Sirvan Doreh: The reason of joining was solely poverty, unemployment, and lack of money.
According to the Iranian Kurdistan Human Rights Watch from Sanandaj, due to lack of infrastructure development and high rates of poverty and unemployment in Iran’s border areas, especially Kurdish areas of Iran, young people in this region are facing chronic unemployment. One of the methods used by Kurdish armed groups is to incite and encourage young people to join the structure of these groups using financial promises. Therefore, it can be said that the only way to prevent Kurdish young people from joining armed groups in the northern and northwestern border areas of Iran is to create stability, economic development, complete communication infrastructure (such as roads and airports), further development of border markets, and in short, increase employment rates and welfare in these areas. Sirvan Doreh, son of Mohammad Sadeq emphasized in this interview that he joined the armed group Komala in January 2019- Ali Zadeh faction, solving problems and then heading to Europe or at least a better life in Iraq. He has been working as a laborer in hotel management and tiling (in the Kurdistan region of Iraq) for a while. He faced lots of intragroup conflicts, so finally in April 2024 and after 6 years of exile in Kurdish armed groups, he surrendered himself to the Iranian border guards at the border and returned to the country.
Question: Mr. Doreh! Why did you join Komala?
Sirvan Doreh: The reason was solely poverty, unemployment, and lack of money. If I had a suitable financial situation, I would never make such a mistake in my life to become a member of an armed group for 6 years. I was just wandering around the city and seeing the lives of wealthy people! I was very curious about how these people become wealthy! While wandering I decided to go to Komala. I thought membership in Komala would firstly change my spirit and then increase my income. Then I met someone who apparently was a member of Komala. When I explained my situation to him and told him that I was looking for a better life; immediately he offered me to join the group like him. He told me: “As soon as you become a member, you can receive many benefits and have a comfortable life here, if you don’t want, you can go to another country.” He made a dream life for me that I could never even think of! High income, the possibility of living in Europe, and… in Iran, had become an obsession for me; so I immediately accepted.
Question: How did you enter Komala?
Sirvan Doreh: In Iran, I met a man who planned to go to Marivan with me and then to go to Iraq with a smuggler. But the smuggler abandoned us midway and only showed the route. We were forced to continue alone; a few days later, the border guards of the Kurdistan region arrived and apprehended all of us and took us to the detention center. I contacted my family to put up collateral, but they could not afford. After a month, I finally managed to make contact with that man and be released from the detention center. After that, I was taken to the group’s headquarters.
Question: What occurred after you entered Komala?
Sirvan Doreh: I acquainted with the bitter reality of this group as I entered it. After joining, we entered the training course. I endured several months of truly unhelpful training. Repetitive and exhausting classes! A repetitive and tiring program, repeated every day. None of the promises that man had given me were seen. When I realized that all they said were lies, I decided to return to Iran. However, each time they told me that as soon as I returned to Iran, I would definitely be imprisoned and tortured, so I was afraid because I had left Iran, illegally. They said I need safe conduct to get back, but it was a lie.
However after wasting a lot of time, I am laboring and live beside my wife, I am glad I got rid of Komala training.
