Terminology: A "kulbar" (کولبر) is a cargo porter working in the Kurdistan border areas who carries heavy commercial goods across dangerous western border regions of Iran to avoid detection by border guards.
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According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, at least 39 Kurdish kulbars were killed in the border areas of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah provinces during the Iranian calendar year 1402 (March 21, 2023, to March 21, 2024). Of these, 27, including one child, were shot directly by Iranian military forces, and Iraqi border guards killed one.
Additionally, 356 kulbars were severely injured. Among these, 311, including 15 children, were wounded by Iranian military gunfire, eight by beatings, six by falling from heights during military pursuits, and five by Iraqi border guards' gunfire. Other injuries included 11 from road accidents, nine from falls, and six from landmine explosions.
In the first half of 2024, according to the Kurdpa News Agency, 33 kulbars lost their lives, and 254 people, including 14 children, were injured. Most of these cases were due to gunfire from security forces.
For years, Kurds living in the border regions of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey in the provinces of Urmia, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah have relied on kulbari for survival due to the absence of economic programs and infrastructure and uneven development compared to central Iran.
Kulbari is a necessity, not a choice. It is a dangerous job that has become the only means to earn a living due to the lack of job opportunities and a productive economy. Many kulbars lose their lives due to direct gunfire from border forces, falling from heights, or stepping on landmines left from the Iran-Iraq war.
Kulbari does not discriminate by age or gender; people as young as 13 and as old as 70 engage in it to make a living.
Kulbari is not smuggling but a reflection of the historical oppression that emerged with the formation of the modern nation-state, industrialization, and capitalism. It is an economic devaluation of the Kurdish people, a result of the central government's colonial policies towards other nationalities in Iran.
The systematic marginalization by the central government, manifesting in economic and national oppression, is evident in the plight of the kulbars.
We, the undersigned, call upon officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, human rights organizations, and related entities to break their silence regarding the daily killings of kulbars. We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran be compelled to:
1. Immediately cease direct shootings, violence, and harassment against kulbars by Iranian and Iraqi border forces.
2. Allow kulbars to work without interference until sustainable job opportunities can be established.
3. Facilitate international oversight and intervention to address the systematic killing and ensure the protection of kulbars' rights.
We urgently request the immediate intervention of international legal and judicial organizations to address and resolve the systematic and daily killing of kulbars.
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ناشناس
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Sara Ahmadian
تیراندازی مستقیم، قتل، خشونت، و آزار کولبرها به دست نیروهای مرزی ایران.
سارا پورنیک
تیراندازی مستقیم، قتل، خشونت، و آزار کولبرها به دست نیروهای مرزی ایران.
ناصر عثمانی، کولبر اهل ربط شهرستان سردشت در حین کولبری در مناطق مرزی شهرستان بانه بر اثر سقوط از ارتفاع جان خود را از دست داد.
بنا به اطلاع شبکه حقوق بشر کردستان، شامگاه چهارشنبه ۱۰ مرداد ۱۴۰۳، وی در حین کولبری در ارتفاعات مرزی « نیروان» بانه دچار سقوط شد و جان خود را از دست داد. روز پنجشنبه ۱۱ مرداد، پیکر این کولبر پس از جستجوی چند ساعته مردمی در این منطقه مرزی پیدا شد و برای خاکسپاری به ربط انتقال یافت. ناصر عثمانی، ۴۲ ساله، پدر یک فرزند و اهل ربط استان آذربایجان غربی بود.
- ۱۰ مرداد ۱۴۰۳
به گزارش کولبرنیوز، بامداد روز پنجشنبه ۴ مردادماه ۱۴۰۳، نیروهای هنگمرزی در نوارمرزی نوسود دستکم چهار کولبر را مورد ضرب و شتم قرار داده و به شدت زخمی کردند. بر اساس این گزارش هویت این کولبران «محمد (فامیلی نامشخص)»، «بهروز (فامیلی نامشخص)»، «دلیار (فامیلی نامشخص)»، «حسام (فامیلی نامشخص)» و همگی از اهالی روستای «دشه» از توابع شهرستان پاوه میباشند.
- ۴ مرداد ۱۴۰۳
ریبوار رشیدی، کاسبکار اهل بانه پس از دو هفته بستری شدن در یکی از مراکز درمانی سنندج، به علت شدت جراحات جان خود را از دست داد. بنا به اطلاع شبکه حقوق بشر کردستان، این کاسبکار در تاریخ ۱۷ تیر در منطقه مرزی «هنگهژال» بانه استان کردستان با تیراندازی نیروهای مرزبانی ایران به شدت مجروح شد. ریبوار رشیدی برای مداوا به یکی از مراکز درمانی سنندج منتقل و یک پای وی از زانو قطع شد. او که به دلیل شدت جراحات در کما به سر میبرد، یکشنبه ۳۱ تیر جان باخت.
- ۳۱ تیر ۱۴۰۳