Three years since the COVID outbreak, Azerbaijanis still cannot cross their border

Three years after Azerbaijan closed its land borders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, those borders remain closed. But what did their closure mean for Azerbaijan’s people and government? Shahin Valiyev’s final years in life were marked by displacement, fear over the COVID-19 pandemic, and an inability to return home to Azerbaijan. Shortly after the pandemic made headlines around the world in 2020, Azerbaijan closed its land borders. Many Azerbaijanis studying or working in neighbou