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Caucasus journalists are join their efforts against human traffic

Zahir Amanov

To Iran – to collective oral sex...

Flowers in the Mud

By Farman Nabiyev

We are going to spear about the lives of returned into toys in human traders hands. They have been deceived, trapped and kept illegally. This is a report of the investigation within the program of the international Journalists Centre in Washington. It was prepared together with the employee of “Space TV” in the region Ganja-Gazakh-Shemkir-Dashkesen and Minghechevir.

Where are you Ulviyya

It was snowing hard in Dashkessen. Lorries on chained wheels where driving very slowly on the frozen road. It didn’t get dark yet but the cold weather made everybody go home. Only hopeless people could drive a car in such bad weather. Surkhay couldn’t stop driving. The had to be in Ganjeh, a day later in Baki, he could have met a man directing to Ulviyyahs place. We met Surkhay Hassanov’s wife in the canteen she worked in. we were warming ourselves having turned our backs to the electric heating when the light turned off for unknown time. Metanet was trying both to serve the clients and to spear to us “Her heart was bleeding” but she tried to tell her daughters story. First we though her to be old. But then we were told that she was only 44. Ulviyyah’s misfortune made her look much older than she was she opened her heart: When Surkhay married to me Ulviyyah was five. Her mother left her when she was six months. Later a day and a girl were in our family. We were living with difficulty but in harmony as long as our nearest neighbour didn’t broke our peace…

Azer lived in the neighbourhood when he married to Latifeh, his parents and brother mowed to their Ganjah house. The young couple were living in Dashkesen house. After the birth of a child, they made a quarrel. While devouring Latifah’s mother made Azer Leave the house. Very soon the young woman was said to be in Dubai. The house in Dashkesen became at the matter in law’s disposal.

Gulsum’s behaviors was known to everybody in the street. The neighborhood was telling about the way she behaved. The old woman invited Metanet very often to her flat and turned her head. As soon as Gulsum called her the young girl hurried to her. Ulviyyah’s father was against those visits and told his daughter not to go there. The neighbor persuaded her to follow her advice: “If you are obedient you will live as you want, you will never be hard up and have everything. Besides you will get rid of your father’s criticism”.
And one day Ulviyyah disappeared. Surkhay suspected of his neighbor. Gulsum told him carelessly: “What do you want? She got married”.

Four days later Alekber, an employee of the restaurant in Bardeh, his wife, his brother-in-low and a man came to them for match-making. The young girl was taken to this family. The parents didn’t like a 40-42 year old bachelor and insisted on meeting with their daughter. Zarish (mother of the bachelor) told as if she was going to buy clothes for her daughter-in-low in Ganjeh and promised to bung her with herself. They decided to meet at Ulwiyyah’s aunt’s. Metanet sighed and told: “We heard neither from the Bianca nor the bachelor and his relatives. Surkhay went the police office and asked to help him.”
At a date Ulviyyah was brought in a wedding dress to her father’s house. They sent the bachelor and the bride to Khach-bulaq .

During talk Ulviyyah let the cat out of the and told to her younger sister: “ My passport is in Gulsum’s hand. My life is over. I don’t want my father and brother to be in trouble. I have last my life”.

Alekber admitted the truth that he wanted his son to marry to Ulviyyah: “I can’t get rid of Gulum. She says paid 600$ for Ulviyyah’s passport and eve fought a plane ticket for her. We don’t know one another. Give me same time. After March 17 I’ll let you know everything”.

Surkay took the old woman by the hand brought to the police office.
The police took away Ulviyyah’s passport from Gulsum and left at the department. A few days later, the old woman applied to court with a medical conclusion proving her to be beaten by Surkhay. Surkhay was sentenced to imprisonment for 2 years, Ulviyyah was taken away and sent to Pakistan.

When she was back in Azerbaijan, Ulviyyah was controlled at the Home Ministry’s office in Ramanah and let her free. A responsible officer from the Home Ministry noted: “ We couldn’t bring her to you because she didn’t want to meet her relatives.”

