It was a bright Sunday morning (8/12) when the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Indonesia, His Excellency Jalal Mirzayev came to Putra Setia Orphanage, Kramat Sentiong, at Central Jakarta bringing all his staff. Ambassador Jalal, who just received Credentials from President Jokowi on November 20, 2019, was welcomed with great joy by the Chairwoman of the Foundation, Ms. Sumiyati (72). This is his first social task in Indonesia.
Eurasia Diary reports that the event was held in the context of commemorate the 16th year of the death, of Heydar Aliyev, father of the Modern Azerbaijan who was also father of Azerbaijan's National Development.
Accompanying the ambassador were Emil Ahmadov, Secretary II, Intigam Huseynov, Secretary III, and local staff of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Indonesia. The group of ten was welcomed with great of joy by smiling children and teenagers aged five to twenty years, as well as elderly people who were eager to gather with the ambassador in the hall of the orphanage.
“We all commemorate the day of the death of Mr. Heydar Aliyev, who continues to inspire us until now, and hopefully the next generation of Azerbaijani can continue to follow his footsteps in developing the country, " said Mirzayev in front of 100 people who came in the hall. Heydar Aliyev died on December 12, 2003. In his remarks in front of 42 orphans and 35 elderly, ambassador Mirzayev stated, that his first social activity carried out in an orphanage in order to commemorate the services of the founding father of the Republic of Azerbaijan which has transformed Azerbaijan into a more advanced and modern state. Heydar Aliyev was the President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003.
Heydar Aliyev was born on 10 May 1923 in Nakhchivan, Republic of Azerbaijan. During his political career he held high level official positions in former USSR (Soviet). Since 1965 he held the post of deputy chairman, and since 1967 – chairman of the Committee of State Security under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, he had rank of lieutenant general. Later in July 1969 Heydar Aliyev was elected as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. In December 1982, Heydar Aliyev was elected as member of Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union, and appointed at the post of the First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR and became one of the leaders of the USSR.
In October 1987, Heydar Aliyev, as a sign of protest against the policy pursued by Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and personally the Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from his post.
It was until mid-June 1993 where the situation in the country was very volatile indeed, even though official independence of Azerbaijan has been declared in 1991. In May-June 1993 the country was at the verge of collapse, civil war and loss of independence. 20% of internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan were occupied by Armenia and more than one million of Azerbaijanis expelled from their native lands. Heydar Aliyev’s return to politics following insistent public urge was instrumental in restoring domestic stability and initiating Azerbaijan’s further development. At this crucial period of country’s history at the request of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev returned and on 15th of June 1993 was elected as the Chairman of the Parliament of Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev, who could not stand indifferent towards misfortune of his nation, accepted the persistent invitation of his people. In October of the same year Heydar Aliyev was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Republic of Azerbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region, located at the crossroads of Europe and Southwest Asia, bordering Russia to the north, Georgia and Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (an Azerbaijani exclave) borders Armenia to the north, Iran to the south, and Turkey to the west. Azerbaijan is a secular state and has been a member of the European Council since 2001.
Ambassador Mirzayev who is very fond of children stated, "Mr. Heydar Aliyev was not only the leader of the nation, but also a good friend of children and elderly people. In Azerbaijan there are also social institutions that take care of orphan, elderly and the poor under the auspices of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, "he said.
Ambassador Mirzayev has committed to channeling the help needed by the orphanage. "I, as the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Indonesia and with my staff, will often visit this orphanage. I will return to visit here with my family next year, "he added.
Putra Setia Orphanage is one of the Social Institutions under the auspices of the Rukun Istri TP (Student Army) Foundation which was established in 1931. Maria Ulfah Subadio Sastrosatomo, is one of the prominent Indonesian women who co-founded the Foundation. The building was once the Dutch Hospital.
"Alhamdulillah, we are very grateful for the kindness given by Ambassador Mirzayev along with the delegation of the Embassy of Azerbaijan who came to our place today and met with the children to share happiness," said Sumiyati, who has served at the orphanage for 12 years.
Sumiyati spends her time doing exercises with the orphans every Saturday and Sunday morning. All the rooms are looking tidy and ambassador Mirzayev was happy to see the harmony of the orphan’s home decorated by green plants and very good air circulation which is very important for living. The orphans are obliged to have good education from Kindergarten school to Academy, and when I saw big bottle with the names stick on each bottle, I was very curious of the contain of the bottle. Wati one of the administrators informed that those are bottles contain honey of each child. The orphanage saved the money of each child given by the visitors and buy honey to give the children a natural vitamin. I saw some orphans in frame showing their graduation moments, this can be the motivation of the young orphans in the future. The orphans came from various regions including Lampung in Southern Sumatra and Karawang in West Java. The Foundation also manages a kindergarten school using the same name.
The orphans were very pleased with the presence of the Ambassador of Azerbaijan and the staff. Titin Rahmawati (18), an orphan from Cianjur, West Java was happy to meet ambassador Mirzayev. "I am proud because this is the first time that our foundation was visited by an ambassador," said Titin Rahmawati, who is quite fluent in English and who can answer question from Mirzayev when he asked to the children what the capital of Azerbaijan is.
Everyone looked happy and at the last moment of the event, the orphans and elderly prayed together before lunch. There were six children aged between five to 10 who were having pink color on their faces when Mirzayev and the other two diplomats took their tiny hands to the banquet, until one of the diplomats, Intigam Huseynov, was holding Ani, the tiny child (5) to choose the food she liked.
The program ended with a group photo session and giving out goodie bags for all the orphans who were showing their cheerful feeling. One elderly man, Edi (79) who wore Sarong and walked slowly, was happy to be present that afternoon despite being experienced from a hernia. Innocently saying that he was very lucky to be able to shake hands with an ambassador, and that was the first time for him in his life to meet a high profile man.
