Barbara Doulyeraki, who runs Agia Marina Donkey Rescue in Crete, said she gets about two or three calls a week from villagers selling or giving away donkeys, up from about one call a month in years past.

WSJ: Hee Haw! Donkeys Get Last Laugh As One Greek Tragedy Ends Happily

On the road from the Cretan port of Heraklion to the south coast, there is a Chinese shop in almost every settlement even, for example, in Agia Varvara, whose other features are one paved intersection, a bread shop and a garage.

ECONOMIST: The Greeks and the Chinese