ამბავი
Locked borders and open questions
Topic:
Transportation labyrinth
Since March 2020, the Azerbaijani government has kept land and sea borders closed citing the need to prevent the spread of diseases—despite the fact that in May, the World Health Organization officially announced the end of the global pandemic. Other than a 13-kilometer slice between Turkey and Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan, the only way to enter the country is by air. Officially, the Azerbaijan government has not provided much information on the status of the borders, despite the hardship the closures have caused its citizens.
Some suspect the policy is to prevent the influx of Russian draft dodgers into the country, especially from Dagestan, as Kazakhstan and Georgia have struggled to control the waves of Russians crossing since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Critics point out, however, that Russians still enter by plane: reports from the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan tourism board state that in total, 375,100 people arrived from the Russian Federation in the first six months of 2023, compared to 446,831 in 2022 and 258,315 in 2021.
Other theories have also gained traction: some analysts believe the policy could be due to security concerns, especially given the ongoing tensions with Iran and Armenia. Others have floated the idea that the borders are closed to facilitate the construction of a new super highway or modernized railway lines.
Critics argue that the closed borders are a violation of citizens’ rights and could be driven by special interests, such as higher revenues for the state-owned airline. They highlight the inconsistency in allowing foreigners to leave and residents of Nakhchivan to cross the border, while denying the same privilege to citizens living elsewhere in Azerbaijan.
Public anger about the closures is growing, especially online among students and other citizens who are harmed by the policy. Inspired by the public’s high emotions and my own curiosity, I decided to go on this journey.
Unable to find trustworthy information about the situation at the border, I went by taxi to the nearest border crossing into neighboring Georgia–repeating a trip I made before quarantine in 2019. I went there in the hope of finding answers along the road or at the customs point. Sadikhli, Tovuz, Azerbaijan, 2019
At the gate of the border checkpoint in Balakan, Azerbaijan, I was met by soldiers, who, having learned that I was a citizen of Azerbaijan, reported that I was not allowed to pass. Only foreigners are allowed to leave. When I explained that I was a special case—I wanted to meet someone in authority who could answer my questions—I was told I had to request permission from the Azerbaijan Cabinet of Ministers, and it would take at least two weeks to receive a response. I also learned there that the border is open for cargo trucks and went back to the city on one of them which was traveling from Turkey to Russia through Georgia and Azerbaijan. Balakan, Azerbaijan, 2023.
Islam, a waiter at the Khan tea house, is waiting for the borders to open because plane tickets are too expensive. "I will go to work with my father in Russia as soon as the borders open. There are few people left in the city because there are few jobs and wages are very low. Previously, tourists from Georgia came, and there were those who stopped here before they left the country. Now only trucks pass by here and while they are waiting for customs clearance, they linger here [at the tea house]. It is impossible to leave and it is impossible to buy goods from Georgia, but local people can export food via cargo trucks. We mainly ship nuts and walnuts to Turkey from here." Balakan, Azerbaijan, 2023
As Islam explained, after the sun goes down, local men who have nothing to do show up in the Khan tea house. They come to chat about nothing and drink beer or tea out of boredom. The only other visitors while I was there were a group of Polish drivers who got drunk before falling asleep while waiting for a pass to leave the country. Balakan, Azerbaijan, 2023
At the Red Bridge border checkpoint along the highway running from Gazakh to Tbilisi, the situation was similar: abandoned booth counters, an empty bus station and a tea house—along with many taxi drivers from nearby villages nursing the hope of somehow earning a bit of money. Red Bridge, Gazakh, Azerbaijan, 2023
One bus driver, Fizuli, had a different theory for why the borders are still closed: an attempt to push out ethnic Armenians living in reclaimed areas in Karabakh. "People who left for Armenia do not have access [to Azerbaijan] along the land border. Access to Azerbaijan is only by air flights, and there are no air flights from that country. Thus, without offending anyone, the situation is resolved,” he said. Shikhli 1, Azerbaijan, 2023
