AGEMATE OF THE GREAT VICTORY

We met with the head of the YAŞAT Foundation, Elvin Huseynov, on the first anniversary of the liberation of Lachin from the Armenian occupation. Lachin was the last of the three districts returned to Azerbaijan in line with the November 10, 2020 agreement between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia. YAŞAT was created just a week after the liberation of all the territories of Azerbaijan. The foundation was established by the decree of President Ilham Aliyev with the aim of providing support to the wounded troopers and the families of their fellows. Remarkably, all 20 employees of the foundation either lost their family members in the Garabagh war, or are veterans of the war. Mr. Huseynov himself was an officer of the Azerbaijani special forces and was also wounded in the liberation campaign.

"As a veteran of the Garabagh war and the head of the YAŞAT Foundation, how can you comment the significance of the fact that the districts of Aghdam, Kelbajar, and Lachin were liberated without a single shot?"

"First of all, I would like to congratulate the entire Azerbaijani people on the Great Victory. May the souls of our martyrs rest in peace. And I hope our wounded soldiers and officers recover soon. As you rightly noted, Aghdam, Kelbajar, and Lachin are of great strategic significance to Azerbaijan. Given the difficulties associated with the relief of these regions and the number of barriers built there by Armenia, had we decided to free these lands by military means, we would sustain a significant number of casualties and equipment losses, which would extend the war indefinitely. The peaceful liberation of these districts is a great success for the Azerbaijani diplomacy and personally for the President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. Certainly, I cannot help but mention the heroism of our soldiers, who have made an exceptional contribution to our victory. They sacrificed their lives to free other lands and completely defeated the enemy before it had to sign the act of surrender."

"Dealing with the effects of any war is not a short-term task. Your foundation was founded just a week after the last district of Azerbaijan was freed. Your objective is to support the families of martyrs and veterans. How can you describe the progress of your foundation in the past year?"

"YAŞAT Foundation was established on December 8, 2020 by the decree of President Ilham Aliyev. Despite the relatively short period of activity, we have done a great deal of a job thanks to donations from our citizens, local businesses and compatriots from all over the world. We could not have achieved these without their help.

“Right after the establishment, we set up a structure made up of 69 different groups. These included the employees and volunteers of ASAN Xidmət. One of these teams was instructed to respond to emergency calls that we received from various locations. The rest 68 groups visited all the families of martyrs and veterans. We listened to their problems and received first-hand information. We then scrupulously analysed the situation together with the members of the families of 2916 martyrs and provided them with the necessary support.

“YAŞAT Foundation has four areas of activity focused on improving living conditions, repayment of consumer loans, covering tuition fees, and the provision of medical assistance to the members of martyr families and the veterans. We continue to support such families in all these areas.”

"Can you provide some figures for each of these areas?"

"Sure, I can. As of today, we have received over ₼64.7 million in donations, of which more than ₼49 million have already been spent. Our current balance is ₼15.7 million. In general, we spent this money to solve the problems to close 15,461 applications that we had received. Most of the funds (c. ₼32.2 million) was used to improve the living conditions (8,403 applications). Medical expenses (over ₼11 million for 5,459 applications) covered the provision of medical treatment and psychological support. We also provided ₼5.4 million to repay the consumer loans of the family members of 1,595 martyrs, veterans, and missing persons. We also paid more than ₼443,000 to cover the tuition fees reported by 156 applicants."

"Apart from donations, how do the companies or individuals support your foundation? Is it possible at all?"

"You can monitor the donor activity on our official website as well. For example, Kapital Bank made an initiative to repay over ₼100,000 of the loans of more than 20 martyr families. We indicated on the website that this amount was paid by the bank, not by us. Also, during the Novruz celebrations in 2021, the chain of Bravo supermarkets sent holiday gifts worth over ₼300,000 to all the families of martyrs. Springs Hotel in Lankaran opened a six-week summer camp for the children of martyrs. Other companies also donated their products to campers. Also, the charity organisation Dayaq provides free dental check-ups and medical services for the martyr families and veterans. Thanks to our cooperation with educational facilities, seven private schools have freely admitted the children of martyrs. In other words, there are different ways to support our foundation apart from monetary donations."

"During the war, the Azerbaijani people showed great solidarity. Despite the high level of state supplies to the army, each of us was ready to sacrifice his last penny for the victory. But usually, with the weakening emotional background triggered earlier by extreme situations, or, putting it simply, as the wounds heal, people return to their daily lives. And then it becomes necessary to take various measures to maintain the level of charitable activities at the proper level. What are you doing to ensure sustainable donation inflow to your foundation?"

"You're right. We received about ₼30 million (50%) of all the donations collected during the year in the first month since our inception. Apparently, because the war had ended recently and the wounds had still been fresh. Later the dynamics of donations has changed, but the inflow has never stopped. I remember that once we collected ₼700,000 during a month, but on the next day we received ₼1 million. I mean there is no stable dynamics. But we run various campaigns to make the inflow sustainable.

