Health & Safety

Safety in Azerbaijan, like many other things, is an odd dynamic.  Any day can bring one into various situations that could compromise one’s health or life just as it can in any country, but it’s I’ve noticed many differences from home.  I don’t actually fear for my life, or feel threatened by men (just annoyed mostly.)  I haven’t seen a big drug problem and stealing is pretty rare.  But there are instances that still leave a question mark over my head as to how people come to conclusions about what is considered safe and what isn’t.

In the early days of living here I was constantly taken aback by the driving and road rules-as the only rule that seemed to be established was that there were no rules.  (I’m confident my parents can second this observation from their taxi ride to my town.  While the driver proudly and repeatedly mentioned his knowledge of police checkpoints and sped and slowed down accordingly, weaving in and out of other buses and cars along the way, my mother left nail prints in my arm.)  I’m still not sure if there is an actual ‘test’ one has to take to be able to drive as I’ve heard stories of boys as young as 12 saying they’ve driven a car.  One rule for sure, at least in my town, is that women don’t drive.  There have been a few occasions where I’ve been walking (or running) on a road and a car passing another car comes so close to me I have to catch my breath.

Gas is another safety issue.  There are frequent deaths of locals and just a few months ago my co-teacher told me of a 12-year-old boy who died from a gas leak in the bathroom.  The gas doesn’t have a smell and there are no such thing as smoke detectors (PC gives PCVs so we all have, rest assure) but it’s not shocking, although sad, to hear of a local who’s house had a fire due to gas problems.

In my first house, the gas was so dirty and problematic that I had a few scares myself.  While I only had a two burner stove (picture a George Forman) I could only use one burner at a time.  The few times I lit both burners, they would either be so low or a huge flame would shoot out from underneath the entire stove as if threatening me to blow up.  I envisioned a news article titled “Peace Corps Volunteer in Zerdab dies alone due to gas problem” and promised myself to only use one burner at a time.

Besides these issues Azerbaijan is a relatively safe country to live in.  I don’t fear for my life most days and although I’m not sure what the environmental impact is doing to my insides, only time will tell.  I’m able to cut down on the exposure to cigarette smoke since luckily most of the families I spend time with don’t have men who smoke. 

What I might consider to be a safety issue can differ greatly from what an Azeri might consider a safety issue.  For example, although most people do fear gas issues, I don’t know many people who are afraid of taxi or bus rides.  No one is concerned with wearing seatbelts and it’s all too common to see a three-year-old boy (or younger) sitting in the front seat leaning on the dashboard. I shutter at the sight of these every time. 

When the hot days of summer come along and all I dream about are ice cold drinks, most people seem concerned when I refuse boiling hot tea and warn me of a sore throat and headache if I drink a cold beverage.  Also, if I go barefoot I’m given a wary look since the floor might be cold.  I’m not afraid I say, these things don’t concern me too much. 

Since moving to an apartment I’ve given up my nice yard, a lot of privacy and as a result, forgone any peace and quiet.  I miss the days of hearing the chickens, sheep and cows of my neighbors yard and now have to listen to neighbors children running around at the oddest hours, probably hyped up on eight cubes of sugar from one cup of tea.  The second floor has its benefits but that gives me a balcony that’s on top of my neighbor’s balcony.  There is probably a distance of 12 feet between the two.  They were building the balcony when I moved in so I’m unsure of if they meant it to remain opened as is or if they’re currently out of money to finish it.  Nonetheless, they have 2 young boys probably the ages of 4 and 7 who run around on this second floor balcony with no edges and nothing to stop them should one go a little too far. 

After almost two years and all the crazy things I’ve seen in this country I might be a tad jaded, things just are the way they are.  I just can’t help but think to myself that they might be more concerned with this balcony issue (or future diabetes) and less concerned with being a little too cold.  Maybe that’s just me, I might not be thinking logically. After all, I am barefoot at the moment.