Vestnik Kavkaza
"I've thought long, more than a day. But I decided to share it. I cried yesterday. In the way grown men cry when they find out about the death of people and children.
Just as parents cry who have lost their children or even imagine it for a second.
And now I'm writing and crying at the same time.
It's doubly difficult to be a father and a journalist. It means trying to stay cool while studying news, taking comments and, at the same time, being worried and indignant.
Believe me, I held on for a long time yesterday, my professional anger helped me.
Then my two-year-old daughter came to me and asked me to kiss her before going to bed. And there was a picture on my computer screen. A photograph of a girl who died in this terrible fire. With the same curls as my girl has.
As usual, my daughter climbed into my lap and suddenly looked up at the monitor screen. And suddenly she asked: "Is that me, dad?". And I started to cry..." a blogger at haqqin.az, Nair Aliyev, writes.
There was a terrible fire in a 16-storey residential building in Baku on May 19. The fire spread so fast that in a few minutes the building turned into a fire pole. The death toll in the fire has reached 16, including three children.
The tragedy left no one indifferent to it, regardless of nationality or status.
Moldova's First Lady Margarita Timofti has called the Azerbaijani Embassy in Chisinau. "The tragedy in Baku greatly shocked me!" She expressed her condolences to the to families of victims killed or injured by the fire and asked to convey words of support to the First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva. "I know her as a fine and good person, and I share her pain," Ms. Timofti said.
"We are deeply shocked by the news about the fire in a high-rise residential building in Baku, which caused casualties. We share your grief, and on behalf of the members of the board of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, we express our deepest condolences to you, the families and relatives of the victims and to all Azerbaijani people," reads the condolence message of the managers of the Nizami Ganjavi center: former President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the Director of the Biblioteca Alexandrina, Ismail Serageldin, former President of Bulgaria Petar Stoyanov, former President of Romania Emil Constantinescu, former President of Serbia Boris Tadic, former President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko.
Ingush Leader Yunus-bek Yevkurov received the news about the fire in Baku with deep pain. "This is a terrible tragedy, it is difficult to imagine its consequences and it is impossible to find words of comfort for the families who lost their loved ones in the fire. On behalf of all the inhabitants of the republic, I want to express condolences to the families of the victims killed in the fire and to wish a speedy recovery to the injured. I am confident that the Azerbaijani authorities will do everything needed to investigate the tragedy and punish the people responsible for it.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the news with great sadness. "On my people's and my own behalf, I pray to Allah for repose of the souls of our fallen brothers and sisters, I express my condolences to the people of Azerbaijan, I wish the injured a speedy recovery. There is no doubt that Turkey is ready to provide any assistance to Azerbaijan on this issue."
Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev also expressed condolences: "Please accept my sincere condolences on the tragedy in the center of Baku, which caused human victims. On behalf of the Kyrgyz people and myself, I ask you to convey my sympathy and compassion to the families and friends of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured."
The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, called Ilham Aliyev immediately and expressed his condolences to the people of Azerbaijan in connection with the death of the people.
"I was deeply shaken by the news of the apartment building fire in Baku, on which occasion many people died. I regret that such a tragedy occurred in the city which has recently warmly welcomed me. Please convey my support to those who lost their loved ones. Please accept the expressions of the deepest condolences on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and my personal behalf," the message of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said.
President of the European Olympic Committee, Patrick Hickey, also expressed support. "I was extremely shocked by the news about the fire in Baku, which caused fatalities. I would like to express my condolences on behalf of the whole European Olympic family. The fact that one of the volunteers of the Baku European Games and his brother were among the deceased causes us greater sorrow. We offer our condolences to their family."
However, there were also cynics in neighboring Armenia, who gloated over the tragedy on social networks. The press secretary of the Armenian Heritage party, David Sanasaryan, answered them. "With full responsibility I declare that anyone who is glad that there was a fire in Baku which resulted casualties, including children, has lost a human face, or didn't have it at all. You lose to Hitler by the folds of the brain, at least he was smart. Many of you might be worse and more dangerous than Hitler. You must look for another place to show your patriotism."
