BAKU, Azerbaijan — As a young man starting out as a dentist, Nazim Valiyev was forced to flee his home as ethnic violence roiled a separatist region inside Azerbaijan. More than three decades later, with his medical career over after a stroke, the 60-year-old hopes he can return there, now that it is back under Azerbaijani control.
The blinding speed of events raised spirits among those who had fled so long ago and longed to return to its mountains and thick forests. Valiyev, the former dentist, said he thinks about returning every day,"but I understand that this will not be a quick process.” So far, only about 2,000 people have returned, but the government aims for 10,000 by the end of the year, according to Fuad Huseynov of the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons.“Mines are a huge obstacle, a huge problem. The territories that were under Armenian occupation for 30 years were not only virtually completely razed to the ground, but also mined with mines and other unexploded military ammunition," he said.
Although she was able to contact a former neighbor through social media, “when I asked her to send a photo of the house, she only sent a photo of the courtyard wall.”