Saving Facebook's Ass

By Ryan Kresse

Stubborn, socially inept, and complete rubbish with technology. Donkeys have somehow found their way onto the social networking site Facebook. All they had to do was get shot.

In response to the fatal shooting of ten rare Cyprus Donkeys in late March, hundreds of young Turkish and Greek Cypriots have united on a “Save the Cyprus Donkey” group on Facebook, and have used the site to organize demonstrations and protests against the killings.

Protesters blame farmers angered by crop damage and developers who are keen to get their hands on the Karpas peninsula, an area of unspoiled land currently occupied by the donkeys. A 2003 study found that around 800 donkeys roamed the olive orchards, wheat fields, and the beaches of the Karpas peninsula

Unspoilt Karpas: A lovely spot for a holiday. Now, if only there were more hotels...

Even though the donkey killings were the motive for the Facebook group, writer and poet Jenan Selchuk said that the protests are not just about donkeys.
“They [developers] are bringing big electricity lines to the area, over which we have also held protests. They have development plans for luxury villas rather than any national park idea. As for the donkeys, they are seen as an obstacle to progress”, he said.

When Turkish forces invaded the northern third of the island of Cyprus in 1974, Greek Cypriot farmers fled south, leaving their animals behind. The island is still divided by a UN-patrolled Green Line. Today the Karpas donkey colony and Facebook are somewhat of a uniting force between Turkish and Greek Cypriots.

Ediz Ismail-Eddie, a Turkish Cypriot living Australia, writing on Facebook commented, “This is murder, all Cypriots should do something about this problem. Greek/Turkish, it doesn’t matter.”

Tony Angastiniotis, a Greek documentary film-maker, said, “Maybe the donkeys will be the way to peace. They are the only true Cypriots anyway.”

You can join the donkey's Facebook group by clicking here or just head on to the much less worthy, but somewhat more fun, Null group.