AGDAM, Azerbaijan – Some 30 years of the war that drove Armenian troops hundreds of thousands of Azeris from their homes in and around the conflict-torn Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, many hope to return soon after Azerbaijan recaptures much of the surrounding area. falls into a counter-offensive past.
But for Sayali Pashayeva, and others like her, the dream is clouded by questions such as where they would live in the cluttered border areas, and whether they could realize a new livelihood with their return.
“I thank God that He gave me the opportunity to return to die on my own land,” she said. Pashayeva, 74, said during her first visit to Agdam, which was once her family and 40,000 other people. Her son and daughter opened a red carpet from the trunk, a gift to the local mosque, the only building that stood here, about 3½ kilometers from the border with Nagorno-Karabakh, which is still officially under the control of were ethnic Armenians. The capital there, Stepanakert, is being monitored by Russian peacekeepers.
“We have been waiting for this moment for 30 years,” she said. Pashayeva’s son, Alastun Pashayev, 45, said. Azerbaijan secured Agdam and several other regions in and around the disputed enclave during a bloody six-week battle before Russia mediated a ceasefire in November.
It is not easy to return. Mr. Pashayev says he knows that his $ 135-a-month disability payments and pensions paid to displaced people will not be enough to regain the life he lost in Agdam three decades ago, when he was still a child.