"In this village, there's nothing but problems" – Report from Shafak

Report from Shafak village

This is the village of Shafak, commonly known as Sumgayit Station. The name comes from its proximity to the Baku-Sumgayit railway station. Shafak is considered the newest village in the Absheron District.

This residential area, consisting of 88 houses and home to over 8,000 people, is located 12 kilometres from the city of Sumgayit. In March 2024, it was granted village status.

The vast majority of Shafak’s residents are individuals with visual impairments, veterans of the First and Second Karabakh Wars, and families of fallen soldiers.

“We feel isolated here”

In the village of Shafak, residents say they struggle to find places to entertain their children. They also note that there are no spaces for adults to spend their leisure time—not even a teahouse. The only park is located at the edge of the village, near the homes of families of fallen soldiers and veterans. However, it is far from the part of the village where visually impaired residents live, making it difficult for them to access the park for relaxation.

Similarly, the village’s three grocery stores are located at the same distance. Blind residents say they feel isolated and that nothing is being done to improve their living conditions.

“I’ve been living here since last year. There are plenty of problems in the village. We’ve complained to the relevant authorities both verbally and in writing. Every time, they promised to resolve the issues, but nothing has changed.

Public transport stops operating no later than 9 p.m., and the intervals are too long. Buses often break down. Even though six buses are supposed to be in service, only three are actually operational. Sometimes, we wait for a bus for an hour, and when it finally arrives, it’s so overcrowded that you can’t get on. We end up having to use taxis, which are expensive. Most people here live on disability pensions, which are at most 600-700 manats (around $350-410),” says village resident Vusal Nazarov.

Two minibus routes serve the village: route 533 from the Baku bus station and route 12A from the Sumgayit market. During our two-and-a-half hours there, we saw a total of three buses at the bus stop: one of the route 533 and two of the route 12A buses.

“In general, no one thinks about people with disabilities. There isn’t even proper mobile network coverage in the village. After months of going to the Ministry of Digital Development, they finally installed a single Azercell mobile tower in one spot in the village. Other mobile operators don’t work here at all,” adds Vusal Nazarov.

“Shop is far from area where visually impaired residents live”

Fariz Guseynov, a visually impaired resident, has been living in the village of Shafak since November 2021. According to him, food prices in the village are higher than in Sumgayit and Baku.

“The shop is too far from us, and it’s difficult for visually impaired people to walk such a distance for groceries. Sometimes, we trip over open sewer manholes or fall on uneven surfaces. It takes us half an hour to cover a distance that sighted people can walk in 15 minutes.

Prices in the shop are also very high. They know we have no choice and will have to buy from them anyway.

After 9 p.m., when the buses stop running, the village becomes completely isolated from the outside world. The pharmacy is closed, the shop is shut, and there’s no transport. How are we, as visually impaired people, supposed to adapt to society under these conditions?” complains Fariz Guseynov.

One ambulance for entire village

Access to medical care is also a challenge in Shafak. There is an ambulance station at the village entrance, but it is not equipped for treating patients. The station has only one ambulance.

According to an employee of the station, who preferred to remain anonymous, the ambulance they use for emergency calls has limited medical equipment and supplies. As a result, they often have to transport patients in critical condition to hospitals in Sumgayit.

The employee stated that patients are typically given painkillers during calls because there are no other means of medical intervention. At times, this sole ambulance in the village is dispatched to calls from Sumgayit. If, during such times, a village resident requires urgent medical care, they must find their own way to a hospital, and without a vehicle, they are left helpless.

Village without local executive authority

According to Shafak resident Farid Bayramov, the village has no local executive authority representation. He stated that residents reached out to the Absheron District Executive Authority, requesting the establishment of such a representation, but they were unable to receive a clear response.

“We only have a housing management office, and its authority is limited. We reached out to the Absheron District Executive Authority, and they told us to wait. But it’s unclear how long this ‘waiting’ will last. One thing is certain: there must be an executive authority representation here to address all our problems,” says Farid Bayramov.

He also highlights the need to increase the number of surveillance cameras in the village. According to him, there have been numerous thefts in the homes of visually impaired residents, but the perpetrators remain unidentified.

Another pressing issue in the village is the sewage system. On rainy days, the sewers overflow, flooding the streets and the basements of residential buildings. These waters often remain stagnant for months afterward.

Almas Mamedov, whose eldest son went missing during the First Karabakh War and whose youngest son was disabled in the Second Karabakh War, lives in one of these buildings. According to him, since they cannot find equipment to drain the water from the basements, residents have to carry it out to the street in buckets themselves.

“Not even a week has passed since we drained the basement, and now it’s flooded again,” says Mamedov, gesturing toward the water-filled basement.

People trapped in sewage, homes without electricity

And the village’s problems don’t end there. The section of the Jeyranbatan water channel that runs through the village has become a nightmare for residents.

The area around the channel is neither fenced off nor guarded. As a result, people occasionally fall into the channel and drown. The most recent incident occurred in April this year when 13-year-old Samir Aliyev drowned.

“This channel flows into the Jeyranbatan reservoir, which supplies water to Baku and Sumgayit. But the top of the channel is uncovered, with no warning signs or barriers. Occasionally, people or livestock from nearby farms fall into the channel and die. The danger is significant. It’s high time something was done about this,” says Elshad Guseynov, a village resident.

He also mentioned that during windy and rainy days, electrical outages occur, plunging the village of Shafak into darkness. At the time of publishing this article, the village had been without electricity for three days.

“We spent three days in the dark. The heating system didn’t work, and we were freezing in our apartments. They say it’s going to be windy and rainy again soon. We’re afraid the electricity might go out again,” he added.