Karakas, like hundreds of other drivers, is camped out in the shade of his rig. He is waiting to cross over into Iraq to pick up a load of oil that he will bring back across the border in defiance of international sanctions against Iraq. But for now, none of them is going anywhere.Like so many others in obscure and isolated spots around the world, they have been caught in the fallout of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
On other days, the Habur Gate is home to a booming sanctions-busting operation: Iraq provides the oil and diesel fuel while Turkey provides food like potatoes and onions. An estimated 50,000 truckers-drawn from the more than a million people forced out of their villages during 20 years of civil war between Turks and Kurds-eke out a meager living that is vital to the survival of those living in the impoverished regions of northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. “They may not get a lot, but this is how people of the region survive,” says Abdullah Ekin, deputy governor of the Sirnak province where the Habur Gate is located. “There are also the car mechanics, restaurateurs and other related businesses, all dependent on this trade.” Outside Ekin’s office, hundreds of trucks carrying the last reserves of goods from the Iraqi side are waiting to be checked by Turkish border officials.
The ignoring of sanctions here has long been an open secret among the governments spearheading the 11-year-old embargoes against Iraq. It’s allowed to continue largely as a favor to Turkey, which by some estimates has lost $800 million a year in oil-related businesses since 1990. “The idea was to avoid any further strain on Turkey … especially in that region, which is, quite simply, the heart of darkness of this country,” one Western diplomat told NEWSWEEK.
Iraq reduced the amount of diesel and oil it was ferrying across the border immediately after the terror strikes against the United States. Last week, it cut back still further, reducing the flow to barely a trickle. Technically, the border is still open, but traffic is at a virtual standstill, and thousands of drivers have temporarily abandoned their motley collection of trucks in makeshift parking areas. The truckers waiting here say the reason for the change is obvious: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is preparing for a possible American retaliation for the Sept. 11 attacks.
“The stoppage is probably aimed at stockpiling, part of an effort to get [Iraq] on a war footing,” says the diplomat. “Though there is a possibility Saddam found another way to get the goods out.” The diplomat described the Iraqi action as “devastating” for this arid area between the Euphrates and Tigress Rivers.
Among the frustrated truckers, there’s an odd air of ambivalence. Turkey has had its own share of random attacks in the last two decades, the latest being a suicide bombing that killed two police officers and one tourist in Istanbul on Sept. 10. As a result, the drivers all say they want to see the Bush administration take action against those who carry out terror attacks. At the same time, they are worried about the consequences. “If America hits Saddam, we will all lose,” says trucker Husnu Jerer. “People will go hungry here. People will die there.”
“If they are going to hit, I hope they will finish what they started 11 years ago,” says Karakas, a former farmer. “Get it over with. Then perhaps I can once again hope for a normal life.”
