A great event under the title as above was held on June 20 - the World Refugee Day at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Baku<br /> <br /> <br /> On June 18, 2010 the event on World Refugee Day - June 20 was held at Hyatt Regency Hotel under the title “They have taken my home, but they can’t take my future”. The event was realized by the State Committee Dealing with Issues of Refugees and Internally Displaced People of the Republic of Azerbaijan, UN High Comissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) and International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF). A video appeal of Antonia Qouteres, Head of the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, and a short documentary film made by Ms. Angelina Jolie, Goodwill Ambassador of related agency. A 13 minutes documentary film “Longing for Motherland and inextinguishable hopes” was demonstrated at the event. As the film is devoted to the challenges of Azerbaijani IDPs, some information on Garabagh conflict was highlighted. Mr. Ali Hasanov, Chairman of the State Committee Dealing with Issues of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons of the Republic of Azerbaijan said: “It is already 18 years that Azerbaijan is living with IDP problem; 20% of Azerbaijan territories is under the Armenian occupation”.
He expressed his deepest gratitude to non-governmental organizations from America, Europe and Arabic states for their support and assistance. Mr. A. Hasanov stated that the act of invasion is still going
on and Armenia uses the occupied territories for the purposes of growing narcotic plants. He also stated that Armenia uses the occupied territories for training of terrorist groups.
Mr. Arun Sala-Nqarm, Representative of UNHCR in Azerbaijan stressed the significance of international support of union to refugees and IDPs. He said that UNHCR held an interview among the refugees and IDPs children in Azerbaijan and in other nations:” Children usually responded so: the people who have no home, they get ill and die. The girl age of 8 gave the following response to the question what home is: “Home is a place where I and my mother live”. Refugees and IDPs have hard life circumstances but it does not mean that they should be dispossessed from their future”.
Mr. Umud Mirzayev, Chairman of the International Eurasia Press Fund, one of the organizers of the event, made a speech. You can get acquainted with the speech below:
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear participants,
I heartily greet you all.
For the last 10 years we have been celebrating the World Refugee Day every year. In preparation of activities for this year’s World Refugee Day we addressed to Mr. Ali Hasanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan in supporting the celebration of the Day titled “They Took My Home, but They Cannot Take My Future”. Respectable Mr. A. Hasanov, who always supports international organizations in their development and humanitarian missions, commended our effort and suggested we organize an event jointly with the State Committee Dealing with Issues of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons and the United Nation High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR). In respect to this, I express my deepest thanks to Mr. Ali Hasanov for his confidence.
I am a person who lived the fate of an internally displaced person. My nearest and dearest are living their lives as homeless people for a long time. To be homeless is a great tragedy. Even in imagination each person has his/her home. The home, where he/she was born; the land, where he/she made his/her first step, is native to everybody. In actual fact, the earth is our collective home and nobody is restricted from habiting in any place of choice. However, some factors have limited the extent in which human can go to create a home. There are so many factors that are attributed as the cause for the current state of the world, poverty, war, unequal treatment, disregard to human lives and even some unforeseen natural disasters.
Despite Azerbaijan became face-to-face with about a million refugees and IDPs at early 90s, considerable number of homeless people from different countries of the world look for protection in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan provided these people who were looking for peaceful and quiet life and made concrete steps in resolving their problems.
Concerning the homeless persons in Azerbaijan, these persons lost their livelihood; they lost their homes and were forcefully displaced from their motherland, but life must move on. The optimal and right way for refugees and IDPs to exist is to start a new life, to fight for restoring the rights violated.
Haydar Aliyev, great leader of all Azerbaijanis, who always kept under focus the problems of refugees and IDPs and grieved for the plights of refugees and fought tirelessly for territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, expressed his view point with these words:”… the problems of internally displaced persons from the occupied territories and now living the lives of refugee is the number one problem for us and personally for me”. It is the result of sensitive approach of Haydar Aliyev, national leader and Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan that more than one hundred thousand internally displaced persons were settled in 64 newly constructed modern settlements with adequate infrastructures in various districts of the nation.
All these attempts were made to improve the life circumstances of refugees and IDPs. While problems of every refugee and IDP family are different and their anguish personal, they all share a common thread of uncommon courage – the courage not only to survive, but to persevere and rebuild their shattered lives and happiness. As individual, and as a collective group of persons, what we can do, we should do. We can give hope to the hopeless, we can encourage the depressed, and we can join in the campaign to give every God created human a shelter. We all are in need of a comfortable home; a comfortable home is a great source for happiness. Daniel Quinn, famous American writer and an environmentalist said: “Do not try to drive the homeless into places we find suitable. Help them survive in places they find suitable.”
Celebrating the World Refugee Day we demonstrate our solidarity with refugees and IDPs; we want to display that we are not indifferent to their problems. However, the greatest wish of refugees and IDPs (despite their religious, language and race) with temporary shelter should be fulfilled; they should return to their native homes and I think this is the best way for the resolution of the problem. Than can feel happy only in their own home! Efforts should be directed to this: -the implementation of adopted international documents. As Resolutions adopted by UN on unconditional freeing the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, returning the population to their previous home places were left without execution.
Thanks for your attention.
IEPF, Information Department