Alcohol Smuggling
KVO1:
On the mountains of Kurdistan between Iraq, Iran and Turkey it snows for most of the winter, and while the routes are unsuitable for cars, the traffic on horseback remains busy for the black market.
These are Iranian Kurds smugglers heading over into Iraqi Kurdistan to pick up their orders for the day.
2 KPTC (at the camp) This is the alcohol smuggling camp on the border between the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Iran. Smuggling is a tradition here they did it for centuries. This is the way they survive.
3 KVO2:
Omer Mohamed Rassul is the manager of the camp. I wanted to know what sort of alcohol they were trading in.
4 Omer
Omer: We sell lots of whisky and beers. It come to us from throughout Europe and from here its smuggled to Iran. That is because Iran is a Muslim country and drinking alcohol is forbidden by Islam.
5 KVO3:
But although Iraq is also a Muslim country, they do not have the same restrictions on alcohol. And so as an Iraqi Kurd Omer is free to conduct as much business as he pleases.
6 - KPTC
So this is coming from Sweden and it costs 8 dollars here by the time it makes it to Iran it will be 20 dollars. Look at this, this is rosso di Toscana Fratelli Bellini, it is the red wine of Tuscany from Italy. So they have also boun-gusto over there in Iran. They know what to choose. This is French Cognac. You really can get anything you want in this place. This is a Kurdish duty free.
I am just asking for Champaign and he says, yes we have Champaign as well.
7 KVO4:
The more dangerous side of the business is carried out by these fellow Kurds from the Iranian side of the border, and are here preparing for the next daily load.
I wanted to know who consumes such a large quantity of alcohol in a strict Islamic country.
8 Smuggler 1: Everyone drinks it. They all love it. Even the Mullahs theyre the first.
9 KVO5:
Perhaps a sense of humour is the best way to keep their spirits up because the official line is somewhat different. On their way back to Iran to day it is possible that these men will either be arrested or shot at and perhaps even killed by Iranian border guards.
They risk their lives daily, and some of them talked to me of their terrifying experiences.
10 Smuggler 2: They started shooting at me. I tried to escape, but ended up stepping on a landmine. Both my horse were killed and I was terribly injured.
K: And youre still doing it?
S: Of course. This is the only work I can have.
K: And do you have a family?
S: Yes I have a wife and two kids.
11 - KVO6:
Over the years hundreds of people have died on this route, and even the night before my arrival 16 horses had been killed.
But most of the smugglers I have met here are very young about 17 or 18 years old. Without the luxury of a horse, they are forced to make the journey by foot.
K: What are you carrying?
S: Tins of whiskey.
K: And you?
S: The same tins of whiskey.
K: Tell me, does the Iranian government discriminate between Kurds and Persians?
S: Yes they do. Persians have it all, but the Kurds have nothing.
K: Why dont you have a horse?
S: Because they are expensive. I cant afford one.
13 KPTC
They are carrying each three boxes of some 75 tins of Whiskey taking it to Iran. They will be walking like this through the mountains in the snow for two hours to make 10 US dollars.
14 KVO7:
Thats almost the price of two beers in Tehran, not much for risking your life. As they began their journey I wondered if anything could deter these men from such a dangerous living.
The Kurds in Iran may be jealous of the freedom those in Iraq have since the US intervention. So how do they feel about the current US threat to Iran and the prospect of another possible war?
15 Masked Smuggler: I dont think it will make any difference to the pain and suffering we endure. But if the regime changes it would be better for us.
K: Why is it you dont want to be identified on camera?
M: Because I am scared of the Iranian government. Although were all Iranian we dont have any rights or freedom of speech. I fear being arrested, tortured, or even being killed. That is why I have to hide my face.
16 KVO8:
Faced with such lack of freedom and poverty, almost every one of these men I spoke to told me that they did not want to smuggle as a living but that was simply their only means of survival.
17 KPTC
This is my limit. I cant go any further. Over there is Iran. The gays are going back with some 240000 bottles of whiskey, wine, vodka and all sort of different alcohol taking it back to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
18 KVO9:
The smuggling of alcohol here is clearly a lucrative industry more than two and a half million dollars is traded every day, although the men risking their lives are not the ones benefiting.
But while regimes come and go, and diplomatic alliances change, the Kurds in these mountains carry on trading across borders they refuse to recognise, dividing what to them is all Kurdistan.
