Stop Killing the Kulbars!
187
Signatures
500
Goal
June 16, 2024
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.
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.
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.
Recent events
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See where all the votes are coming from
Province Number of signatures Alborz 4 Ardabil 0 Bushehr 0 Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari 0 East Azerbaijan 0 Fars 0 Gilan 0 Golestan 0 Hamadan 0 Hormozgan 0 Ilam 0 Isfahan 1 Kerman 0 Kermanshah 0 Khuzestan 0 Kohgiluyehv And Boyer Ahmad 0 Kurdistan 5 Lorestan 0 Markazi 0 Mazandaran 0 North Khorasan 0 Qazvin 0 Qom 0 Razavi Khorasan 0 Semnan 0 Sistan and Baluchestan 0 South Khorasan 0 Tehran 5 West Azerbaijan 1 Yazd 0 Zanjan 0 This petition has received 187 signatures so far. Approximately 87% of signatures come from Iran. Approximately 13% of signatures come from outside of Iran. Learn how Daadkhast generates signature maps. -
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A Kurdish Activist started this petition
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