Epic homecoming for ex-IDPs to Karabakh goes like clockwork Karabakh re-embraces natives

A year ago, the first residents of the liberated Karabakh returned to their native lands. It happened in the village of Agali, Zangilan District. This event marked the dawn of the implementation of the grandiose project "Great Return", which involves the acquisition by the indigenous inhabitants of the Karabakh region of their homes abandoned 30 years ago. And this, in turn, became possible thanks to the liberation of native Azerbaijani land after many years of Armenian occupation by the glorious Azerbaijani army led by Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev.

The foundation of the smart village project in Agali in April 2021 was also laid by the president on the site of the village of the same name, razed to the ground by Armenians. The state-of-the-art urban planning technologies, solar panels, smart street lighting, etc. were used during the restoration and improvement of the village.

To ensure the uninterrupted supply of electricity to the village, a hydroelectric power station was built, operating on the principle of the Archimedean turbine. The HPP with three generators can fully satisfy the needs of the population and future industries in Agali for electricity. The advantage of the Archimedean installation compared to other systems is that it can generate energy with a minimum water pressure, besides, it is easy to install and cost-effective. It is also important that the fish calmly passes through the Archimedean turbines without being exposed to any risk.

To facilitate the use of public services in the village, ASAN, DOST, Azerpoct centers, the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium Business, and the State Center for Agrarian Development have been established. Of course, the buildings of a school, a kindergarten, a first-aid post, and catering facilities have already been put into operation.

Of course, special attention was paid to the construction of housing and social facilities. Using innovative building materials, 200 fully insulated individual eco-friendly houses, four two-story non-residential buildings, a school for 360 children, and a kindergarten for 60 children were built here. In the next stage, it is planned to build another 150 houses. Moreover, the power supply of all premises is carried out both at the expense of the energy generated by the hydroelectric power station and at the expense of alternative sources, in particular solar panels.

Some 420 people comprising 86 families already live in Agali. Arrangement of dozens more houses continues, and after commissioning they will be occupied by new residents - former internally displaced persons and their descendants. The state also took care of their employment - the agricultural sector was practically launched. The most advanced pivotal irrigation systems have already been installed on a large crop area on the outskirts of the village. With their help, it will be possible to irrigate 157 hectares of land. At the same time, it is planned to build climatic stations on the territory of the village.

Agali thus became the first smart village project to be followed and no doubt more similar projects will follow.

With good reason, it can be said that a significant part of the program for the restoration of the city of Lachin has been completed. As Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recently noted: “On the example of Lachin, I can say that most of the city has been completely restored in just eight months. At the same time, the construction of residential buildings is going on at a rapid pace, and for more than 700 families, both individual and multi-apartment buildings are being prepared here.”

To date, 111 families have moved to the city.

Almost at the same time, the newly built village of Talysh in Tartar District received the first 20 families.

It is noteworthy that many experts predicted that the return of former internally displaced persons would take many years, arguing their conclusions that the former places of residence of the indigenous population were mostly literally wiped off the face of the earth, at best resembling the ruins of ancient times. All this is the result of urbicide, ecocide, mining, and destruction carried out by the Armenian invaders on Azerbaijani soil. At the same time, especially malicious voices sounded precisely from Armenia - they say, Azerbaijanis will never be able to live in Karabakh - it will remain a scorched wasteland.

What the occupiers destroyed for three decades really could not be restored overnight, however, the pace at which the resuscitation of life in Karabakh is taking place makes any observer freeze in admiration. On the Armenian side, envy and anger are simply going wild. Before the eyes of the whole world, the difference between the destructive and degenerative nature of the Armenian presence in Karabakh and the creative essence of the Azerbaijani return is being manifested.

The hackneyed narrative about a hard-working and creative, educated, peaceful, and persecuted Christian people flies into hell at the sight of photos and video clips of cities and mosques scattered around the world, scattered around the stone, where cattle were kept. Now, on the site of these ruins, ultramodern villages and cities are being built, showing the world an example of true love for the native land.

The will of the Azerbaijani people, concentrated in unity with their leader Ilham Aliyev, was able to literally move mountains and speed up the process of reviving the liberated lands many times over. We waited too long and didn't have the luxury of waiting any longer. The Great Return project and, in general, the revival of Karabakh will be inscribed in golden letters in the history of Azerbaijan as an unprecedented example of the mobilization of the entire nation and, at the same time, the character and will of every Azerbaijani man and woman.

At the same time, it should be noted that the Azerbaijani state independently, without any material assistance from outside, first de-occupied, and now is reviving the liberated territories, implementing grandiose infrastructure projects. The restoration of destroyed cities, villages, and settlements on 20 per cent of the country's territory, which is equivalent to the area of some countries, such as Lebanon, and the construction of new cities and villages is a serious task even for large, economically strong nations.

At the presentation of the smart village of Agali in May 2022, Ilham Aliyev said “It is as a result of economic independence that the village of Agali has turned today, I can say, into one of the most progressive villages in the world. We did it on our own, and we are carrying out restoration work on all other lands on our own. Giant projects are being implemented now.”

The day is not far off when Azerbaijani families will return to Shusha and the surrounding villages. To ensure this step and eliminate the threat to the security of the Azerbaijani population (and not only for this), Armenia must fulfill the main condition - to withdraw its military formations and disarm its militants. If Yerevan continues to delay this, Baku will decide it unilaterally. In the meantime, we want to solve the problem without bloodshed - and this is another indicator of the peacefulness of the Azerbaijani people.

Not far off is the day when Azerbaijanis will return to Khojaly. The first thing that the Azerbaijani government needs to do, having settled in this city, is to demolish the ugly lopsided building of the local airport, which, according to the intricate plan of its architects, embodied the image of a somewhat stocky eagle with spread wings.

Not a single plane landed or took off from this airport after it was reconstructed in 2011 - still, after all, Azerbaijan threatened to shoot down any plane that dares to cross the airspace over the territory of occupied Karabakh without Baku's permission. The miatsum eagle did not take off - Azerbaijani falcons did not allow it to spread its wings. In general, the whole essence of the expansionist Armenian project was expressed in this building - a crazy chicken, mowing like an eagle.

The skating rink of Azerbaijan’s might and unity was able to demolish even stronger obstacles. And the great return is gaining momentum, and no force can stop it.