Kurd porter falls to death off cliff while being chased by police in western Iran

Iran-HRM – A Kurdish man lost his life after falling off a cliff to his death while being chased by security forces in a mountainous border region where he was working as a porter.

Hiva Ghaderi was killed on April 17 in Baneh, western Iran and locals transferred his body to a medical clinic.

On the same day, another porter identified as Haji Mineh Ali was shot by the border police in Sardasht, western Iran and was severely injured. Haji was also transferred to the hospital to receive medical attention.

Iran’s porters (kolbars)

Porters (Kolbars) are poor people who transfer goods such as fuel, cigarettes, electric equipment, clothing, tires, etc. with great difficulty and at a high risk to their lives to earn a living for their families. They sometimes have to transfer 100 to 150 kilograms on their backs in the mountains and valleys, in hot summer or cold winter.

More than 68,000 porters are working in Iran’s border provinces, of which 16,000 to 18,000 are in Piranshahr and Sardasht, official statistics indicate.

Unofficial sources however estimate the actual number of porters to be around 350 to 500 thousand in border provinces.

Due to the lack of economic development, increasing poverty and unemployment in predominantly Kurdish region of western Iran, much of the local economy relies on such trade.

The State Security forces target the porters without any prior warnings under the pretext of “fighting trafficking of goods,” a practice which is in contravention of the law.

If not killed by security forces, kolbars die from avalanches, falling off mountains, hyperthermia, and hypothermia.