Monday, September 14, 2015 9:18:28 AM
President Hassan Rouhani had expressed, during his presidential campaign, that: �We don't have second-class citizens. All Iranians are equal.�
Poverty and unemployment are reaching high levels, inflation is rising high rank, and the citizens must take several jobs in a hard day�s work; a majority of Iranian labors (estimated 70%) are surviving under the poverty line. Reports estimate that out of Iran�s 77 million population, 10 million are jobless. While thousands are homeless, living in the streets.
At least 70 percent of Iranian labors live under the poverty line, and many of them cannot even afford the cost of basic products they need for survival, as the head of Iran�s state labor organization stated. Rahmatollah Poormoussa also acknowledged that many of these items are now considered luxuries, and labors� main expenditure goes on health and housing, taking up 50 percent of their income.
Many Iranians are facing day-to-day problems with feeding and paying their rent and bills. 48 million (88 percent) of them lack fruit and vegetables and suffer from good meals shortage, as Deputy Health Minister Ali-Akbar Sayari declared. And besides, on the eve of Iranian new year, price of basic foodstuffs, especially fresh vegetables and poultry, as well as services such as taxis, increases. Experts warn about the welfare of those worst off in Iran as prices soar.
On 2014, more than 82 percent of female-headed households are unemployed, the Deputy of Iran�s president Shahindokht Mollaverdi said. She added that 70 percent of them are illiterate. The unemployment rate amongst female job-seeker raised up to 43.4.
Labor Children in Iran
Unofficial statistics estimate the number of children labors are seven million. And another report indicates of three million and 200 thousands child labors in Iran, that Iran parliament research center report had represented three years ago.
Children's market; children auction from 100.000 Tomans to 5 Million Tomans (Official currency of Iran), or they are rented for hours or few days. It is the Black-Market that is accustomed to street-life in Iran, an Iranian activist Mozhgan Hasseli reported.
Recently, Two homeless kids sleeping on cardboard were ran over by a pickups� wheels in the Kalat County�s road, Razavi Khorasan Province, BCR Group has learned. The seven-year-old kid who slept along with his cousin on the road, was killed after being running over by the car, according to the news received by BCR Group.
Rescue Forces transferred kids to the Hasheminejad hospital, but one of the kids died despite of health care treatment. The other kid was hospitalized, and he is under medical supervision. Pickups driver said to the court�s magistrate that �I did not think anybody sleep in cardboard placed in the corner�. Shahrvand Newspaper declared that Branch 204 of the Court obligated chasing details of the tragedy in the city of Mashhad.
Poverty in Marginalized Regions
Sistan and Baluchistan:
Sistan and Balochistan has been described as akin to Mars on Earth. For all the attention they get from Tehran, many Baluchs feel they 
may as well be on another planet, as Karlos Zurutuza said on 2011.
Deputy Governor of the province said that the rate of unemployment has exceeded of 40% in the province whereas its members in the parliament expressed about more than 50% measurement of the unemployment.
The comparing of the employment rate among Iran�s provinces has stated that Sistan and Bluchistan has allocated the lowest rate (24.7) of employment in the country.
Hassan Khedri, the Representative of the Supreme Leader of Iran in Zahak, declared that more than 90 percent of the population is below the poverty line, and 50% of the citizens are covered by funding agencies in the area.
1800 labors of a spinning mills have been fired out, as the Chairman of the Socio-Cultural Council in the city of Iranshahr said.
In 2013, the poverty rate under one Dollar was 0.01% of the total population. And Sistan, Baluchistan and Yazd has had the highest rate with 6%. Those living with less than one Dollar in rural areas are 6% of that population with Yazd province capturing 37% of that as the highest rate. In 2013 those living with less than $25 was 2% of the total population in Sistan and Baluchistan Province holding the highest rate at 2 %. Those living with less than $125 were 6% of the population in 2013 with 41% held by Sistan and Baluchestan with the highest rate.
