Rakan Silos gets up early every Thursday and goes to a donkey shelter on the West Bank where he helps care for animals that still play an important role in daily Palestinian life.
Donkeys that have not been pulled by a buyer at a weekly market in Nablus are being taken to the shelter in nearby Rujayb, where Silos, a vet, is being examined “completely and for free”.
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A man leads a donkey at the Safe Haven for Donkeys sanctuary in the town of Rujayb, east of the West Bank city of Nablus
(Photo: AFP)
The shelter is run by the British charity Safe Haven for Donkeys, which was set up in 2000 to care for donkeys working in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Donkeys “work so hard for so little,” but are often plastered with easy – to – treat conditions such as overgrown shoes and bad teeth, the charity says.
Some Palestinians still rely on donkeys for transportation and agricultural work.
Silos, who trained at Al-Najah University in the West Bank, said that donkeys in Nablus are brushed and skinned, just as some in other cultures might treat a horse with respect. .
On Thursday, market day in Nablus, popular retailers are popular retailers, but the youngest ones often sell them and abandon them because buyers want animals at full strength rather than one. will take time and money to build.
“We take care of them until they become adults,” said Wael Salama, who also works at the shelter.
He explained that adoption is free but on the terms that the donkey will not be sold.
The reserve, the only one on the West Bank, has the capacity to care for up to 200 donkeys, but also offers free treatment to farmers who bring their donkeys to the site.