KVO1:
On the mountains of Kurdistan between Iraq, Iran and Turkey it snows for most of the winter, and while the routes are unsuitable for cars, the traffic on horseback remains busy for the black market.
These are Iranian Kurds smugglers heading over into Iraqi Kurdistan to pick up their orders for the day.
2 KPTC (at the camp) This is the alcohol smuggling camp on the border between the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Iran. Smuggling is a tradition here they did it for centuries. This is the way they survive.
3 KVO2:
Omer Mohamed Rassul is the manager of the camp. I wanted to know what sort of alcohol they were trading in.
4 Omer
Omer: We sell lots of whisky and beers. It come to us from throughout Europe and from here its smuggled to Iran. That is because Iran is a Muslim country and drinking alcohol is forbidden by Islam.
5 KVO3:
But although Iraq is also a Muslim country, they do not have the same restrictions on alcohol. And so as an Iraqi Kurd Omer is free to conduct as much business as he pleases.
6 - KPTC
So this is coming from Sweden and it costs 8 dollars here by the time it makes it to Iran it will be 20 dollars. Look at this, this is rosso di Toscana Fratelli Bellini, it is the red wine of Tuscany from Italy. So they have also boun-gusto over there in Iran. They know what to choose. This is French Cognac. You really can get anything you want in this place. This is a Kurdish duty free.
I am just asking for Champaign and he says, yes we have Champaign as well.
7 KVO4:
The more dangerous side of the business is carried out by these fellow Kurds from the Iranian side of the border, and are here preparing for the next daily load.
I wanted to know who consumes such a large quantity of alcohol in a strict Islamic country.
8 Smuggler 1: Everyone drinks it. They all love it. Even the Mullahs theyre the first.
9 KVO5:
Perhaps a sense of humour is the best way to keep their spirits up because the official line is somewhat different. On their way back to Iran to day it is possible that these men will either be arrested or shot at and perhaps even killed by Iranian border guards.
They risk their lives daily, and some of them talked to me of their terrifying experiences.
10 Smuggler 2: They started shooting at me. I tried to escape, but ended up stepping on a landmine. Both my horse were killed and I was terribly injured.
K: And youre still doing it?
S: Of course. This is the only work I can have.
K: And do you have a family?
S: Yes I have a wife and two kids.
11 - KVO6:
Over the years hundreds of people have died on this route, and even the night before my arrival 16 horses had been killed.
But most of the smugglers I have met here are very young about 17 or 18 years old. Without the luxury of a horse, they are forced to make the journey by foot.
K: What are you carrying?
S: Tins of whiskey.
K: And you?
S: The same tins of whiskey.
K: Tell me, does the Iranian government discriminate between Kurds and Persians?
S: Yes they do. Persians have it all, but the Kurds have nothing.
K: Why dont you have a horse?
S: Because they are expensive. I cant afford one.
13 KPTC
They are carrying each three boxes of some 75 tins of Whiskey taking it to Iran. They will be walking like this through the mountains in the snow for two hours to make 10 US dollars.
14 KVO7:
Thats almost the price of two beers in Tehran, not much for risking your life. As they began their journey I wondered if anything could deter these men from such a dangerous living.
The Kurds in Iran may be jealous of the freedom those in Iraq have since the US intervention. So how do they feel about the current US threat to Iran and the prospect of another possible war?
15 Masked Smuggler: I dont think it will make any difference to the pain and suffering we endure. But if the regime changes it would be better for us.
K: Why is it you dont want to be identified on camera?
M: Because I am scared of the Iranian government. Although were all Iranian we dont have any rights or freedom of speech. I fear being arrested, tortured, or even being killed. That is why I have to hide my face.
16 KVO8:
Faced with such lack of freedom and poverty, almost every one of these men I spoke to told me that they did not want to smuggle as a living but that was simply their only means of survival.
17 KPTC
This is my limit. I cant go any further. Over there is Iran. The gays are going back with some 240000 bottles of whiskey, wine, vodka and all sort of different alcohol taking it back to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
18 KVO9:
The smuggling of alcohol here is clearly a lucrative industry more than two and a half million dollars is traded every day, although the men risking their lives are not the ones benefiting.
But while regimes come and go, and diplomatic alliances change, the Kurds in these mountains carry on trading across borders they refuse to recognise, dividing what to them is all Kurdistan.