Old market in Baku threatened with demolition: What are workers saying?
Bazaar in Baku to be demolished?
“Keşlə Bazaar” has been operating for nearly 30 years in Keşlə, a Baku municipality. Vendors suspect that the market is set to be demolished and fear losing their livelihoods.
In early May, the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads (SAAR) announced that it would begin constructing a new road according to the new master plan for Baku. Currently, they are measuring the structures that will be in the construction zone.
The “Keshla Bazaar” is located in the area where the road will be built. The SAAR press service stated that it is still unknown whether the market will be demolished or not. This decision has not been made yet. However, representatives from the transport agency have been surveying the market, which has significantly increased the concerns of the people who work there.
“We spend more time here than at home”
“Keşlə Bazaar” consists of two sections—one fully enclosed and the other partially open-air. People here earn their livelihoods in various ways, from shoe repair to selling chickens.
The market workers say that the rent here is cheaper than at other markets. They can work here for just a few manats a day. This is one of the main reasons why the vendors of Keşlə Bazaar do not want to leave.
“A few days ago, two people came with tape measures and started measuring the market area. We asked if the news was true, if the market was really going to be demolished. They said, ‘We don’t know, we haven’t been told anything. We were just instructed to measure the area, so we are measuring,’” recounts Sanubar Aliyeva, one of the market vendors.
48-year-old Sanubar Aliyeva has been working at the ‘Keshla Bazaar’ with her husband for 17 years. They say theyprovide for their family by selling chickens and eggs from a small stall here.
“For us, this market has been like our home for 17 years. We spend more time here than at home. And if they take it away from us, we don’t know what to do. I have four grandchildren and three sons. We live together. We all earn 5-10 manats a day, mostly from this market,” Sanubar says, leaning on the counter.
“But when the market management came to collect the fees for the stalls, they said, ‘Don’t worry, the market won’t be demolished,'” says another vendor, addressing Sanubar.
“Do you think they would say they’re going to demolish the market when they came to collect the fees?!” joked a third vendor.
“No one cares about us”
The ‘Keshla Bazaar’ is not as bustling as it used to be. It seems that rumors of the market’s demolition have reached even the buyers.
“What is she taking pictures of? She’s capturing our lives. She’s capturing how they’re taking away our only means of existence. Aren’t we supposed to talk about what will happen to us, how we’ll live on if the market is demolished?!” Before I could answer, Aunt Sadagat responded for me from behind her counter.
Aunt Sadagat is 62 years old. According to her, she has been working here practically since the market was founded. She sells fruits and vegetables seasonally on her one-meter counter.
She lives with her daughter, three sons, their wives, as well as five grandchildren in their two-bedroom house on the outskirts of Baku.
“My children cannot afford to rent an apartment and live separately. What we earn barely covers food and clothing. If it came to that, I don’t like sitting here from morning till night at all. But what can I do, I have no choice. Instead of creating new job opportunities, they are closing existing ones,” complains Aunt Sadagat.
Bazaar in Baku to be demolished?
