Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada)
August 3, 2004 Tuesday Final Edition

Finding richness in a new land; Canadians from the former Soviet
state of Azerbaijan are contributing here while respecting their past

Special to The Hamilton Spectator

by Nazila Isgandarova

Bitter territorial wars, people forced from their homes and made to
be refugees, and a passionate struggle for democracy. These are the
wounds of Azerbaijan.

Strong black oil, Caspian caviar and a history that is vibrant with
beauty and intellect. This is what Akbar Majidov thinks of as the
pearls of Azeri society. The bitter and sweet of Azerbaijan is what
Majidov and his Hamilton friends like to talk about when they get
together.

Majidov lives in Hamilton with his wife and two young sons. He is
originally from Karabakh, a western region of Azerbaijan, a former
Soviet state that hugs the Caspian Sea, sandwiched between Armenia to
the west, Russia to the north and Iran to the south. He is a member
of the Union of Azerbaijan Journalists.

Recently, Majidov and his friends formed a new organization, the
Azerbaijan Cultural and Education Centre, which operates in Hamilton
and Toronto.

The members of the centre hold meetings every Saturday in parks and
the homes of members.

There are about 1,000 people from Azerbaijan in Hamilton and the
Greater Toronto Area.

Majidov likes the cultural meetings. He says they help him learn the
language and build communication with other members of society. He
tries to contribute to Canadian society through facilitating the
strength and skills of the members of the Azeri community. He is also
an active volunteer in the Turkish community by representing their
newspapers Sunrise and Zaman in Hamilton.

Azerbaijan has a largely Muslim population. There are many problems.
This country is split and has not resolved a conflict with Armenia
over land issues. There are close to one million refugees.

Several Canadian Azeri organizations have recently split over
internal differences and shut down. But many members of the Hamilton
and Toronto Azeri community have united with the education centre.

Zeynalabdin Zeynalov, Ibrahim Aliev, Ilham Babayev and Sahib Hesenov
are senior members of the Azerbaijan Cultural and Education Centre.
It’s easy to feel their enthusiasm for what is happening.

Much of the area’s small Azeri population lives in Toronto. Majidov
says he likes Hamilton because it’s a city that makes him feel
welcome.

He is proud that the area community celebrated Azerbaijan’s
independence day May 30 in Dundas at Webster’s Falls.

Majidov says the Azerbaijan community has made many contributions to
Canadian society. Many prominent names are well-known in the field of
technology, medicine and science. Among them Dr. Reza Moridi, the
2001 recipient of Canadian Nuclear Society’s Education and
Communication Award, Dr. Ilham Akhundov, professor in McMaster
University and Yusif Savalan, the beloved musician of the Azeri
community in Canada.

But the centre stands on the shoulders of lay people such as
Zeynalabidin Zeynalov, Ibrahim Aliyev, Zemine Zaynalova, Munira
Babayeva and her husband, Ilham Babayev, Sanan Abbasov and his wife,
Gulebetin Abbasov.

Zeynalov and Aliyev are the inspiration for members. Zeynalov was
trained as an economist and he manages the centre’s affairs. Most of
the time he opens his apartment to members for the weekly meetings.
After every meeting his wife, Zemine, invites the participants to
share delicious Azeri food.

Majidov said one of his goals is to raise awareness about the
relationship between Azerbaijan and Canada. He said he hopes Canada
will support the development of civil society in Azerbaijan.

* Nazila Isgandarova is originally from Azerbaijan and converted to
Islam when she was 23. She is a member of the Union of Azerbaijan
Journalists and has worked as a journalist since 1995. She is writing
a thesis on Koranic translations in Azerbaijan. She is an interpreter
at Settlement Integration Services Organization and the North
Hamilton Community Health Centre. She speaks, reads and writes in
Azeri, Turkish, English, Russian and Arabic.

* Usman Khan is a freelance photographer based in Stoney Creek and
has worked for domestic newspapers and foreign wire services in
Pakistan before emigrating to Canada.

GRAPHIC: Photo: Usman Khan, Special to the Spectator; Akbar Majidov,
president of the Azerbaijan Cultural and Educational Centre, speaks
to members at a gathering recently. The pearls of Azeri culture are
black oil, beauty, intellect and Caspian Sea caviar, he says.