Iraj Jafari was born in Maku city in 1997 and later went to Chalderan with his family.
At the age of 18, i.e. in 2014, after enduring very severe mental conditions and escaping from these conditions, Iraj set foot on the path of no return and finally became a victim of his hasty decision. Hearing Iraj’s life situation hurts the heart of every listener. But again, poverty and deprivation and the loss of parents determined his fate in a different way.
In 2019, Iraj Jafari was killed in the ranks of the PKK in the very inaccessible Tandoork region of Turkey. Undoubtedly, the very poor living conditions of the family was the main reason for Iraj joining the PKK. The issue of teenagers joining has been so much attention in the region that our reporter asked everyone the reason why teenagers join PKK and PJAK. According to the residents of the region, some of the young people of the village have deceived them and joined these separatist groups due to the bad living conditions and the PKK and PJAK abuse of the existing conditions.
A number of young people have managed to escape after observing the conditions of the group, but some others, such as Iraj, were killed in the PKK-Turkey war, and even their bodies have not reached their families. The above-mentioned conditions, in addition to the lack of parents, made Iraj Jafari, who was at an emotional age of making decisions, take such a wrong decision.
However, this situation cannot be a reason for Iraj to join the PKK and PJAK, because his brothers and sisters are now studying in good universities and are looking for a different future than Iraj’s fate.
The extent of deprivation and poverty in the remote border areas of the country, such as West Azerbaijan, is beyond the numbers that can be given in the form of statistics. Why do most of the people of this four-season province live in poverty despite valuable mineral resources, unique climate, rich agricultural resources, etc.?
The security and stability of the country is facing many obstacles in different countries. The security of the western and northwestern borders of the country, especially the borders of the West Azarbaijan province, has always been a challenge for the country due to the special climatic, religious, ethnic and geographical features.
It is worth mentioning that the respectable residents of the region, while declaring their disgust with separatist groups such as the PKK and PJAK, have had complaints against the government and military officials that the Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch established as a people’s organization and from among the people. IKHRW considers it necessary to convey each and every issue raised in the meeting to the authorities and not stop trying until the result is acceptable to the people of the region.
