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Islam Shikhali
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Islam is a journalist living in Azerbaijan focusing on politics, human rights, and the socioeconomic situation in the country. His work has appeared on RFE/RL, Abzas, and others. He has also worked a
The border checkpoint between Azerbaijan’s Gazakh region and Georgia. Islam Shikhali/OC Media.
Azerbaijan

Three years since the COVID outbreak, Azerbaijanis still cannot cross their border

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Three years after Azerbaijan closed its land borders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, those borders remain closed. But what did their closure mean for Azerbaijan’s people and government? Shahin Valiyev’s final years in life were marked by displacement, fear over the COVID-19 pandemic, and an inability to return home to Azerbaijan. Shortly after the pandemic made headlines around the world in 2020, Azerbaijan closed its land borders. Many Azerbaijanis studying or working in neighbou