The attacks of Iranian forces against Kurdish kolbars continue. Since the beginning of May, 4 Kurdish kolbars have lost their lives as a result of direct fire of Iranian forces in the border areas of Bane and Seqiz (Saqqez) cities of East Kurdistan.

The information about the murdered kolbars since the beginning of May is as follows:

On 1 May, a kolbar named Hêmin Ahmedî was killed in the Bestamî border area of Seqiz city as a result of the fire opened by Iranian forces.

On 2 May, Jalal Suhrabî, a Kurdish kolbar from Tajani village in Bane city, was killed by Iranian regime forces in Surkêwi border area.

On 5 May, Eta Rustempur, a Kurdish kolbar from Saqiz, was killed by the Iranian regime forces in the Hengejal border area of Bane.

On 7 May, a Kurdish kolbar named Muhammed Kadri from Shiwe village in Bane was killed in the Gelesure border area as a result of an attack by Iranian forces.

In these attacks, 2 kolbars were also wounded.

Eastern Kurdistan has descended deeper into poverty through the years due to deliberate policies by the Iranian regime and stands out as one of the poorest regions in Iran. Compared to other regions, the area has seen significantly less investment and development has been deliberately curbed. Agriculture and industry weren’t allowed to develop, and as a result, unemployment rose to the highest in Iran.

Faced with policies of discrimination, oppression and impoverishment, carrying smuggled goods is not a choice but a must for survival.

Kolbar comes from the Kurdish words, “kol” (back) and “bar” (load). Kolbars make their living carrying loads along the perilous borderline. Their loads include cigarettes, mobile phones, clothes, housewares, tea and seldomly alcohol. They walk through dangerous terrain to continue this trade between Southern and Eastern Kurdistan. The goods they bring are sold at high prices in Tehran, but the kolbars who risk their lives for them are paid very modestly.

The intermediaries who take the deliveries and find buyers in cities are called kasibkars.

Kolbars and kasibkars range from 13 to 70 years old. Some only finished elementary school, while others are university graduates. They carry loads, because they can’t find any other employment. In the last 5 years, some 300 kolbars and kasibkars were killed in cold blood. There are no absolute statistics available about the deaths.