ANASTASIA TAYLOR-LIND’S BEST PHOTO: A WEDDING IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH
[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]
‘The couple, Artak and Armine, received £470 at their wedding, then
£150 for their first child. Families with six kids get a house’ *
Interview by Karin Andreasson * * The Guardian, Thursday 23 January
2014 * Jump to comments (9) A wedding in Nagorno-Karabakh View
larger picture A wedding in Nagorno-Karabakh. Photograph: Anastasia
Taylor-Lind
In 2011, the world’s population reached 7 billion. When I looked
into this more, I found that reduction programmes like China’s
one-child policy had been well documented – but nothing had been
done on birth-encouragement schemes. Nagorno-Karabakh, a small
region in Azerbaijan that has declared itself independent but remains
unrecognised by the rest of the world, was one place actively trying
to increase its population – by giving out cash at births and weddings.
This couple, Artak and Armine, received around £470 at their wedding.
They could go on to get £150 for their first baby, £310 for the
second, £780 for the third, and £1,110 for the fourth. Families with
six children under the age of 18 get a house. These are significant
amounts in a country where income is very low. Within three years of
the incentive being introduced, the birth rate had spiked by 25%.
It was July 2011 and the celebrations began at Armine’s house, where
she was getting ready with her friends. It is traditional to have
two wedding parties, beginning at the bride’s village and ending
at the groom’s. The day is long, there are lots of formalities –
and even more drinking, eating and dancing. It was a challenge for
me to keep moving and not to drink too much vodka, or eat too much
of the delicious homemade cheeses and meats.
This was taken at the second celebration, in Artak’s village. Artak
and Armine are sitting in between their “best couple” – a pair who
have been married for a few years and whose job it is to be their
guardians, a bit like god parents. They will guide them through
marriage, giving advice and support. Behind me are about 200 people
eating and drinking. I think Armine looks sad because it was all so
overwhelming. Not only had she just got married, she had also moved
house – she wouldn’t be going back to her village. After the wedding,
she would live with Artak’s family.
Although the distance is only 50km, it takes about five hours to reach
Artak’s village, which is on the border with Azerbaijan, inside a
demilitarised zone. The driving is difficult – no tarmac, no gravel,
sometimes no track.
My fixer and I got a lift with one of the guests and we booked a taxi
for the return. I knew this guest was drunk, but I hadn’t realised
how badly. It took us seven hours because he kept stopping to drink.
I thought I might die – we were being driven by a drunk Russian on
mountain tracks with sheer drops. I nearly got out to walk, but the
fixer said we might get shot walking at night. The demilitarised zone
is heavily patrolled – by the Armenian army on the Nagorno-Karabakh
side and by the Azerbaijani army on the other. They often have
stand-offs, he said. Soldiers and civilians get killed.
By the time we got to the reception, we only had 20 minutes till our
taxi. I thought: what a waste of money, and what a terrible risk to
take, for nothing. I had only had time to take this one photograph. I
was in a stinking mood, but I loved the picture when I saw it.
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