More than 32% of the population of the region is illiterate, according to the statistics reports. The region is known for its Tent-Schools, and the students are unfamiliar with the facilities such as cooling and heating system, toilets, audiovisual equipment, sport halls and windows in the classes.
The Director of Education of the state, Alireza Nakhai, said the governmental news agency ISNA on June 4, 2015 that there are 400,000 illiterate people in Sistan and Baluchistan, and at least 162,000 of these people are under 50 years old.
The Literacy Movement Mohammad Mehdi Zadeh said that most of Iran�s illiteracy in the age group 10 to 49 belongs to the province. The General Director of the province has acknowledged that the area has faced a shortage of more than 8000 educators due to lack of adequate funding.
BBC Persian mentioned based on Yaghoub Jadgal one of the Sistan and Balouchistan parliament members interview with the governmental news agency Mehr, that near 4,500 Iranian citizens in the province don�t have ID or birth certificate. Therefore, they are deprived of their basic rights.
Arab areas in Iran:
The people have several reasons to feel like second-class citizens such as deep economic crisis, unemployment, poverty, lack of labor and
social welfare, the majority of the area�s rural population ranks with no welfare services and inadequate annual household expenditure levels for each family, lack of drinking water in some villages, lack of transportation facilities and suitable roads, unfavorable weather condition as dust and high temperature and humidity and drought (In 2011, the World Health Organization ranked Ahwaz as the world's most air-polluted city).
The region is the mainstay of the Iranian state economy; it is the center of its oil wealth. However, more than 80% of the Ahwazi Arabs are grappling with extreme poverty and deprivation at a large scale. �Arab Ahwazi identity in the eyes of Iranian is a grievous sin, and a grave threat� , as an Ahwazi activist has acknowledged.
Kurdistan:
The citizens forcibly carry shipments as a result of unemployment in Kurdish regions across the borders to be survived. Many cross-border carriers (backpack smuggler) known as Kolbar who carry goods across the illegal borders on their back or horseback for a business
purposes to be alive with brummagem money.
They are faced serious risk as a result of climate conditions as more than 300 kilometers impassable mountain path, failing into the rivers or valleys where are located in the cross-border zones, landmine explosion and gunfire by border security forces officials and snipers.
At least 34 people have been allegedly victimized of landmines till this moment and more than 42 who were suspected of smuggling, dead and got wounded by border guards shooting in the last year.
The poor traffickers are frequently faced to die, but smuggling is being continued by them, the forbidden business smuggling is the only means of livelihood we can depend on, as the local cross-border carriers said to the BCR Group reporter.
The Iranian Kurdish backpacks have allegedly allocated the higher rank of the rough business in the area, although, the number of the backpacks of both sides of the border is unclear. Also, many Kurdish students are forced to smuggle across the border to earn money for their education, as Kurdish activists said.
BCR Group had expressed concern over the critical situation for the natives and mentioned to the backpacks statistical that the population of backpack carriers could be divided as follows in keeping with the local reports:
15-18 years of age: 10% of backpacks.
18-25 Years of age: 30% of backpacks.
25-40 years of age: 45% of backpacks.
40 years and above: 15% of backpacks.
According to the reports, several border smugglers were trapped and volleyed by margraves that one of tradesman Kheder Ahmadi severely wounded as a result of direct bullet shooting, in July 2015.
Kheder Ahmadi, who is from Bookan City moved to the border zone to earn some little money to provide needful for their families to be alive, as locals said.
He was transferred to one of the Iraqi Kurdistan hospitals because they are frightened of the common sentence as fine or imprisonment which are the punishments for the crime under the Islamic Republic rules.
Eight flock of horses were also killed in the officials' attack.
Eyewitnesses say that Margraves attempt volleying without any alarm and aviation shot.
Another cross-border carrier, Fereydoon Lotfollahi, Who lived in Zaviran of Marivan County, was killed by security forces officials' crossfire along the Iran-Iraq border, on March 9, 2015.
