Portraying ten-year-old Nazrin Khanlarova, who was born in the Gizilgum IDP and refugee camp, all MPs have received a personal greeting, reading: “On behalf of my fellow 1 million refugees and IDPs in Azerbaijan, I congratulate you being elected as an MP and wish you ‘many happy returns’ to Parliament.”
For more information, we should mention that Many Happy Returns campaign is a landmark initiative of The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS). This supports an innovative concept whereby a birthday card is sent to every MP in the UK Parliament. In each instance, the card contains a personal message from one of the estimated 1 million Azerbaijani Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) or refugees.
The cards feature the common English birthday greeting ‘Many Happy Returns’ which, in this instance, also refers to the desire of the people to return home. Each card includes a portrait of an IDP or refugee, taken in three camps by the renowned German photographer Philipp Rathmer.
On the MHR website, the recipients can learn about the background to the conflict in graphic novel form, read personal testimonies, register their support and sign a petition. They can also view messages of support from different political and cultural figures.
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