Lachin Wintergrounds is a vast resettlement zone in Azerbaijan's Agjabedi region. The wintergrounds are made up of 25 distinct settlements, each of which is made up of several displaced villages from Lachin region. Each village, in turn, is made up of several hundred internally displaced peoples. And each IDP is made up of a story and a history and a life lived between and across and within and outside borders, depending upon one's perspective.
The wintergrounds are so named because they served as the former winter animal grazing grounds of the people of Lachin. The current difficulties of the people living here stem from their loss of their mountainous lands, and their lives are made achingly difficult by the condition of the land that they have been forced to adopt, to live on, and to attempt to nurture, as IDPs. This brown mud of which Lachin Wintergrounds is formed is not made to sustain people year-round. It is literally cracking with the new weight of those who live above, in, and below it.
Agjabedi Turkish Camp, Agjabedi Region.
Water is an eternal challenge at Agjabedi Turkish Camp. Collection points are spaced throughout the camp, but water is turned on in shifts throughout the day and night and is unreliable at best. Here, Hajujeva Gulaya (middle), originally from the occupied Agdam region, washes her household vessels. "We have been here for so many years, but life continues to be very difficult," she confides.
Lachin Wintergrounds, Agjabedi Region. The elderly are amongst the most vulnerable here. Displaced from the places in which they have spent their whole lives, they are unrooted and have no tasks to keep them busy during the days.
Agjabedi Turkish Camp, Agjabedi Region. Winters are cold in central Azerbaijan and the wet weather poses special challenges, since roads turn into deep fields of mud and walking becomes difficult and hazardous. Still, children find ways to keep themselves busy throughout the days, whether with simple toys like rubber tires and harmonicas or simply by spending time together.
Lachin Wintergrounds, Agjabedi Region. Lack of water means many things to the daily lives of IDPs in Lachin Wintergrounds. There are no trees on the horizon, because trees do not grow here. Farming is extremely difficult, though IRC agricultural projects have had some success in growing wheat. In many settlements, people must travel between 3 and 10 kilometers to fetch potable water. What water is available in Lachin Wintergrounds is often difficult to use due to the salinity of the water and the land. Artesian wells that have been built in the past have often unexpectedly dried up, leaving fluffy white rings of salt around their edges.
"This photograph of my aunt Sujayet washing clothes in a shed. In the back, she has a fire to heat the water."
"My neighbor, Khalida, is cutting vegetables. There are also turkeys and hens in this photograph, as well as mud bricks in the background. We use these bricks to make houses."
"My brother has climbed on the car and he is sitting there, thinking. His name is Israfir, and he is six years old. He stays at home with the other children."
"This is a photograph of my nephew, Ibadet. He is two years old, and he is playing with cassettes in our house."
"There is a broken-down hut, and there is a hen on it. My grandmother is weaving a rope in front of the hut. She molds the rope's shape with fire. Also, there are water containers and earth in the photograph. I took this picture because the hut is broken, and my grandmother Kubra is very thoughtful."
"There's a house in the background and a water container in the front of the photograph. My sister is washing clothes. Her name is Tamina, and she is nine years old. She?s very good and obedient, and we are friends."
"This is a photograph of my grandmother drinking tea. I took her picture in the morning, but she has already been awake for two hours. I was named after my grandmother, and I love her. My sister, Aytaj, is also in the photograph. She is five months old. My grandmother’s rolling bed is in the background of the picture."
"The girl in the middle is my sister, Imineh. The girl on the left is my neighbor's daughter, Sekineh, and the boy is my cousin Zamin. I took their photograph in our yard."
"This is a store belonging to my neighbor. Her name is Rasa. She is locking the door of the store. She sells food there."
"My cousin Fergana was running, and I took her photo. In this picture, you can also see a henhouse, trucks, and jugs which we use to carry water to our house."
"My aunt is watering the semeni for Novruz holiday. She is sitting at the back of our house with her baby."
"In this photograph there?s a chair, wood, a broom and a dustpan. The old woman is the main part of the photo - she is my grandmother, Nenesh. It's her house, and she is sewing. This photograph shows the bad living conditions of IDP's here."
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by Pooja Kumar
(Aug 2003) Between October 2001 and July 2002, I worked with the International Rescue Committee in Azerbaijan under a Hart Fellowship.
I was based with IRC's Community Health and Development project in Barda, a few kilometers from the ceasefire line between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Barda was the center for IRC's operations in central Azerbaijan, in regions most affected by the war over a disputed area of land known as Nagorno-Karabakh. The camps and communities where I worked were home to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons, those who fled their homelands in the disputed mountain regions of Azerbaijan and resettled in the often inhospitable flatlands of the central area. My work focused on health assessments, primary health care trainings, and health education for health workers and community members. While health was my focus, photography and writing became ways for me to document the lives of those IRC was working to assist. |
