“The Coronavirus pandemic has been an unexpected misfortune for the whole world. The pandemic has obviously caused a lot of deaths, but also brought with it a host of socio-economic challenges. It is no coincidence that most countries call the fight against pandemic an invisible war. Thankfully, today Azerbaijan is in a less bad situation than most other countries, but it should be acknowledged that our country will not go unaffected, either. What’s important is to get out of this battle with minimal losses, and to implement rapid rehabilitation measures in the post-coronavirus period. To do so, we must stand behind our state in unison,” Executive Director of Baku International Multiculturalism Center Ravan Hasanov told 525.

Hasanov said the accurate and timely steps taken by the state of Azerbaijan to prevent the spread of the pandemic have helped our country in its current efforts to get out of this situation with minimal losses. “It is no coincidence that the World Health Organization has highly appreciated the precautionary medical and sanitary measures taken by Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev’s quick and appropriate response to the situation has prevented dozens of deaths. Along with all of this, the steps taken in our country to revitalize the economy and to improve the social welfare of our people during the pandemic period have been vital, because the world economy is experiencing today a global regression, and it seems like this situation will persist for some time. The socio-economic package developed by our state to protect economy has once again showed that Azerbaijan is a social state and always cares for its citizens,” Hasanov said.   

According to Hasanov, the period of quarantine has brought along new habits for people and organizations alike. Baku International Multiculturalism Center now continues its activities in real time due to the existing situation. “Practically, we have not faced any significant problem in our activities. On the contrary, we organize our work more quickly and efficiently. We will soon present to the public our projects on the promotion of Azerbaijan’s multicultural values in a new format. In this connection, we keep in touch with both our staff and our Center’s members around the world through regular video conferences,” Hasanov added.   

“Of course, it is difficult to stay at home and work from home. One can imagine how difficult it is, particularly for people who are used to a daily work routine and has developed some habits over years. But, my dear people, we have to remember that this situation is not bound to our wishes. We can only win this war by valuing and protecting each-other. If acting responsibly we can save dozens of lives, then it is worth to endure all hardships. The people of Azerbaijan have overcome the hard tests and trials of history with a clear conscience mainly because of our values. Today, we as citizens must stand behind our state. I am confident that we will together overcome this situation faster by staying at home,” Hasanov stressed.

According to the executive director, he also fully complies with the existing rules during these quarantine days. “I try to only leave home on rare occasions, when there is an absolute urgency, and each time I follow the sanitary rules unconditionally. My family members do the same. I organize all my meetings through video conferences. Initially, it was difficult for me, too. But now I am used to it. I think that the best way to defeat this virus is to avoid being infected in the first place. Therefore, we should not act negligently and should assess the situation correctly. I am living through this social distancing period in a planned way. This is very important. You should definitely plan your day and spend it effectively. Otherwise, you can experience spiritual and psychological emptiness. We should maintain the sleep routine and not be depressive. We must keep in mind that this situation will soon go away. The period of social distancing gave me sufficient time to work on my academic endeavors and read new literature. I commit a part of my day to work, as usual, another part to academic affairs and reading, and the rest to my family. Normally, I am someone who is always short of time. But we should turn this quarantine period into an advantage. I try to make the most of this advantage,” Hasanov said.