"WE HAD NO TIME TO GET SCARED"

Modesty, decency, boundless love for the homeland... Throughout our conversation, the founder of Huner Group, Ehtiram Guliyev (EG), kept repeating: "Compared to what our soldiers did, I did nothing!"

After reading these lines, you have probably guessed that we were going to tell you a story of one of the many Azerbaijani businessmen who made a significant contribution to the liberation of the occupied lands, providing material support to the Azerbaijani Army during the war. That’s a right guess. However, it is hardly possible to find another owner of a large holding, who, among other things, personally spent 44 days driving an ambulance car, taking out the wounded troopers from the combat zone. Therefore, we kindly asked Mr. Guliyev for an interview, although he does not see anything unusual in what he did.

Neither we, nor Mr. Guliyev knew that in a few days the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev would award him for the medal "For the military cooperation services”. When a person asks himself what he can do for the homeland, he does not think about medals and titles. Nor does he think about the associated risks... There is a war.

But it's good that Mr. Guliyev’s dedication did not go unnoticed. It should be so, because we must know our heroes.

Huner Group did not advertise the participation of their chief in the war. Perhaps no one would have known about this had not the head of the company's PR department Nasimi Pashayev (NP) joined the war as another ambulance driver...

"Even today"

“You and Nasimi Pashayev were ambulance drivers. On behalf of all the Azerbaijanis, we feel proud of you. I don't know about you, but I want to talk about it endlessly...”

“Do you think I did something special? But during the war, everyone wanted to do something, to take at least some part in this sacred matter. Both young and old people went to the military registration offices to sign up as volunteers. They were even upset when they were refused. We are just ordinary citizens of this country, who, like everyone else, wanted to provide some kind of assistance to the country during those days.

“You know, there is a medical company under Huner Group. We realised that this was a kind of assistance we could provide to the front. We have applied to the Ministry of Defense. A day later they called us and asked when we could go to the front. I said: "Even today." They were a little surprised. At that moment I was in my office, in a suit. Everything was as usual.

“We were told that the military hospital in Ganja needed support. We had to deliver the wounded soldiers from Murovdagh and Dashkesan to Ganja, and then, if necessary, to Baku. To get started, it was necessary to have the preliminary training of the medical staff and technical inspection of ambulances done. We had four ambulances. But we didn’t know yet which of the drivers would go.

“On the same day, I told about this to our paramedics and asked them if they wanted to join me. By the way, they all worked in different parts of the country. Many of them agreed. But then I decided that I would go myself. But since I could not be enlisted to the army because of my age, I thought I had a chance to work as an ambulance driver. And help my country not as the head of the company, but as an ordinary citizen.

“We have been warned that it was very dangerous to work in a war zone. On October 26, when we were already in Ganja, they ordered us to move to the newly liberated Gubadli district. We had to build a field hospital there. Nasimi volunteered to go with me, and I supported his candidacy. I repeat again – many of our employees wanted to join us. But some of them were not married yet, some had young children, and so on. That’s why I decided that Nasimi, Malik Mammadov, one of our paramedics, and I would go.”

“Don't you think that your decision was a dividing line in your life – your life before and after the war? You had a family, business and then suddenly you found yourself in a completely different reality...”

EG: “Indeed. There were difficult conditions in Gubadli. It was very cold in the evenings, no amenities. We spent the first night in the car. But it was impossible to keep the car running all the night to heat it. We had to to save fuel. Since Gubadli had just been liberated, the enemy reconnaissance kept close and could safely reach us at night.

“We initially delivered the wounded to Horadiz (a city in the Fuzuli district of Azerbaijan. - R+). We did not know the road, it was difficult to drive on a dirty road, a there was not a single road sign along the way. Once, when I delivered a wounded man to Horadiz, I had to return to Gubadli late at night. We drove for a very long time, although we should have arrived to the destination long ago. Then we saw a car approaching to us. We stopped it to ask if we were driving in the right direction. The driver looked behind and around suspiciously. At that moment, we thought that we had trespassed the enemy territory and the driver in front of us was an Armenian military. Fortunately, we were wrong.”

NP: “The field hospital was supposed to be located in the village of Khanlyg, since the village was geographically convenient to receive the wounded from Gubadli and Lachin. When we reached the village, Ehtiram-muallim disappeared. I didn't know what to think. Half an hour later, he came back and said that he had found a good place to build a field hospital. When we looked at this place, we saw a building that was previously a military medical facility of the enemy. Our command agreed to accommodate the hospital there. We quickly equipped the operation rooms and created all the necessary conditions.”

