Donkeys make Palestinian comeback

Donkey taxis are used to carry goods and people

By Caroline Hawley in Jerusalem

One of the world's oldest means of transport is making an unexpected come-back in the West Bank and Gaza, where Palestinians are finding new ways of getting around the Israeli army's ubiquitous road-blocks.

The humble donkey, which has carried people and goods since biblical times, is now being pressed into service again.

"We're travelling back in time," says local businessman, Jamal Adileh.

"Who would have thought that in the 21st Century we'd have to resort to donkeys to get basic products in and out of our cities."

Not everyone can afford the fare

Just a few months ago, donkeys were used mainly by farmers.

But Israel's siege of West Bank towns and villages has given the animal a new role in Palestinian life.

Across the West Bank, the Israeli army has blocked roads with mounds of earth and concrete, and with trenches and checkpoints, as part of what Israel calls "security measures", and the Palestinians see as collective punishment.

A journey that should take minutes now often takes several hours. In some places, the car is simply redundant.

Thriving business

A dirt road near the village of Bureen is now the only open route into Nablus, the largest Palestinian town on the West Bank. And here, a new trade has emerged - the "donkey taxi".

We make fun of the donkeys - but inside us it hurts a lot to have to use them

Jamal Adileh,
Businessman

The West Bank's latest mode of transport is a four-wheel, covered cart, sometimes lovingly decorated with hanging ornaments, pulled by straining donkeys.

The "donkey taxi" carries everything from people trying to get to the doctor or to work, to food and other goods destined for the market.

And although not everyone can afford the half-dollar fare, the "donkey taxi" is one of the few businesses that is thriving, as the Israeli blockades cripple the Palestinian economy.

Around Nablus, the price of donkeys has risen at least tenfold, sometimes even twenty or thirty-fold, over the past few months.

Humiliating

"It depends how fast on its feet it is," said one "donkey taxi" driver, who borrowed money to buy a donkey after he lost his job in Israel because of the conflict.

The price of donkeys has risen tenfold near Nablus

The new reliance on donkeys is humiliating for Palestinians like Mr Adileh, who studied computer science in the United States.

In his office on the outskirts of Jerusalem, he has a sophisticated computer system to keep track of his sales staff, and a bank of mobile phones.

But all his gadgets are useless in the face of the Israeli roadblocks.

"We make fun of the donkeys," he says, as he supervises the loading of his cigarettes from a truck onto a donkey cart near Nablus.

"Inside us, though, it hurts a lot to have to use them."