Rescuer

We met a young girl in Ganjah where Turks were living. She was kidnapped for trading. Four days later she was returned and we could meet both, victim and her sister Shebnem short summary of the event: “ A 17 year – old-girl, studying at the tailor’s school was fraudulently taken to Ilhama, a woman taking young women willingly or unwillingly to Turkey for trading. The girl was kept at that woman’s. Been kept in the closed room with another victim, they had no right to speak to each other.
The elder sister of that victim got a telephone number, called Ilhama pretending to go to Turkey and wanted some information beforehand. She used cunning against the human traders, found her sister and yield the criminals to police.
Our last investigation was in Mingechevir. A young women was first taken to Baki, ” then to Nakhichevan for trading but as a result of the policemen’s interference, Konul was rescued. We talked to Konul and her husband in one of the cafes. They never told that event to any journalist. We were told that police had been investigations that case for 6 months already. Three policemen of the passport department were removed from their posts and one was arrested. We going to continue our investigation about Dashkessen, Ganjeh, Mingechevir victims and write a thorough article about the events.
Who is guilty?
Women’s taking away, making false passports, human traders’ flourishing are protected by police.
“Working jointly with souteneurs, they trap divorced women and sent them to foreign countries by various means” – the head of Ganjeh Research Center, Sevinj Mammadova stated.

A taxi-driver taking us to Red Bridge (border between Azerbaijan and Georgia) told us: “The state border remains out of control at about 3-4 o’clock and human traders take away their victims without any difficulty. The can even take people without passports and teenagers. The border officers take 150$ per capita and 50$ per person in group.

Our initial investigation cleared up that our national customs prevent to liquidate this problem. So deceived women don’t voice their protest, ashamed from their neighbors, relatives, sit at home keeping silence and crying secretly.

Parents of these deceived and trapped women give up their daughters, considering them dirty and defamed. Being in hopeless situation these girls and women leave for foreign countries again to earn their livings. Soon it becomes a habit and irrevocable mistake. Human traders take advantage of women’s weak point, trap them.

Aynur Alekperova, the head of Young Women’s Rehabilition Centre at the Young Liders Associations told that they have opened so-called “hot-line” of law, gynecological and psychological service both for the women having problems and discovered from their husbands. She told us an event: “I went to the hairdresser’s. The made a hole on the young girl’s ears by a pistol for earrings and grew her hair long. I thought she was a bride Unfortunately I was said she was going to Dubay.”

The manager of Tavuz Business Development Centre Yeganeh Amrahova stated: “ It is very easy to deceive and trap women having socio – economic difficulties. They prefer to cars, expensive clothes by having relations with Turks, Arabs rather to local men and die of hunger. I think the only way to prevent this problem is to develop women ownership”.

Bakhtiyar Musayev, the heard of Gazakh Business Development Centre considers the way out of this problem by conducting seminars, taking measures for educating people in the regions. The state should take care of regions. He noted: “Socio – economic situation is very hard in Azerbaijan , This fact makes women to believe in human traders., If the regions are supplied with gas and electricity constantly, corruption is liquidated , ownership is developed, new working places are opened, then socio – economic situation will develop and this cause to decrease human trading”.

Vice–president of Parents Association in Mingechervir, Abulfaz Babayev’s point of view on this problem is very interesting : “ In most cases girls and women are kidnapped on the same scenario. Even “a bachelor” appears, “false” engagement and wedding parties are conducted. They took away girls in wedding dresses. He advised parents to be very careful, not to marry their daughters to people without getting information about them thoroughly, He told: In past we were always interested in the family – tree of the bride or the bachelor before engagement.”
Who is guilty in the flourishing of human trading?
Who is to blame for the fall of the tenderest flowers – women into the mud?
We leave the answer it our readers disposal.

The investigation work was done with the initiative of ICFJ and with financial support from US State Department.