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New York Times
Dec 10 2011
The National Womb
By ANASTASIA TAYLOR-LIND
Published: December 10, 2011
IN 2008, the de facto government in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed
region in the southern Caucasus, introduced a `birth encouragement
program,' which distributes cash payments to newlyweds for each
newborn, with the aim of repopulating the region more than a decade
after a devastating war.
The conflict started in 1988 and escalated into full-scale war when
the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic
Armenians went to war with Azerbaijan, with backing from neighboring
Armenia. The war left 65,000 ethnic Armenians and 40,000 ethnic Azeris
displaced. The Muslim Azeri population never returned, and neither did
many of the Armenians who had fled. While a cease-fire was declared in
May 1994 and the violence abated, there has not yet been a peace
settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
On Sept. 2, Nagorno-Karabakh celebrated 20 years of independence,
though it remains unrecognized by the international community. Life is
not easy in the republic. Unemployment is high, salaries are low,
opportunities are few; the young continue to leave in search of better
futures abroad.
Since its introduction four years ago, the `birth encouragement
program' has been credited for an increase in births, to 2,694 in 2010
from 2,145 in 2007. The program pays each couple about $780 at their
wedding, and then an additional $260 for the first baby born, $520 for
the second, $1,300 for the third and $1,820 for the fourth. Families
with six or more children under the age of 18 are given a house. These
payments are quite substantial in a region where the average monthly
salary is $50.
Payments are being made efficiently, and the support is accessible to
everyone. All of those I spoke to seemed happy and grateful for the
money. However, there are questions, yet to be answered, about the
long-term effects of encouraging so many young women to become
mothers. In a region as economically deprived as Nagorno-Karabakh, is
the solution simply to increase the birthrate? Without first improving
education, infrastructure and employment opportunities for future
generations, and raising the standard of living, the children of
today's baby boom may grow up to leave in search of better lives
abroad, just like the youths of today.
Anastasia Taylor-Lind, a photojournalist based in London, is a member
of the VII photo agency.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/opinion/sunday/the-national-womb.html
Dec 10 2011
The National Womb
By ANASTASIA TAYLOR-LIND
Published: December 10, 2011
IN 2008, the de facto government in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed
region in the southern Caucasus, introduced a `birth encouragement
program,' which distributes cash payments to newlyweds for each
newborn, with the aim of repopulating the region more than a decade
after a devastating war.
The conflict started in 1988 and escalated into full-scale war when
the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic
Armenians went to war with Azerbaijan, with backing from neighboring
Armenia. The war left 65,000 ethnic Armenians and 40,000 ethnic Azeris
displaced. The Muslim Azeri population never returned, and neither did
many of the Armenians who had fled. While a cease-fire was declared in
May 1994 and the violence abated, there has not yet been a peace
settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
On Sept. 2, Nagorno-Karabakh celebrated 20 years of independence,
though it remains unrecognized by the international community. Life is
not easy in the republic. Unemployment is high, salaries are low,
opportunities are few; the young continue to leave in search of better
futures abroad.
Since its introduction four years ago, the `birth encouragement
program' has been credited for an increase in births, to 2,694 in 2010
from 2,145 in 2007. The program pays each couple about $780 at their
wedding, and then an additional $260 for the first baby born, $520 for
the second, $1,300 for the third and $1,820 for the fourth. Families
with six or more children under the age of 18 are given a house. These
payments are quite substantial in a region where the average monthly
salary is $50.
Payments are being made efficiently, and the support is accessible to
everyone. All of those I spoke to seemed happy and grateful for the
money. However, there are questions, yet to be answered, about the
long-term effects of encouraging so many young women to become
mothers. In a region as economically deprived as Nagorno-Karabakh, is
the solution simply to increase the birthrate? Without first improving
education, infrastructure and employment opportunities for future
generations, and raising the standard of living, the children of
today's baby boom may grow up to leave in search of better lives
abroad, just like the youths of today.
Anastasia Taylor-Lind, a photojournalist based in London, is a member
of the VII photo agency.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/opinion/sunday/the-national-womb.html