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The Kurdish Globe No. 276, Saturday, October 09, 2010 8
Donkeys’ utopia to be established in Kurdistan
Association forms to defend donkeys’ rights and educate people
GLOBE PHOTO/Ako Muhammed
Omer Klol, leader of the Kurdistan Donkeys Association, observes the crowds passing through the main street of Kalar’s central market.
Saving donkeys and
ensuring they are
treated in a humane
manner becomes
the main task of the
Kurdistan Donkeys
Association.
Donkeys in Kurdistan
await government appe
proval of financial support
to help establish a shelter
project for all donkeys—a
project that will ensure
their survival--said leader
of the Donkeys Party,
Omer Klol.
“The best time is when I
speak to people and they
understand me without
hurting my feelings,” said
Klol, founder of the socalled
Donkeys Party, who
spoke about problems donke
keys suffer in Kurdistan.
“People don’t understand
because they have learned
wrong about donkeys. Bece
cause a donkey is unfortune
nate and obedient, people
have no respect for it. But
I say the donkey is clever
and better than a human
being. It has descriptions
that do not exist in man.”
For over 20 years, Klol
has struggled to spread the
principle attributes of donke
keys: patience, obedience,
satisfaction, and a “work
without reward” attitude.
Thanks to his efforts, his
goal is partially achieved-
-but only in the benefit of
one type of donkey—the
mankind members. He
was granted with a license
by the KRG to officially
establish the Kurdistan
Donkeys Association in
2005. The association
strives to bring back rese
spect for donkeys when
they are used for work; it
seeks the rights of feeding,
shoeing, and rest. But, the
right of freedom for donke
keys has a different meanie
ing, according to Klol.
“Setting a donkey or anime
mal at large does not mean
you have given it freede
dom; it means you made
it homeless, down and
out, and exposed to being
mocked by the people.
Donkeys do not deme
mand that type of
freedom. It is free
when it used for
work. It starts
braying from
early mornie
ing, asking
for work.”
Klol este
t i m a t e s
to have
a b o u t
1 0 , 0 0 0
members
of his asse
sociation
across Iraq,
but mostly
in the areas
of his influe
ence, including
in the Suleimaniya
and Garmiyan are
eas. The association curre
rently distributes forms
to its members to fill out
so as to specify who is
taking the issue as a joke
and who is serious about
defending the donkeys’
rights. Each member can
submit a photo and basic
information in order to
have party identity. The
members call each spece
cial titles such as big
brother or big sister.
By the number of
legs, they describe
the type of donkeys
(four-legged as in
the animal, or twolegged
as in membe
bers of the party).
Sometimes, Klol
reports to the media
about the party’s intente
tions of participating in
elections.
But the real struggle still
remains in its early stages,
and the four-legged type
of donkeys is vanishing,
warned Klol. “I am so late.
Donkeys are vanishing…
the other day, a man came
from Suleimaniya seekie
ing a donkey. He couldn’t
find one.” Klol cried for
his “big brothers and big
sisters” while being inte
terviewed in downtown
Kala. “They [donkeys]
were all killed in car accide
dents or by children offense
sively. And a large number
of them have been taken
away to southern cities.”
Consequently, Klol’s asse
sociation has come with a
solution to save the fourlegged
animals. The Donke
key Party was granted a
piece of land--25 dunams–
on which to build a shelte
ter. But Klol complained
that the KRG has not spent
enough on the project, and
he said the KRG hasn’t
answered a petition about
a budget he reqe
queste
ed two
months
a g o .
“I have
r a i s e d
many lette
ters through
the ministries
and political
parties, but all
die at the Counce
cil of the Ministe
ters…Barham is not
signing it,” he noted,
in reference to KRG
Prime Minister Dr.
Barham Salih.
“I am afraid I’ll
find no donkeys left
to put in the shelter.
After years of braying,
they have done this to
me…wasting my time
with red tape,” compe
plained Klol. “When
they give the approval,
it will be too late; then I
think I would be obliged
only to put two-legged
donkeys in the shelter,’ he
said, laughingly.
Klol knock on the door
of every high-ranking offe
ficial, demanding a budget
with which to complete
the donkey shelter, as
well as monthly budget
of three million Iraqi
dinars for the associate
tion. He recently sent a
letter to Kurdistan Region
President Massoud Barze
zani and Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani. Klol also
sent a letter to U.S. Preside
dent Barak Obama. Asked
why he sent a letter to
Obama, Klol replied: “For
two reasons: His Democe
cratic Party has a donkey
as a symbol, and because
Africa is where his father
is from, which is the main
homeland of donkeys.”
Donkey town
As for the shelter, Klol
said it is located atop a
hill in the Qaradagh area,
although he preferred a
place in a valley. “I have
a nice design for it. I will
make rooms all around…
and in front of them there
will be places for eating
and drinking, and just as
important--brothels. And
in the middle I will make
flower gardens and passe
sageways, making it to
look like a resort.”
According to Klol, the
shelter will become a
haven for donkeys and
an entertaining place for
people—“especially for
the elderly people who
have turned powerless to
practice sex,” he insisted.
“Instead of watching porne
nography, they can come
to see the big brothers and
big sisters while doing sex
and enjoy it. It is not haram
for them,” he laughed.
When asked if gathering
donkeys in such a place
might mean imprisoning
them, Klol replied: “No.
You serve them with food
and drink, allow them
to have sex, and the land
is wide.” The donkeys
might become lazy, but
there is no other solution.
“When they are not used
for work, why should they
be mocked by children? I
even say they will become
stronger there. They will
be fed well there.”
If anyone such as “a rese
spectable villager” needs
a donkey, he must commit
to the shelter’s conditions
before he is given one,
said Klol. “A donkey costs
an amount of money that
obliges the buyer to be rese
spectful to it. Also, the appe
plicant must sign a deal in
court, vowing not to make
the donkey homeless after
his needs are met,” expe
plained Klol. He advised
human kind with a poem:
“Enough for shedding
blood…let us all live like
donkeys. If we do so, we
will not kill each other
anymore…donkeys don’t
kill themselves.”