On August 6, Sunday, a chilling report emerged from a human rights website detailing an assault by the Iranian regime’s border forces on porters in Kermanshah province, resulting in the wounding of eight kolbars (porters).
Tragically, one of the porters lost his life, and another is in critical condition. Originating from the cities of Paveh, Javanrud, and Salas-e Babajani, these porters are known for their backbreaking labor, carrying heavy loads for merchants in return for a meager pay. The unfortunate porter who lost his life in this assault was identified as 39-year-old Asu Karimi. His body was discovered in a garden close to the village of Shushmi, situated near the Iran-Iraq border.
Kolbars are a desperate lot. Facing crippling poverty and unemployment in the Kurdistan region, they risk their health and lives daily, their feet swollen and backs permanently bent, for wages that barely suffice to feed their families.
The grim conditions they work under are not only due to physical demands but also stem from the oppressive policies of the Iranian regime.
Rather than receiving assistance or understanding, these porters are confronted by the Revolutionary Guards and other security agencies of the Iranian regime. Under the guise of suppressing smuggling activities, these forces have repeatedly targeted kolbars with live ammunition. It’s a cruel irony that while these porters face violence, well-connected smugglers associated with the regime continue their operations unhindered.
This latest episode of violence has galvanized the community. Civil society activists and fellow porters from Paveh have declared their intentions to stage a protest in front of the governor’s building. An immediate reaction to the killing was seen as a sizable crowd gathered outside Paveh’s morgue, decrying the act. But the regime’s oppressive tactics didn’t end there. Security forces took custody of Asu Karimi’s body, claiming the absence of a coroner, presumably to secretly bury him and avert further protests.
Rather than receiving assistance or understanding, these porters are confronted by the Revolutionary Guards and other security agencies of the Iranian regime and brutally killed.
What conceivable threat do these weary porters present that justifies lethal force? Analysts suggest that a primary motivation for such brutality is the vested interest of the IRGC, drug cartels, and fuel smuggling groups in controlling these border routes.
Key areas like Sistan and Baluchestan in the east and Kurdistan, Ilam, and Kermanshah in the west are critical for these entities. Hence, the assault on porters is, in essence, a mix of economic and security agendas for the regime.
The lingering questions that haunt many are clear: Why is the regime so adamant about oppressing and, in some instances, killing these sole breadwinners?
This harrowing strategy, while seemingly effective for the regime, comes at a dire human cost, with hundreds dead and thousands traumatized. Yet, disturbingly, this appears to be a truth the higher echelons of the regime seem indifferent to.
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