From time to time mini buses plying for passengers between Gazakh city and villages Shikhly 1 and Shikhly 2 carry several foreigners to the bus station. Intercity buses also come here for the final stop, but passengers only board buses in Gazakh city. Red Bridge, Azerbaijan, 2023
In the six hours I waited for the bus to Baku, the tea house had only six customers, including me. One, named Nazim, said he believed the government was keeping the borders closed to control the flow of Russians into the country. "Tickets prices in the range of 200 euros are intended to ensure that only the wealthy enter. Otherwise, who will come here first? Dagestanis…If there were no closed borders, all of them would be here." Tea house waiter Farid, 27, who lives in Shikhly 2 says, "All these places were full of people. Currently, we are working generally for bus and taxi drivers and the truck drivers who sometimes come in. We are earning enough to make ends meet." Red Bridge, Azerbaijan, 2023
When I got to the station schedule, I was greeted by a huge display broadcasting the times for the route, albeit with a few minor changes: now the train traveled during the morning, not at night, and its final destination was Agstafa, Azerbaijan—not Tbilisi, Georgia. Prior to March 2020, this train route was a favorite way of transportation for travelers crossing the South Caucasus. Tourists could travel from Tbilisi to Baku. Baku, Azerbaijan, 2023
Despite all the changes, I still bought a ticket. My aim was not the destination but rather to seek more answers. Once on the platform, I saw more changes: the old Soviet trains I remembered had been replaced by modern, high-speed ones. Baku, Azerbaijan, 2023
Rahib has been working for the railway for about seven years. He explained that the old lines were not suitable for modern trains and that the railroad tracks running to the border are currently being renovated. Agstafa, Azerbaijan, 2023
Five hours later the train arrived in Agstafa. Most passengers lived at the stop before, in Ganja, so the platform was not very crowded. The rest of the workers resting at the tea house near the station refused to be photographed or interviewed. Instead, they suggested I speak with the owner of the tea house. Agstafa, Azerbaijan, 2023
To get to the border, I had to travel on two minibuses: one to Gazakh, Azerbaijan and a second to the Red Bridge. On the way, the driver Faiq said that it was impossible to cross to Georgia at the official checkpoint. He underscored that nothing would change until the situation at the Lachin corridor is resolved—which, as he said, depends on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He explained that while Georgian citizens can cross at the land border, Azerbaijani citizens cannot. Agstafa, Azerbaijan, 2023
One of the passengers was Rafig Alijanov, an Azerbaijani citizen who accompanied his niece, a Georgian citizen who married an Azerbaijani citizen and her son, who has an Azerbaijani passport. Pointing to a new road, he says: “Somewhere there were my lands.” He adds that the previous driver told him we could also get to Azerbaijan from Georgia via a land border crossing. Gazakh, Azerbaijan, 2023
Rafig says that the borders are still closed to keep traffic off the roads while they expand the highway system. His wife, a Georgian citizen, is in Georgia now because tickets are too expensive - about 300 manats. Shikhly 1, Gazakh, Azerbaijan 2023
To go to Georgia, the family had to get a passport for the toddler. "To cross 300 meters [into Georgia], my child and I had to fly to Baku. Also, I had to buy a separate ticket for the child, which is only 30 - 40 manats less. If for me it costs about 200 manats, then for a child about 150 manats. And then we had to cross the whole country. The poor baby is on the road for the third day," says Tunjay's mother after they were given a suitcase while passing through the village of Shikhly 2, Azerbaijan, 2023
Convinced of the impossibility of leaving via a land border, and having reconciled myself to the price of air travel, I bought a ticket for the next day to cross and finally explore the situation on the other side of the closed border. Baku, Azerbaijan, 2023
It wasn’t until I was on the plane that I finally realized how much pressure I had felt while stuck behind closed borders. I also noticed that most of the passengers were not citizens of Azerbaijan. Mostly there were foreigners flying in transit. Baku, Azerbaijan, 2023
