Lack of Will to Solve Problems of Porters in Iran; Another Porter Killed

Azad Satarpanah, a 43-year-old porter, died on Tuesday, November 7, as a result of gunfire from Islamic Republic military forces at the 'Hengeh-Jaleh' border in Baneh. In this context, Leila Marouti, a political analyst and collaborator with the Mukrian News Agency in Finland, states: 'Portering is a result of political, social, and economic inequalities in Kurdish regions and across the country, and there is no will to solve the problems of porters.' According to the Mukrian News Agency, Mr. Satarpanah was from the village of Dareh Ziarat Aliyah in the Saqqez district, married, and had two children. On the same day, another porter from Marivan named Payam Rezaei was injured in the leg due to a landmine explosion at the 'Sauj' border. Leila Marouti, who currently resides in Helsinki, Finland, stated in an interview with Voice of America that she believes 'there is no will to solve the porter issue,' adding: 'Portering is a result of existing political, social, and economic inequalities in Kurdish regions and the entire country.' She pointed out that the phenomenon of portering has expanded from border cities in Kurdish areas to non-border cities, mentioning that children, teenagers, and young women and girls are now engaged in portering, a situation caused by 'unequal distribution of wealth and resources,' especially 'after the revolution.' Ms. Marouti added that certain individuals and institutions benefit economically from the continuation of portering and have no will to eliminate it. She described the statements of Islamic Republic officials regarding the 'organization of porters' as 'more of a slogan' and reminded that no fundamental action, including creating a suitable economic environment to eliminate the phenomenon of portering, has been taken by the Islamic Republic. As long as there is a 'political and security perspective' towards Kurdish regions, portering will continue. This political analyst pointed out the lack of an official center to inform about the total number of porters and the number of individuals killed and injured while portering, stating that statistics provided by human rights organizations indicate that in the past six months of the current year (1402), about 85 porters have been injured or killed, mainly due to gunfire from government forces. According to Ms. Marouti, 13 of the deceased were killed, and the rest were injured while portering. She added that in addition to the lack of official information about porters, the concerns of the victims' families about the consequences of reporting have further complicated access to accurate statistics regarding the number of porters harmed by Islamic Republic forces. Leila Marouti discussed the reasons for the continued shooting at porters, stating that despite the existence of laws regarding ownership and the use of firearms in Iran, the shortcomings of this law and the lack of oversight or adherence by Islamic Republic officials have led to many porters falling victim to direct gunfire from armed Islamic Republic forces. This political analyst noted that even the animals of porters are not safe from the gunfire of armed Islamic Republic forces and are targeted. According to Ms. Marouti, the lack of information about the fate of the goods of porters who are victims of gunfire has strengthened the speculation that shooting at porters is 'deliberate' and is done 'with the aim of accessing their goods.' She mentioned 'creating fear and terror among porters' as another reason for shooting at them. Gunfire from Islamic Republic forces left 'at least 15 injured' among porters. Human rights sources reported that a porter was killed in Baneh by military forces' gunfire. Portering is on the line of death; 85 porters have been killed or injured in six months. A porter was killed by 'direct gunfire from border forces' in the Bastam border area. A young porter died after being 'run over by a border forces vehicle' in a hospital in Saqqez. A 19-year-old in Baneh was killed 'by the Revolutionary Guards.' Mahyuddin Ebrahimi, a jailed porter, was 'executed.' A porter was killed at the Sardasht border 'by the gunfire of the Revolutionary Guards.' A porter was killed in the border areas of Baneh. The continued direct shooting at porters left one porter dead and two others injured.