Azerbaijani man wins hearts with clunker full of generosity for Türkiye quake victims

By Ceyhun Alizade and Muhammed Enes Calli

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (AA) – Ever since Monday’s powerful quakes, social media in Türkiye has been bursting with calls for help and messages of solidarity for the millions impacted in the country’s southern parts.

Still, one particular photo has garnered attention like no other, becoming a symbol of the international solidarity that has poured out in the wake of the devastating disaster, which has now claimed more than 20,200 lives in 10 southern Turkish provinces.

That photo is of a car that has clearly seen better days, with a Turkish flag hoisted on it, loaded to the brim with relief supplies.

The driver of the vehicle, a model manufactured in 1981, was Sarvar Bashirli, an Azerbaijani citizen who has inadvertently inspired an entire legion of volunteers to do their bit for the earthquake victims in Türkiye.

The photo has been viral on social media, drawing hundreds of thousands of likes and messages of praise.

Bashirli’s car had several mattresses stacked on the roof as boxes and bags of other items poked out from the open trunk.

A stranger snapped the photo as Bashirli headed to a donation center in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

“These were warm clothes and beds that I had to give. That’s what I can do. My friends and relatives asked me to deliver them, so I collected it all and went to the center,” he told Anadolu.

“For us, it is our duty to support the people of Türkiye. We (Azerbaijan and Türkiye) are two states, but one nation. We are only doing what is necessary. We are doing it and we will continue to do so,” he said.

Despite their own economic hardships, Bashirli and his brother are adamant on helping people in Türkiye, a drive that stems partially from their own past as they were among the thousands displaced from their homeland in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region.

Their donations included items that came from relatives who themselves were forced out of Lachin, an Azerbaijani region that was illegally occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades.

“My car may be old, but our hearts are big. We must help our brotherly nation,” the 33-year-old said.

His cousin, Imamverdi Bashirli, shared the sentiments: “We are doing, and will keep doing, whatever we can for Türkiye. All Azerbaijani people are with Türkiye.”

Bashirli’s grandmother, Mahizer Memmedova, said she could not hold back her tears after seeing images of the destruction in Türkiye.

“I cried a lot when I saw it on television. My grandson told me that those people are out in the cold, so I told him to take all my blankets to them,” she said.

After seeing his heroic efforts, a group of Turkish and Azerbaijani businesspeople has decided to send Bashirli to Türkiye to help out in relief operations.

Bashirli’s actions aptly demonstrate how every Azerbaijani feels about Türkiye, said Huseyin Buyukfirat, who heads the Turkish-Azerbaijan Businessmen and Industrialists Association.