Shusha: On the road to Victory

“So, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief announced the liberation of Shusha. Your impressions?”

EG: “It was such a great joy. This was possible thanks to the courage of our soldiers and officers, the incredible solidarity of the Azerbaijani people, the prudent policy of our President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. We are lucky to have him ruling our country. Our army is the greatest achievement of Azerbaijan. Yes, we enjoyed the news, but then had to go back to our work. Nasimi and I decided to go to Shusha together with the doctors of the Ganja hospital. We are lucky that we were among the first comers in this city.”

NP: “Our reanimation cars were not suitable for driving in mountainous terrain. We thank our friends who always asked if they could help us. We asked them to provide us with SUVs. Our request was fulfilled without delay, and they delivered to us another reanimobile, an off-road vehicle equipped with the latest medical technology. We already had one such car.”

EG: “It is difficult to imagine how our guys liberated Shusha. In fact, they literally paved the path to victory bare handed. The road to Shusha is 53 km long. Nevertheless, we left the village of Taghlar (Hadrut) and could reach Shusha only two days later. The road is very narrow, the width of a car. Often the cars fell to the ravine. We worried about the wounded because their lives depended on us. Despite an armistice agreement signed on November 10, Armenians sometimes shot through this road to make provocations. After the ceasefire agreement, the Armenians killed one of our military doctors.”

“Weren't you scared?”

EG: “We didn’t have time to get scared. But for the first time in my life, I realised what a mirage is. Once, when I was driving a car along the Victory Road for a very long time, I saw a finish line with the word FINISH written on a poster. Another time I had an illusion that I was driving in the amusement park, sort of Disneyland in all bright colours. This is an amazing feeling.”

The first Friday prayer in Shusha

“Could you visit the Govhar Agha mosque in Shusha?”

NP: “We were very happy when we visited Shusha the first time after liberation. The first thing I did was taking a photo on the entrance to Shusha and sharing it on social networks. After that, all radio and TV channels began to call us asking to provide them with video and photo footage. But we really enjoyed our time when we finally could film the first Friday prayer in the Shusha mosque. We were waiting for a badly wounded soldier. I asked how long it would take to deliver him; they said in an hour. During this period, we quickly cleaned up the praying room of the mosque to get it ready for the prayers of our troopers. We then looked for someone who would perform the adhan, calling the believers to perform the prayer. One of the soldiers, who turned out to be a believer, knew how to do this. This is how the first Friday prayer was performed in Shusha. The video footage of the event quickly went viral on social networks. Allah allowed us to do everything in a timely manner. Then we received the wounded brother, and hit the road.”

Strength of solidarity

“What did impress you the most after your time in the war?”

EG: “The strength of the unity of our people. Kindness and responsiveness, self-sacrifice. This war has completely renewed our society. Believe me, I didn’t spend a single manat during my repeated runs between Ganja and Baku. The people provided food to us free of charge, provided everything we needed. Sometimes I had to deliver the wounded from Ganja to Baku twice a day. I took about 100 wounded to hospitals, delivering 6-7 people on each run. Once on the way to Baku, when we were approaching Kurdamir, the guys said they were hungry. Since there was a period of pandemic and all catering points were closed, I did not know where to get food for them. But then I recalled that one of my friends lived in Kurdamir. I phoned and asked him to think what he could do to help us. He quickly found a cafe where they prepared food for our soldiers. I asked to prepare the food as much as we could take away with us, since we could not stop along the road. I had to make decisions on the spot and did not always follow the established protocol. It was impossible to drive without stopping, as the soldiers were hungry. But at the same time, we could not stop for a long time either, since we had seriously wounded people aboard. Later, that cafe worked so that every time we could drive up to them and pick up food for the wounded. And all this was provided to us free of charge. We also tried to do everything we could to help the soldiers. Sometimes we gave them money, saying that it was from the state. Our people showed that we cannot sit and wait until the authorities do everything for us. We must also help our state ourselves. Without waiting for help.”