On May 2014, an Iranian Kurdish backpack carrier was killed, and another 30-years-old backpack lost one of his legs after falling into the river and landmine explosion in the cross-border Kurdish region, between Iraqi Kurdistan region and Turkey.
According to the unofficial statistics of local sources; there are more than 100,000 backpacks (97% man and 3% women) that they carry goods up across the Kurdish border between Iran and Iraq.
Social Consequences
Poverty Drives Iranian to Sell Internal Organs:
Poverty is driving empty-handed to sell their internal organs on the black market; research found desperate people willing to trade their vital organs, governmental news affirmed. The poor are lining up to sell their essential organ such as kidney, liver and retina, reaching an agreed money up to 300 million Tomans (100,000 $).
Shahram, 35, who has B+ blood, has attempted to sell his kidney and liver due to poverty, Asr Iran agency said.
The organ dealers have very high income in the limbo, Kambiz, 39, as an organ-fixer has an average income up to 200 million Tomans (66,000 $) per month, according to Shargh Newspaper. He said that fixers assess of the organs.
Suicide:
Poverty and financial problems Cause the social crisis as self-immolation; Iran�s news agencies have recently reported raising suicide cases due to absolute poverty in the country.
On August 31, 2015, a 59-year-old man had committed self-immolation in the courtyard of the governor's office complex of Songhor city, Kermanshah Province, news agencies said. The victim who has not been identified, attempted suicide by burning his body; the Deputy Head of Politics and Security Governor in Kermanshah said that the tragic event happened because of his housing and tax license shortage.
"Iran's municipality officials are responsible for the calamity," according to the passer-by who had been witness to the event.
Iranian citizens threatened self-immolation or suicide if the unworthy government did not consider their basic rights.
A couple burned their body because of self-immolation in the city of Kermanshah. The victims, who have three girls 7 to 16-year-old, were burned as a result of self-immolation as suicide through the flammable material, news agencies said.
Shahla Taheri, 30, had poured oil on her body and her husband Nariman Balian, 41, to burn themselves as a self-destruction, according to the reports. Shahla lost her life in the hospital a day after she attemped suicide and her husband's life, 80% burned, is still in danger.
The event had allegedly been occurred in Resalat Town in Kermanshah city on 29 Aug 2015; the neighbors had acknowledged that poverty was caused by financial problems. It was the second incident as "self-immolation" in Kermanshah Province (the Kurdish region) in just three days.
Previously, Younes Asakereh, an Arab street vendor and father of two children, who had committed self-immolation has died Sunday earlier morning on March 22, 2015.
Mr. Asakereh, 34, had committed self-immolation due to the confiscation of his grocery kiosk by the mayor officials in front of the municipality office in Khoramshahr city.
Younes Asakereh had been transferred to Taleghani hospital and kept in special care, whereas, the authorities had tried to prevent any gathering in front of municipality office in Khoramshahr city.
Younes, 92% burned, had been taken by aircraft to one of the hospitals in the capital of Iran at their own cost. He eventually died because of severe burns.
Human Rights activists have acknowledged that the society declines day by day and also expressed concern about the intensification of suicides as self-immolation as a result of socio-economic shortages in the country.
FIDH and the League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI) previously reported on June 10, 2013 that �the social and economic situation in Iran is progressively deteriorating, with an immediate impact on people�s living conditions. Unemployment is on the rise, inflation is at unprecedented levels and most people have to combine several jobs because the minimum wage is insufficient to counterbalance inflation.� The FIDH organization has sounded the alarm bells considering that more than 50% of the 75 million plus population live under the poverty level . The organization also said that Iran�s population is experiencing an increasing income gap between rich and poor.
This report is only part of the humanitarian disasters caused by the economic crisis in the country. Many experts have believed that the International Community has not demanded real improvements in Human Rights, based on their interests in Iran�s deal.
Today in Iran, hundreds civil-political activists are behind bars, political and religious prisoners are tortured, journalists and educators remain into the jails. Women are treated as second-class citizens. And, it is unfair that these issues were not included in the discussion on the table.
By: Kaveh Taheri
