Donkeys have been used throughout history for transportation of supplies, pulling wagons, and, in many cases, as riding animals. During World War I a British stretcher bearer, John Simpson Kirkpatrick, serving with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, used a donkey named Duffy to rescue wounded soldiers, carrying them to safety in Gallipoli. There is a statue of John Simpson Kirkpatrick and his donkey in his home town, South Shields.
About 41 million donkeys were reported worldwide in 2006. China had the most with 11 million, followed by Pakistan, Ethiopia and Mexico.
From my Dad’s book Elementary motherland (Patria elemental).
The fleet (La flotilla)
From the Hill of Tonchalá, from Saint Peter
or from Tabiro, the donkeys, my brothers without fatigue
arrive from the South, the North,
from any cardinal point,
with their load of grey brooms or medicinal plants
or various wild flowers, and even with a source of energy:
domestic firewood and coal…Ah, and the pitcher of fresh water
for neighbouring births.
Patios as car parks where they quench their thirst
and get some shade and food,
while the master buys supplies
and starts his way back…behind the exemplary fleet
docile and diligent.
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