NP: “When we delivered the wounded to the Horadiz hospital, a crowd of people approached us ready to provide some sort of help. Even before I could get out of the car, the people would open the rear doors to help us get the wounded out as soon as possible. Someone would take them in their arms, someone would immediately grab the stretcher, some would ask us to take warm clothes and some food for the soldiers on our way back to Gubadli. Doctors at the hospital worked day and night. None of them ever complained about the work schedule. Every morning the nurses of the hospital would clean the territory of the hospital, get the tea and food ready before we delivered a new batch of wounded soldiers to them. It is impossible to find appropriate words to describe the solidarity and unity that reigned in and around the hospital during the days of the war.

“After the war, we also worked in Kalbajar. On December 10, our mission was completed by an official decision of the Ministry of Defense.”

Even the seriously wounded soldiers replied that they felt ‘just super!’ when asked

“You had to communicate with soldiers in the most dramatic moments of their lives...”

NP: “The fighting spirit of our soldiers could not be broken by anything. Neither death nor serious injury. It is impossible to describe this feeling. The wounded soldiers asked the doctors to do whatever possible to get them ready for another round of fight. They wanted to return to the front line as soon as possible. They literally wanted to become martyrs. We could not explain to them that they had to receive appropriate treatment in the first place. They replied: "My friends became martyrs. Why am I not with them?"

EG: “The guys could be sent on a mission, which would be their last one. Nevertheless, no one thought that it could be the last one in their life. Jamal Alkhasov was one of these heroes. Thank God he survived, and we still keep in touch. He lost both legs in the war. His condition was critical. He was dying. Seeing him off, his comrades said: "You are lucky, you will become a martyr." The atmosphere of military victories and heroism was incredible.

“Jamal's wound was very serious. But the way he stoically endured the pains made us admire that. I said to myself that if he survived, I’d do everything to somehow make his further life easier. Jamal said on his way to Baku that he wanted to talk to his father. The doctor accompanying us was against this, because any change in his emotional state could worsen his condition. Yet he asked us to get him to his father. I gave him my phone. His dialogue with his father amazed me. When his father asked him how he was, Jamal said, laughing, that he was just super. You know, at that very moment he was bleeding, his legs were severely damaged due to the explosion. After his words, the road began to blur before my eyes. We complain about every small matter and express our dissatisfaction with life. Jamal Alkhasov taught me an unforgettable lesson. And there were many people like him in the army. Both among the military and the doctors.”

Nefes means breath

“After the war, you also founded a public association Nefes. Why?”

NP: “During the first days of the war, Huner Group transferred ₼50,000 to the Fund for Assistance to the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. In addition, we handed over almost ₼70,000-worth drugs to the State Agency of Medical Insurance. Our boss always refuses to advertise this in the media, but I believe that such actions are indicative and will become an example for other businessmen. And I'll tell you honestly – that’s exactly what happened. I know many entrepreneurs who have done everything necessary for the army. Now we have created a public association Nefes.”

EG: “Supreme Commander-in-Chief and our army won a brilliant victory in the Patriotic War. Now it's up to us. We applied to the state and founded a public association Nefes. We are ready to provide all kinds of assistance to war veterans and families of martyrs. Every month we provide ₼15,000 to our war veterans. We have a new project now. We pay for preparatory courses for children of martyrs and veterans. We have already agreed with one of the educational institutions where the children will be trained. I also appeal to my friends with a request to help the families of martyrs and war veterans. And I am very glad that they accept my request positively and provide assistance with enthusiasm. For example, they call me and ask me to give the bank account of the fund in order to transfer money there to help the families of the war veterans. Once someone anonymously transferred ₼40 to our account. Although the amount was small, we were happy that he or she did this anonymously.”

NP: “Our activities are transparent. We publish the reports on our website, including the number of veterans who have received assistance, the amount of money spent, and so on. We also actively cooperate with the Yaşat Foundation.”

Huner Group in Huner

“Huner Group is engaged in construction business. Do you have plans to join the restoration of the liberated territories?”

“We did not apply to state authorities on this issue. We are constructing residential buildings. But if the authorities think it is necessary to get our company involved, we will proudly accept their proposal and will do our best. Let me tell you something. Mr. President changed the name of one of the villages in the Khojavend district. It is now called Huner (hünər means courage). We applied to the Office of the President to entrust us the complete restoration of the village entirely on our own, since it is called the same as our company. They told us that they would review our proposal when the issue of the restoration of the village became relevant. We have a network of pharmacies in Baku, and we applied to the government with a request to open another one in Shusha. It is clear that at present there are not many people there to expect profits, but we are not doing this for profit. Our proposal was received positively, and today one of our pharmacies operates in Shusha.”

“Thank you very much for the conversation!”