“Together with the State Diaspora Committee and the Diaspora Foundation, we held a charity marathon. Azerbaijanis from all over the world were invited to join the event. In about 25 days, we collected about ₼1 million. The marathon is still online on the Ictimai TV channel. The raised amount will also be made public (the marathon ended on December 8, with ₼... transferred to the YAŞAT Foundation – N.M.). At the same time, in October 29-November 9, we organised the Victory Fair in the Boulevard National Park in Baku. The event included about 20 companies, which transferred the money they could collect from the sales of their products during the fair to our foundation.”

"Do these measures meet your expectations?"

"Certainly. For example, thanks to the Victory Fair, we received more than ₼64,500."

"Is not that a small amount of money?"

"I do not think so. Well, it was the first fair we ever held. Besides, the companies did not have much time for sales and their number was small. Yet we could raise quite an impressive amount."

"Sometimes we hear news about the problems of veterans, mainly from the media outlets and social networks. Usually they concern the issues of medical treatment, disabilities, etc. How does your foundation respond to such cases?"

"YAŞAT Foundation was founded to provide support in addition to that already provided by our state. In April 2021, Azerbaijan introduced the system of compulsory health insurance (CHI), which covers more than 2,550 types of medical treatment and operations. All this support is provided by the state. Our fund covers the costs of medical services not included in the CHI package. In most cases, the only thing the members of the families of martyrs or veterans need to do is to go the nearest hospital to settle the issue with the available CHI package. At the same time, we provide ₼2,000 annually to all persons covered by our foundation for the purchase of medicines. In other words, a member of the martyr's family or a veteran can get these medicines free of charge at local pharmacies by presenting us with his doctor's prescription. As for messages on social networks: if the problem indeed concerns our foundation, then we immediately take appropriate measures. But in most cases, these messages do not prove to be true. Some even claim that we allegedly do not provide necessary care and support to the people. This is not true. It is impossible that we remain indifferent to the fate of even a single wounded veteran. Sometimes individuals claim that they were wounded in the war, but cannot provide clinical reports to confirm their claims."

"Why don't they have such reports? Bureaucratic obstacles? How do you help the wounded with such problems?"

"Our foundation was created to support family members of martyrs and the veterans with disabilities. When we just started, none of our applicants had any documents, which would confirm their belonging to a martyr's family or disabilities. But we didn't wait; we met with veterans in hospitals, during treatment, listened to their problems and provided the necessary support. They received disability certificates after six months or a year. Even now, we do not require disability certificates to solve the medical problems of our veterans. The only exceptions are cases concerning other areas of our activities, such as the provision of tuition fees, improvement of living conditions, and repayment of loans. Because we have already provided these people with one-time financial assistance of ₼2,500 or supported the repayment of their loans. But a year has passed, and a certain number of veterans have already received disability certificates. To date, we have 2,200 people with this status in our database. Now we must gradually determine our subjects to be able to provide them with more effective and targeted assistance."

"If memory serves, you invite doctors from abroad to examine and treat our veterans. You also organise the treatment of the wounded veterans abroad. How many veterans have so far benefited from these services?"

"In March 2021, we invited 8 eye surgeons from Israel. They examined about 150 veterans and replaced the damaged eyes of more than 50 of them using the state-of-the-art prostheses. You cannot see a difference with a real eye even at close range. Two more veterans underwent surgery on the cornea. Today both of them can see. At the same time, we invited a group of various doctors from Turkey. They visited veterans in medical institutions, and after consultations with the local experts, we decided to ensure the treatment of 150 veterans in Turkey. More than 115 of them returned to Azerbaijan. Last week, another team from Turkey performed stem cell surgery operations on several veterans. We continue working in this direction. Thanks to our cooperation with the doctors, we do our best to ensure the soonest recovery of our veterans."

"What can you tell us about the events aimed at the children of martyrs who were born after the war?"

"One of our projects concerns the children of martyrs born after September 27. If their fathers sacrificed their lives to defend our homeland, we must make sure that their successors are safe too. That’s why we allocated ₼1,000 to cover the initial expenses of these children. In addition, we opened a bank account for each of these children with initial deposit of ₼5,000. We think this amount should attract enough interest until the children grow to start an independent life. In addition to these 102 children, we opened accounts for the same amount for four children who lost both parents during the terrorist attack on Ganja. In short, we must do our best for these children, for these families and we are very sensitive to these issues."

"Finally, we would like to ask about your plans for the next year."

"If we want to ensure the stable rise of funds, it is necessary to continue charitable activities. Of course, they are not limited to donations only. For example, it is possible to organise a more effective vacation for the children of martyrs during the summer holidays to help shape their worldview. In terms of donations, as I said, we will continue to organise marathons. It is also possible to hold YAŞAT Days in various market networks, which will make it possible to transfer part of the funds generated that day to our foundation. All these measures have already been planned and will be implemented in the coming years."

"Thank you for the interview."