Mariya Hüseynova: No one in Azerbaijan asks me why I speak Bulgarian

Bulgarians in Azerbaijan preserve their culture and language

published on 10/15/24 3:39 PM

Мария Гусейнова

"I love Bulgaria, this is the country of my historical roots," says Mariya Hüseynova, chairwoman of the public association "Support for the Development of Azerbaijani-Bulgarian Friendship", her voice full of excitement. Once a year she comes to Bulgaria to hold meetings with representatives of various institutions to support projects aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation. Today she organised a presentation of the Azerbaijani model of multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue at Sofia University.

"Multiculturalism is a picture of life - how people live, how they treat national minorities. Azerbaijan is a very friendly country," Mariya Hüseynova told Radio Bulgaria. - In the 1920s and 1930s, Bulgarian migrants arrived in the city of Ganja in Azerbaijan. The local people were very friendly, helped them to find work, gave them houses, and a large Bulgarian colony was established in Ganja, which is why it was called 'the Bulgarian colony'.

The Bulgarians there have kept and are still keeping their traditions, customs and, most importantly, their religion and language. It is a great indicator of Azerbaijan's multicultural policy that no one has ever asked me or the other Bulgarians "why you speak Bulgarian". In Azerbaijan, language, culture and national belonging are preserved".

Meeting with students from the Centre for Azerbaijani Language and Culture at Sofia University.

There are about 300 Bulgarians living in the country on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, Mariya Hüseynova tells us. And this figure does not include the Bulgarians who have come to work there in recent years or the Bessarabian Bulgarians who have started families there. Mariya herself was born in Azerbaijan, but her roots go back to Bulgaria and Bessarabia, where her ancestors settled, but fled during the harsh period of the Holodomor.

She learnt Bulgarian from her grandmother and her grandchildren now attend Bulgarian universities. She holds Bulgarian citizenship and says she has two homes: "one is the historical one - Bulgaria, the other - Azerbaijan, where I was born". She follows developments in Bulgaria but does not feel wronged by the fact that there will be no polling station in Baku for the upcoming elections on 27 October.

"The Bulgarian people are wise and will choose the path that leads them to progress. I really want Bulgaria to be a prosperous country - I mean nanotechnology, information, young people should have a good reason to stay in their homeland and not look for other ways. It is a very beautiful country and let us hope that the elections will confirm the desire of the Bulgarian people to live democratically and progressively - that is my greatest hope for the Bulgarians".

Maria Guseynova – a guardian of the Bulgarian spirit in Azerbaijan

In the summer of 2005, with the financial support of the State Support Agency for NGOs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the association headed by Mariya Hüseynova began publishing an international annual magazine, Accord.

"I am very happy that we publish this magazine in Bulgarian, in which we tell about the Bulgarian community, about important political events, such as the presidential elections in Azerbaijan - his attitude towards national minorities was a benchmark for his victory. We reported on our event in March at the National History Museum, where Azerbaijani children painted a Bulgarian rose and Bulgarian children painted their ideas about Azerbaijan".

Bulgarians in Azerbaijan keep their language, culture and customs alive

For such events, President Ilham Aliyev awarded her the "100 years of Heydar Aliyev (1923-2023)" jubilee medal and the Tereggi medal.

Mariya Huseynova and Elena Karkalanova after the interview in the BNR studio.

"This recognition gives me a new impetus, a great desire to do even more for bilateral relations. It obliges me to work even more for the relations between two friendly peoples - Bulgarians and Azerbaijanis," says Mariya Huseynova.

Photos: Elena Karkalanova, BTA

Posted in English by E. Radkova

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