|
Kurdistan: Kurdish 'men of the night' ply
dangerous trade with Iran
29.6.2008
By Asso Ahmed on the Iraqi Kurdistan-Iran border
|
|
|
June
29, 2008
Iraqi Kurdistan region-Iran border, — They
are known as the “men of the night.”
A rugged group sits in front of a liquor store in
the northern foothills of Iraq, swapping stories and
glasses of whiskey as their horses feed nearby. As
dusk approaches, they begin strapping heavy cartons
onto their animals for the long journey ahead.
Their cargo: bottles of Absolut vodka, Johnnie
Walker and Chivas Regal Scotch whiskey destined for
Iran.
Trade has flourished between the two countries for
centuries. Some of it is legitimate, some of it not.
In the ethnic Kurdish enclaves on either side of the
border,www.ekurd.net
many livelihoods are
built on the illicit flow of alcohol, cigarettes and
other contraband into Iran.
It is a profession fraught with danger. The
smugglers travel along narrow paths riddled with
land mines from the eight-year war between Iran and
Iraq in the 1980s. Many have been maimed or killed
in explosions, they say.
Sometimes, the Iranian border guards can be
persuaded to let them pass for hefty bribes. But
often, they will shoot at the smugglers and their
animals.
Iranian border guards have killed at least one
smuggler and 10 horses in the last 10 days, said
Payman Mahmoodi, an Iranian Kurd and father of
three.
Authorities in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region
of northern Iraq are reluctant to discuss the scale
of the illicit trade, which is a sticking point in
relations with their powerful eastern neighbor. But
the smugglers say about 200 horses laden with
alcohol cross into Iran every night from this remote
spot. |
A smuggler loads his horse with a carton of liquor
before the long and dangerous trip into Iran. Photo:
LA.Times.
Iraqi Kurds selling Whisky on Iraqi Kurdistan-Iran
border. Photo: Archive |
Each trip takes three days in each direction and
earns the men no more than $70 or $80, Shehab Fizi
said. But there are few other ways to earn a living
in these impoverished villages.
Donkeys and mules could carry bigger loads, but Fizi
said most of the men prefer the speed of horses. It
improves the odds of escaping a police or military
ambush.
“He is part of my life,” Fizi said, planting a kiss
on his stallion named Crazy Horse.
Fizi recalled an attack last year in which one of
his friends was killed.
"We ran away, but his horse stayed beside him until
daylight," he said.
The men say they repay their horses’ loyalty by
giving them as much time as they can to rest up
between trips -- and the occasional shot of whiskey
to help them through a cold winter’s night.
As they finished loading up, a man who gave his name
only as Thiman hummed a traditional Kurdish song.
Gazing toward the border, he said: "I don't know
what fate has in store for me: maybe death by the
Iranian soldiers, or maybe enough money to live for
another week.”
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
latimesblogs.latimes com
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 