At the Azerbaijani embassy in Tbilisi, they said that they did not know any more than anyone else since this issue was not part of their responsibilities. "To pass through the border, you should write an email to the Cabinet of Ministers and receive a code. In this case, you do not even need to come to the embassy." Tbilisi, Georgia, 2023
At the doors I came across students citizens of Azerbaijan. They asked to be identified only as students. “We are from Barda and study in Tbilisi. Now we are trying to cross the border, because we do not have money to buy [plane] tickets. There [in Azerbaijan] I somehow worked as a worker and borrowed money to come here, but going back is even more expensive. Why do I, as a citizen, need to obtain all these permits in order to return to my country? For two years it was possible to obtain permission, at least. I remember here at the embassy there was a long line of cars trying to get a pass. Then I accompany my mate to the border at the Red Bridge. Also a friend from Gazakh, the village of Shikhly 2, who went to Baku to fly to Tbilisi and go to Gardabani for a funeral.” Tbilisi, Georgia, 2023
The other side of the Balaken gate, Lagodekhi. Azerbaijanis make up the largest ethnic minority in Georgia. While looking for ethnic Azerbaijanis to learn their views on the border closures, I met 49-year-old Teimur. A citizen of Azerbaijan, he has been residing in Georgia since 2004. He has two motorcycles, which he uses to transport cargo around the village to earn a living. He has a walnut garden in Balaken, Azerbaijan, which is his main income, but he has not been able to go there for about four years. ”The country also imposed restrictions and fined me because I was unable to travel or spend a lot of time and 500 manats on air travel to renew my passport." Teymur says. Lagodekhi, Georgia, 2023
In the village of Kabali, I met the village’s second-generation traditional singer and poet Alibek Farajov, 55. He told me about poems dedicated to the mountain ranges that continue into Azerbaijan, to which he feels the doors have been closed. Every morning, the mountains remind him of this connection. "During the time of [former Azerbaijan President] Heydar Aliyev, we were not ignored; flour and butter were sent here. Now everything has stopped. Besides, for years they have closed the borders in our face and we have to pay… just to visit relatives and friends on the other side. I ask the president to renew support for underprivileged Azerbaijani families on this side." Kabali, Georgia, 2023
Having met the Farajovs, the next day, on their recommendation, I traveled to the Sunday Kabali Bazaar. Here, I met Eltun, who began with the fact that trade continues, except that there is less Azerbaijani tea. "The closed borders have made life more difficult for us, the citizens of Azerbaijan. A lot of people there lost their income. Even workers here earn 40 - 55 lari (25-35 AZN) per day, while in Azerbaijan the wage for similar work is 17 manats (25 GEL). Previously, I could cross the border three times in a month and I filled up my car’s tank there as it was a little cheaper than here. On the way back, at the border, women would ask for a ride here. Many came here to work, pick grapes during the season, and so on. They earned 10 manats for the same work there," Eltun explained. "I have relatives from Balakan, who always describe their difficulties there when we talk. If we don't like something, we can express it and we can get justice. I don't understand why people there can't express their opinion. Even last week, hundreds of us signed a petition to the President of Azerbaijan to open the land borders,” remarked Eltun, as he drove me to the market. Kabali, Georgia, 2023
I first met Peter and his road mate Martin in Oni while driving in Georgia. They differed from most of the other travelers I met along the way and, as we were far from the border with Azerbaijan, initially I did not interview them. When we meet again in Gomi, Martin explains their route from London to Sydney passed through Azerbaijan along the coast of the Caspian Sea. But since the borders were closed, they had to cross through Russia instead. After talking with Martin and Peter, I remembered that in numerous conversations with people traveling by different modes of transport and even on foot from Europe to Asia, many need to go through Azerbaijan and the current state of affairs makes things difficult for them. Mokhisi, Georgia, 2023
Lagodekhi, Georgia, 2023
This photo story was produced in the framework of Chai Khana Fellowship program - Summer-Autumn 2023
This photo story was prepared with support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) South Caucasus Regional Office. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of FES.
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