CHARITY BY LAW

Difficult economic times are even more difficult for the poor. Fortunately, according to official data, no more than 5 per cent of the population is living in poverty in Azerbaijan, whereas in 2004 the number of poor people was as much as 49 per cent. And although the figure is not very high today, behind these dry figures there are people who sometimes do not even have money to buy the most necessary things.

"Help your neighbour..."

Not so long ago, a photo with the following caption was posted on social networks: "Free bread is handed out to the poor." This campaign was organized by the staff of a supermarket in Baku. "Three years have passed since we began handing out bread to people. Next to our shop, we have established a special cabinet with an appropriate inscription, where bread is stored. We bring it from the bakery, put some of it on the store counter and some in this cabinet," the owner of the shop, Parviz Alakbarov, says.

According to him, at least 80 to 150 loaves of bread are distributed free of charge every day. "Some people are embarrassed to come for free bread, while others simply do not have the capacity to do so for health reasons, which is why we deliver bread straight to their homes by car. No one should go hungry," he says.

Another organizer of such a charity campaign - Elvin Racabli - distributes bread at one of the kiosks located at the Besmartaba roundabout near the Nizami metro station. Organizations are also involved in providing aid: the director of one of the most popular restaurants in Baku has launched a campaign called "suspended coffee" - anyone who has a dinner in the restaurant can pay for another dish so that some poor person can benefit from it. The term "suspended coffee" (Caffe sospeso) was first introduced in Italy, in Naples, where any customer who orders a cup of coffee pays for two so that a poor person who visits the coffee shop can drink coffee for free. In today's world, this practice is becoming more common, and it is gratifying that it has begun to gain popularity in Baku.

Traditions of charity

And what to do when people find themselves in a very difficult position because of health problems when the treatment requires considerable sums which they certainly do not have?

Zaur Rasidov, 30, was diagnosed with osteoblastoma. Since 2006, he has undergone five operations, but to complete the treatment and finally recover, Rasidov needed an urgent and complicated operation that could be done in Germany. A campaign to raise funds was organized on social networks to pay for his treatment, which was soon joined by more than 90,000 people. This is not the first case of how people are willing to undertake to help a complete stranger, and it is gratifying that all public charitable initiatives immediately find support among the first persons of Azerbaijan. "Friends, I have just been contacted by a representative of the First Lady.

Mehriban xanim undertakes all the costs of Zaur's treatment, as well as the search for the best doctors in Germany. Thank you to everyone who responded to our grief," Zaur Rasidov's sister said on a Facebook page.

Or another example. Three-year-old Imran Cafarov was sucked into the pump of a swimming pool in a water park. Due to the absence of a protective lattice on the pipe, the boy had both legs splintered. The whole country prayed for Imran. He suffered 14 complex operations, which were conducted in Germany at public expense on orders from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. When the child returned to Baku, one leg was already fully operational while a prosthesis had been installed on the other.

Everyone was genuinely willing to help and wished him a speedy recovery. And the intervention and invaluable help of President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, strengthened our faith in miracles and in the humanity of our nation regardless of status and rank.

Traditions of charity in Azerbaijan were laid in the early 20th century by Azerbaijani benefactor millionaires. Suffice it to list their names to remember what contribution they made to this mission: Aga Musa Nagiyev, Haci Zeynalabdin Tagiyev, Isa Bay Hacinski, Murtuza Muxtarov and others.

We need a law

"Examples of many charity events when it was possible to raise funds for expensive treatment give us faith in the kindness of our people. We are all human and we can come together to do good work," says the founder of a charity for the poor, Parvina Quliyeva. She says that the group she created is the initiator of many campaigns, in which everyone allocated products or cooked a dinner for a poor family.

But charity seems easy to deal with only at first glance. In fact, it is a very complex and extensive activity, which, like all other areas, needs legislative regulation. It is interesting that Azerbaijan has not yet adopted a law on charity. In 2013, the Social Policy Committee of the Milli Maclis (Parliament) developed a bill aimed at creating a legal basis for charitable activities, and this was repeatedly stated by the deputy chairman of this entity, Musa Quliyev. Three years have passed since then, but the document still remains a draft law. Many will say that this is not too long a time, but it only seems so. For people who struggle for survival every day, it is a whole life. Such a law would help streamline the entire fragmented network of charity and give it, in addition to the legal base, an opportunity for a more stable and organized fund-raising to help the poor.

For example, for people like Sofya Sokolova. She is a victim of Nazi camps. She is 89 years old, does not see very well, her feet hardly walk, her hand does not work - the consequences of hard life in the camps. She lives in a tiny one-room shack surrounded by the same crumbling houses. She cannot survive on a small pension and gets all the necessities of life from volunteers and compassionate people. The head of the social service of the Temple of Archangel Michael in Baku and curator working with veterans, Aleksandr Antropov, said that Sofya lived in inhuman conditions with a leaking roof, which was repaired by volunteers with great difficulty. And how much money is required for medicines - almost an entire pharmacy is collected in the small house of Sofya - in view of her considerable age and accumulated diseases.

Despite the fact that many groups and charitable communities are doing their best to raise funds and help those in need, it is not enough. In addition, all these communities exist without any legal form - just a group of volunteers who contribute their own time and resources to help others. There are many of these groups on social networks. But as already mentioned, charity is not limited to fund-raising. Legal assistance plays a major role here. After all, if the necessary sum for food can be raised by ordinary people, various legal issues and problems with documents require qualified assistance from a lawyer, which you cannot always get in time.

As part of the social programme

In Western countries, charity, regardless of social status, is already turning into an everyday occurrence and lifestyle and occupies a considerable place in the budget of both ordinary people and large companies. Charity is clearly regulated by government agencies in developed countries while many commercial organizations have special funds to help the poor and the needy. At the same time, compassion is fostered from childhood. For example, in the UK awareness and educational days, which explain that not everyone has the opportunity to purchase their own food and warm clothing, are held even in kindergartens. In schools, this activity is broader; various charitable marathons are often held there, and the proceeds go to a charity fund. A variety of religious organizations that organize free canteens and doss-houses where the homeless can spend the night play a significant role in charity events.

In Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security organized several mobile temporary shelters in severe frosts in February 2012 and January 2014, where homeless people and those in need could get a hot meal, tea, basic medical care and sleep. Those who have difficulty getting home, people who work outdoors, citizens who are at a great distance from their homes, homeless people and those in need of first aid could use their services. Today, representatives of the ministry are not aware of any plans to create a permanent shelter or stable places where people in need can get help. But in cold weather, temporary shelters usually resume their activities. Meanwhile, the head of the press service of the Ministry of Finance, Mayis Piriyev, said that the state seeks to minimize the negative effects of the global crisis and maintain the specified standards of living for its citizens, taking care primarily of the elderly, large families and people with disabilities. All this requires additional finance. At the same time, the plan to build social facilities, as Piriyev said, will not undergo corrections. For example, next year it is planned to open an educational and rehabilitation centre for the visually impaired, a specialized rehabilitation centre and a social shelter for minors and a social adaptation centre for people released from penitentiary institutions. Among the expected innovations we should mention the adoption of the state programme to strengthen the social protection of the elderly and the law on compulsory insurance against unemployment.

All this suggests that the traditions of modern charity in our country are beginning to take root on the example of thousands of people, because the responsiveness inherent in our fellow citizens manifests itself even at the most difficult times. Nevertheless, fundraising by people whose income has considerably fallen anyway is literally a drop in the ocean. In our country, especially at such a difficult time, there is a need for the state legislative regulation of this matter.