Besides, the majority of destroyed buildings that carried historical significance were supposed to be protected according to a decision previously adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers.

And yet, neither demands by local resident nor history seem to matter for the local authorities. The demolition of this area situated between two main streets, Shamsi Badalbayli and Fuzuli, began in 2010. The residents were each offered 1500manat/ square meter (US1,900). However, unsatisfied with the offer  (the amount doesn’t meet the present day value of these properties) residents took the matters into their own hands and headed to the Presidential Administration office (February 2010). Unable to get any results there, they then decided to try to protest in the streets (February 2010) only to be dispersed by the local police. In March the frustrated residents decided to hold a conference at the Human Rights House. Their attempts continued with a hunger strike in the courtyard of one of the old buildings scheduled for its demolition. Nothing worked and according to the Rfe/Rl local service some of the evictions and relocations were carried out without an official paper except for a 2008 decision, which interestingly calls for an execution of 1987 plan issued by the Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR on the construction of the Winter Boulevard.

Last year, Osservatorio published an article describing some of the most worrying features of the construction boom: Baku’s location on an active seismic zone; absence of a general urban and development plans for the city; demolition of Baku’s historically significant buildings and old residential districts; un-notified and forced evictions; unequal compensation packages and much more. In fact, little changed in year. 

 

New Baku with its slowly fading beauty

Little is left from a city that was once home to the likes of “Ali and Nino”, the oil barons and its pathways. Baku is now a booming capital of construction, pricey real estate, luxury cars and boutiques- at a glance a city of wealth and stature. Its future is guaranteed by the country’s “black gold” with no one questioning the sustainability of these developments and constant changes to the capital’s landscape as a result of new construction projects. Rapid growth in the real estate market brought to the development of some the most extravagant construction projects in the last decade. 

Some of these over-the-top projects include Baku White City project, which involved re-construction of the main downtown area, adding ten new districts and with a total development area of 221ha. Its partners include names like UK’s ATKINS, F&A Architects, and Foster and Partners. According to the developers the project includes 440,000 sq.m of office space, 230,000 sq.m of retail space, 3,600,000 sq.m of residential space and 530,000 sq.m of commercial space. 

In the meantime while the local authorities indulge themselves in these copious ideas, according to a Human Rights Watch report, residents are forced out of their homes in the middle of the night, and detained while their homes are being destroyed with most of their personal belongings, either damaged or missing. Interestingly, based on the country’s property code [AZ], the state can only seize or purchase property if it’s planning to build a new road, a railway, or military building. Also, according to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers a legal contract must be signed with the property owner; the owner given 90 days notice; and provided with transportation during the re-location. Moreover, there is even a Presidential Decree from 2007 stating that the owner shall be paid 20% more of the market price in order for the landowner stay satisfied.

Time for real change? 

While some might say that coming first in the Eurovision song contest this year in Düsseldorf was a great success for Azerbaijan, it is yet to be seen how the country’s leadership will choose to improve its image abroad. Having lavish boutique shops that cater only for the country’s small percentage of nouveau riche certainly does not mean democracy or fair distribution of oil revenues. Nor does it stand for addressing the needs and demands of the public at large let alone those suffering from the loss of their homes. 

The transformation of this capital city into a glamorous metropolis no doubt means much for investment hungry contractors and companies, however, perhaps it is also time to look at the destruction caused by these up- scale developments especially as they seem to come at the cost of lives and homes of ordinary people.

Dear Mr. President...

Dear Mr. President,

Why do I feel like you hate us- the youth of Azerbaijan, who is educated, creative, talented and smart?

Why do young Azerbaijani students need to suffer in universities, just because their teachers demand money?

Why is it, that the prestige of a university is measured not by the education it gives but how much an exam costs?

Why is it that every time when I think of our government, I can't think of good enough reasons to protect and respect my country?

Why is it, that when talking of our history, of first independent Azerbaijan of 1918 that we all take so much pride in and of great figures as Mammad Amin Rasulzade, I find myself surrounded by streets, parks, avenues, statues dedicated to our late President- Heydar Aliyev and other members of your family?

Why is it, that in the place where Rasulzade's statue was supposed to stand, there is a fountain?

Dear Mr. President,

Why do you think that we are the threat to you and your government?

Have you tried talking and listening to us? Hearing great ideas we have? After all, we did study international relations, management, political science, economics, law, and many other academic fields to be useful for our countries and make it a better place?

Dear Mr. President,

Why is it always has to be "us" vs. "them" ("you")? Why are we threatened or have to spend our youth in prison cells while actual criminals are free and enjoy their careless lives?

Why is it, when one of us, wants to go abroad, we have to defer our offers because the government refuses to sponsor some of us because of our views?

Dear Mr. President,

I like the new Baku, but I don't agree that we need to demolish old buildings- thats also our history. I like the new clean buildings, but I don't like walking in the street and inhaling all that stone sand that comes off the buildings during renovation. I like the new parks but I don't think its right to remove statues- don't you think its also part of our history?

And lastly, Dear Mr. President,

I know you don't like when others tell you what to do and when others criticize things you do, but perhaps, you are simply not aware of it (so maybe if I write it here, now, you will know and take some measures to deal with it), majority of people are suffering in this country but simply are too afraid to talk and say what they want to say because their salaries are low or their pensions are not enough.

As a citizen of this country, there is nothing more than me wanting to see Azerbaijan become a better place, where people can talk freely, act independently, write passionately, and live without fear! I still have some hopes, I hope these hopes only grow stronger rather than fade away and remain a dream...