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Pakistan's most renowned human rights
activist Ansar Burney has said that some 40,000 innocent children, mostly from
Asian countries including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, are being used in UAE
and other Middle East and Arabian Countries, as "camel jockeys" against their
will and under most miserable circumstances.
Ansar Burney, by profession a senior lawyer, is Chairman of the Ansar Burney
Welfare Trust International, Prisoners Aid Society and Bureau of Missing and
Kidnapped Children. He has already rescued hundreds of such children whose ages
are from one and a half to six years old and rehabilitated them in Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Srilanka, Sudan, Ethiopia and other parts of the world.
Last month a four year old boy from Pakistan was trampled to death while another
lost his legs after falling off a camel in the UAE.
Mr. Burney says: These innocent children of humanity are living in iron
tents, without electricity, and in temperatures above 50 degree centigrade (over
100 degree Fahrenheit). Sexual abuse in this environment is all too common, even
electric shocks. The children are purposely underfed so that their wieght is
kept down." The agents are giving them electric shocks if any small boy will not
work properly.
"The food theyre given in the camps is very dirty and unhygienic. They have to
feed the camels, but are beaten if they try to eat the animals 'good' food. They
are allowed to eat only half a loaf of bread in 24 hours. They get up at 3:00 in
the morning and go to sleep at 9:00 at night working for 18 hours a day". Human
Rights 'Angel' Ansar Burney said.
"They sleep in hot crowded huts made from corrugated irons sheets. Its boiling
hot out in the desert yet they have to train twice or three times a day. Its
hard and painful work and, after a while, the boys have permanent damage to
their sexual organs from bouncing up and down on the camel".
Recently the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International has made a video
documentary film of more than 24 hours with a hidden video camera on the plight
of these unfortunate children.
"During training and in races they often fall down and are badly injured or
crushed to death. Because its illegal to keep underage jockeys they never
receive medical treatment and some of them die very painful deaths. Their bodies
are just buried out in the desert in unmarked graves.
Ansar Burney says the Rulers and Sheikhs of the ruling families own most of the
camel camps.
The trafficking of young children for forced labour is one of the fastest
growing areas in international crime. A study by the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust
International pointed out that child trafficking is not new but it is a current
practice in most of the Middle East and Arab region. It has, however, gathered
considerably momentum over the past few years. The use of children as jockeys in
UAE from Pakistan, however, dates back to early 70s.
There are estimated 30,000 active racing camels and about 17 racetracks
throughout the UAE. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, which are the centers of this
activity, have five of the main stadiums near the Rulers Palaces.
The high-risk areas for child trafficking are Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi
Khan and Southern Punjab, as well as some parts of Sindh and Baluchistan.
It is the work of international networks that have made it a sophisticated and
well-organised human trafficking industry in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Srilanka, Ethiopia, Sudan and other poor countries.
It has become a means to earn a living for those criminals who torture
the lives of these innocent children and gain pleasure from their tears and
cursing.
Camel racing in the UAE is an old sport but they do not using there own
children as jockeys. During his work and research over several years on this
particular issue Mr. Burney never found any Arab child being used as a jockey.
Why is trafficking of children so popular? The root causes are multiple and
complex. Some are obvious such as extreme levels of poverty. It is far easier to
persuade parents to part with their children when if they dont sell one or two
of their children they will all die of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and
ignorance. Inadequate legislation and weak enforcement of related laws also
contribute heavily to the problem. Greedy organized groups have made this into a
business at the expense of the lives of these children.
The trafficking of children for use as camel jockeys is strictly prohibited
by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and by ILO
Conventions 29, 138 and 182. All of these laws have been ratified by the UAE but
the problem is still growing at an alarming rate.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and also the
Chairman of the Emirates Camel Racing Federation promulgated Order No.1/6/266 on
22 July 2002, which prohibits children under 15 or weighing less than 45kg from
being employed in camel racing. It also specifies that all camel jockeys must
have proof of their age through their passports and be issued with a medical
certificate by the Camel Racing Federation.
The minister announced that the ban would come into effect on 1 September 2002.
A fine of 20,000 Durhams ($ 5,500) will be imposed for a first offence and a
second offence will lead to a ban from camel racing for one year. A prison
sentence of three months along with a fine of 20,000 Durhams will be imposed
for subsequent offences.
During the last 9 months hundreds of children were deported and repatriated from
the UAE, Muscat, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Arab and Middle
East countries after working for more than two and three years as camel jockeys.
The children are attached to the camels back with Velcro fastenings but so rough
is the ride that many of them fall off. One of the advantages of using
children as jockeys is that their terrified cries make the camels run even
faster.
Many of the child jockeys have been kidnapped from their villages in
countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Sudan. Some have
been bought from impoverished families by agents. Others are lured from home
with promises to their families that they will be employed as domestic servants
in cities in their own countries.
In one recent case, a woman posing as the mother of three boys and two girls
aged between two and seven was arrested at Islamabad airport in Pakistan.
The children were allegedly being taken to Dubai to serve as camel jockeys.
Ansar Burney said that in Bangladesh reuniting the children with their
families is a difficult task.Many of these children were trafficked at a
very early age - perhaps between one and a half and five - and often cannot
recognise their parents. Some can no longer even speak their mother tongue.
To save the life of these children or for any other information the Ansar Burney
Welfare Trust International could be contacted at:
Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International, 6 Hassan Manzil, Arambagh Road,
Karachi, Pakistan. Phone: 00 92 21 2626274, 2628719, 2623382, 2623383 Fax: 00 92
21 2623384 or 18 Peterborough Road, Harrow, Middlesex, London, HA1 2BQ - United
Kingdom. Phone: + 44 20 84222277 Fax: + 44 20 84234555 Cell: + 44 7833996620
Email: ansarburney@hotmail.com .
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