Tragedies of Azerbaijan

Sadly there are many...

The fact that young man is celebrating his 20th birthday in jail today is our country's tragedy. He was jailed unjustly and now is serving a sentence that was easily handed by a judge who cared little about that man's life, and cared only about fulfilling his orders. He is our tragedy. The fact that we have this kind of corrupted, inhumane judicial system and cannot trust it, is our tragedy too.

The fact that 2 year-old boy hasn't seen his father since his birth is a tragedy. It is our tragedy that his father also bright, young and intelligent is locked up behind bars on someone's orders. Because that "someone" is afraid of people like that little boy's father, is a tragedy.

The fact that we have an elderly couple, known in the country for their valuable work is in jail for their believes and ideals is a tragedy. 

The fact that head of an independent election observation organization is in jail is our tragedy. 

The fact that we have over 90 political prisoners is our tragedy. 

The fact that police would force an older woman to testify against another person by threatening her is our tragedy. How low our police has fallen that it threatens an old woman. This is our tragedy. That we are left without any protection as we cannot trust the police, is a tragedy. 

The fact that we have liars running our country is a tragedy. The fact that we have corrupted government officials playing with our lives is a tragedy. 

The fact that we do not value those who have freed this country for the first time in 1918 is a tragedy. The fact that we have objectified certain individuals who have turned this country into a big joke is a tragedy. 

And then we have our Khojaly which too is a tragedy. The fact that we think of that day only once a year is a tragedy. The fact that we forget about it and only remember about it on its anniversary, showing those terrible images from that terrible night, cursing at everyone responsible for it is a tragedy. The fact that its used as yet another PR campaign by those who simply can is a tragedy. The fact that we cannot even let those poor souls rest in peace is a tragedy, the fact that to this day we continue using them to make gains and political statements is a tragedy.

The fact that we cannot forgive and have little compassion even to our own people is a tragedy. The fact that we cannot stand up for our rights is a tragedy. 

Today is a sad and tragic day in the history of Azerbaijan. But when we look at the bigger picture, its just one big tragedy as a whole. 

May those poor souls brutally murdered, tortured and frozen to death rest in piece.

And may we, find peace in ourselves and start recognizing all of our tragedies and not just selecting the ones that suit our interests best. These are all our tragedies that must not be forgotten or prioritized because all of these are about our own people, and one life can never be more valued over another. 

April 30th- we remember the tragedy at the State Oil Academy

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...