Nigar Jabiyeva was born in Baku, but she obtained her education and professional skills in Toronto, where she moved with her family in the 90s. Then the life of Azerbaijani native, like many of her contemporaries, divided between two countries - Azerbaijan and Canada. Though the work of the executive director of the Network of Azerbaijani Canadians (NAC) turned out to be so intense that she had to forget about traveling somewhere other than within Canada. Nigar Jabiyeva spoke about the activities of the organization and many other things in an interview with Report.
- The organization you are heading was created not so long ago. It already has its own activity direction. Tell us a little about how your organization was established.
- The creation of the Network of Azerbaijani Canadians was prompted by the relevant requirements of the time, and, first of all, by the liberation war of our people to restore the territorial integrity of the country. Unfortunately, the fair position of Azerbaijan, which has been trying to solve the Karabakh problem peacefully for three decades, has not been crowned with success. However, the beginning of the liberation of the Azerbaijani lands occupied by Armenia faced a different reaction from the world community, and in particular, in Canada. The streams of lies that befell our country, outright disinformation, speeches of Canadian public and political figures influenced by representatives of the Armenian community, sparked outrage among our compatriots living here.
We understood that it was not enough to convey to the Canadian public the realities of the Karabakh conflict and the reasons that forced the Azerbaijani people to take up arms in order to liberate the lands seized by the enemy. It was necessary to influence the political establishment, which forms the position of the state and public opinion; we needed direct contacts with politicians, parliamentarians, and representatives of the executive branch. It was necessary to create them today and now. One more thing was important: the initiative had to come not from individuals, no matter how influencial they were in the country of residence, but from an organization that could boldly declare that it expresses the opinion of a fairly significant part of Canadian society. This is how our organization was born, uniting thousands of Azerbaijanis living in different parts of Canada.
- Based on information online, NAC was able to quickly deploy its forces, concentrate on the task at hand and achieve success.
- The success of our army in the liberation of Azerbaijani cities and villages that had been under occupation for thirty years inspired us. It was insulting to hear that Azerbaijan was accused of the Armenian genocide, despite that there are the survivors of the events in Khojaly, whose relatives and friends were brutally killed by the 'authors' of the real genocide perpetrated by the Armenian military against civilians in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.
One of such accusers was a politician, who spoke in parliament, accusing Azerbaijan of genocide. We achieved a meeting with him, conveying to him the erroneousness of his position, finding out that it was done at the suggestion of the Armenians, whose word he believed. He apologized to us, and then even began to participate in our events.
I know that now some readers will reproach us for the insignificance of such a fact. But it is necessary to proceed from the realities: we managed to achieve that Azerbaijan has one less enemy, especially since it was not an ordinary man in the street, but a parliamentarian, behind whom the voters stand. There were no other similar statements from any side, since it became clear that an organization had appeared that would not allow anyone to denigrate Azerbaijan.
At the peak of the Patriotic War, we managed to arrange a meeting with then Federal Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. The meeting was held via videoconference and was attended by NAC members from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, among whom were natives of cities that had been under occupation for many years, which gave a confidential nature to the conversation. The minister noted that the meeting was very useful for him. We also met with his successor, Marc Garneau. The mayor of Toronto, John Tory, after meeting with members of our diaspora organization, was even our guest at the Novruz festivities.
Many officials, of course, I’m talking about not the foreign ministers, knew that there were military actions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but, unfortunately, they had no idea about the essence of the Karabakh conflict. We had to inform them about all the vicissitudes of the 30-year-old confrontation, about the ethnic cleansing carried out by the Armenians, about Khojaly and other crimes of the Armenians. But our activities were not limited to meetings with senior Canadian officials. During the war, we held one of the largest rallies in Toronto in numerical terms. 5,000 of our compatriots gathered in the streets of the city to support Azerbaijan in its just struggle to liberate its lands from occupation, to convey to the citizens of Canada the realities of the conflict and the reasons that made the Azerbaijani people take up arms. We were joined by the representatives of the Turkish community, the Jewish community, who to the rally with the flags of Israel, as well as Azerbaijanis from Iran.
-But the liberation war of our people has ended victoriously. Where does the Network of Azerbaijani Canadians see their tasks now?
- Naturally, new realities require new approaches. The goals are changing. Today it is the peace in Karabakh. We are meeting with politicians, parliamentarians, officials again to draw attention to the problem to be solved. I’m talking about the need to demine the liberated territories. We are asking for help because the mine problem cannot be solved without it. This means that the return of the internally displaced persons, expelled by the Armenians from their homes, is delayed.
With the help of our volunteers, the website www.FreeUsFromLandMines.com was created, which contains information about civilians in Azerbaijan who suffered from mines planted by the Armenians. It also provides statistics on the number of mines laid by our ‘peace-loving’ neighbors.
They are shouting everywhere that Karabakh is their land, but the only investments they have made here are mines that continue to kill civilians. The website also tells the story of the conflict, tells how peaceful Azerbaijanis were expelled from their homes, and much more, which is not very well known to a foreign reader. The information available on the website was introduced to the media and politicians; it could also be used as a resource for our communities in Europe, America and Israel and other countries.
- Does your organization, have directions other than political ones, for example, work with youth? It is no secret that integration into the local society can turn into complete assimilation.
- I will now name dozens of Azerbaijani diaspora organizations in Canada that have been successfully working to promote the ancient Azerbaijani culture for many years, opening Sunday schools for the study of the Azerbaijani language, so that our children (and I completely agree with you) know and love their historical homeland. These are Alberta Azerbaijani Cultural Society (ALACS), Azerbaijan Cultural Society of Edmonton (AzCSE), Azerbaijani Language Class in Toronto (operating for already 15 years), Karabakh Azerbaijani Language School in Ottawa (10 years), Azerbaijani Women’s Support Centre (AWSC) (https://azerwomen.ca/ , operating for already about 15 years).
So, this sector is working well, and we are very happy about it. All the organizations I have named and other institutions actively support our activities, participate in our rallies, in a word, work together. However, I believe, just like my colleagues, that each community of our compatriots should have a purely, professionally developed direction. Policy is what we need today in the first place, and we are doing it in full force.
Eleonora Abbasguliyeva