Shopkeepers of border markets in the Kurdish-dominated provinces of western Iran have not opened their stores for nearly a week to protest against the closure of Iran-Iraq crossings to border couriers.
According to Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, it is not clear which of the two neighboring countries have issued the closure order.
Earlier in March, the Iranian government announced that the first official cross-border retail market for local traders was launched on the Siran Band-Baneh border in Iran’s western Kurdistan region with the aim of improving the livelihoods of border couriers.
Based on the plan, details of which are still unclear, border couriers were to receive electronic cards providing them monthly duty discounts on 5 million rials ($119) worth of purchases at the market. With the implementation of this plan, the officials claimed, the proceeds from local marketing will directly benefit the border residents.
Border couriers, referred to as “Kulbaran” in Kurdish, blame the ambiguity in the government’s so-called “Streamlining Border Transactions Plan” for their difficulties.
“The problem is people really don’t know what the benefits of these cards are. With the closure of the border crossing and high customs costs, people now see their whole lives and income in jeopardy. The income of nearly half of the people in Marivan (in Kurdistan Province) comes from border transactions,” a local courier was quoted as saying by ICCIMA’s news portal.
Mainly residing in West Azarbaijan, Kermanshah and Kurdestan provinces, border couriers carry contraband on their backs through mountainous areas to earn their livelihood. They usually carry the goods from areas bordering Iraq and Turkey to the nearest villages in Iran and from there the goods are transported to cities by road.
The tragic death of 16 border couriers in an avalanche last year prompted the government to introduce a series of measures to improve their dire economic conditions, by offering social security coverage and setting up local markets.
