(21 Aug 2019) LEAD IN: The alleyways of Aqrah are too narrow for vehicles to squeeze through.
So workers use donkeys to collect rubbish from homes in the old neighbourhoods.
STORY-LINE:
Cars are no help, and the steep hills make the work harder.
But rubbish collectors have found an innovative way to handle the narrow alleyways of the mountainous city of Aqrah, in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq.
With the help of faithful donkeys, workers can climb the streets of the old neighbourhoods.
A typical donkey-powered rubbish collection begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m., with a two hour lunch break around midday.
"This job can not be done without pack animals," says worker Dilshad Saba Azzo, who started this job in 2004.
"The streets around here would be dirty without them," he adds.
He jokes that he and his animal both get paid for the job.
"My salary is 350 (thousand dinars - approx. 294 US dollars)," he says.
"He also gets 350, just like me. Yes, equal payment."
Azzo bought his donkey for 1,080 US dollars, and spends money on barley to feed it, as well as shoes and a saddle.
Workers also have to invest their time to teach the animals how to do the job.
"We bring them here and train them for about a month or a month and a half," says municipality worker Shimal Mohammed.
"We take them once or twice to all the neighbourhoods, alley by alley, so they become familiar with the place," he continues.
Workers say a donkey or mule can do this work for one to three years on average.
The rubbish collectors also provide other services to the inhabitants of the narrow alleys of the city.
They transfer gas canisters, carry food baskets, move bricks and construction materials, and work as ambulances to carry sick people down to the roads.
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