00:00It's been a busy morning at border control in Astara between Iran and Azerbaijan.
00:05The government has made a decision to help its local citizens back into the country
00:09and foreign nationals to transit through.
00:14So this is the area, as you can see around me,
00:17where those people who have fled the conflict in Iran come through,
00:21and this is the security area.
00:23I've been told that over 500 Russians are coming through.
00:26This is the beginning of that queue, and they know that now that they've arrived here,
00:31they will be able to transit through the country, through Azerbaijan,
00:34and travel safely back to their country of residence.
00:40This family from Pakistan travelled from Tehran,
00:43a tough journey with heavy suitcases and young children.
00:47We were living in Iran, so we came here by road from the border, we crossed the border.
00:53How was the journey?
00:53It was good.
00:54We came from the bus to the border, and then we come here.
01:01It was like blasting here.
01:02I've been told by officials that once they do get that safe passage from Iran to come here into Azerbaijan,
01:08then they are guaranteed that they will be safe.
01:11Now, we have had a huge cohort of Chinese nationals come through, and we are expecting more.
01:16So far, official figures suggest over 300 people have made the journey through this crossing.
01:22For those who make it, the relief for a guaranteed safe passage is clear.
01:42The numbers of those using the Astara corridor are increasing day by day, hour by hour.
01:48But once they're here, the hot cup of chai and a smile will be the start of the next leg
01:53of their journey home.
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