Beginning In Baku
Since returning from a month long placement in Baku, Azerbaijan I have been able to enjoy a period of reflection, in which I have been able to think about all that I saw, all that I experienced, and all that I need to do now that I am back in the UK to ensure that my Baku experience does not begin and end in July 2009, but rather becomes a piece of a much bigger picture.
Before embarking upon this whole experience, almost exactly a year ago now, I had little idea of what to expect. Beginning the application process for this placement was not only my first contact with BOVA but also with the Salesians; from the very beginning I have been learning, of these organisations, of problems and of solutions. Coming from an environment where everything was new I had no concrete expectations; there were so many unknowns, but 12 months later I am very aware of many changes and many steps forward in my understanding towards development work, the Salesians and a whole new and previously unknown part of the world.
Azerbaijan was a country I had heard of; and that was all. On being invited to spend a month with the Salesian community there I had much to learn and I had two months to do it. I began with an atlas, moving on to various history journals and eventually making efforts to meet people from Azerbaijan to learn of the country before I arrived there. This was useful but it was nothing compared to what I learnt in the one month there.
The language, the history, the politics, the economy, the very geography of Azerbaijan was new to me but so was the idea of community living, so were the people I shared a bed with and so was the centre in which I worked. Whilst the former as
pects are indubitably significant and serve as explanation for much of what one can read of and see in this country it was the latter that taught me most. | experienced, albeit for a short time, what it was like to share all parts of daily life, what it was to live in a Christian community, what it was to live in a Christian community in a non-Christian environment. I witnessed people dedicating their lives to help young people, by teaching them, supporting them and most importantly by being friends with them. I saw that in this country where so much was different so much was the same. It was friendship and being together that alone seemed to transcend whatever differences there may have been between the rich and poor in their own country, between Europe and Asia and between the young and old.
The month passed quickly and returning home was strange. I had just began to settle in this new place and see the questions that needed answering when it was time to leave and I left with more questions than I had before I arrived in this previously unknown country. Questions not just relating to Azerbaijan, but relating to the UK also. Questions not just about the specific community I lived and worked in, but about ‘big’ things like poverty. Questions that have answers but that need to searched for and problems with solutions but that need to worked for.
The experience was short and there is still much to learn about, but I now understand it was a just a step on this journey, not the destination. Baku was not the end of it all, it was not where the training weekends, the research, the involvement with the Salesians and the learning stops. The longest part is still ahead but since getting involved with Bova and the Salesians, having seen others who are on this same journey, it is so much easier to continue with it with renewed and increased understanding, inspiration and determination. Baku was just the beginning.
Fionnuala O’Connor