Lola the Donkey Barred From Brussels Balcony
Oh, Lola! Lola the donkey starred in a Brussels play called ?The Palestinian.? But she drove the neighbors crazy. Image by getty images
Belgian police have demanded that Lola, a theatre-starring donkey, be removed from the balcony of a cultural centre in Brussels after neighbours complained about her braying.
Lola is staying on the first-floor balcony while she performs in a play at the Arab Cultural Centre, located in the same building in the Belgian capital. Staff had laid out straw and a bucket of water so she could get some fresh air.
But police ordered Lola’s keeper to move her indoors after receiving complaints about the donkey making too much noise.
Despite the police demands, Lola was still outside on Friday, and the director of the cultural centre was angrily berating her neighbours for interfering.
“I say to the neighbours, well done. What does it matter to you?” Hawa Djabili shouted to reporters and passersby. Asked why the donkey was out, she replied Lola “needed to breathe.”
A spokesman for the Brussels police said they would return with animal welfare officers to remove Lola if the centre did not comply with the order to keep the donkey indoors.
The animal is appearing in a play called “The Palestinian” at the Arab Cultural Centre that runs until the weekend.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
