ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: The Chairman of the human rights organization, Ansar
Burney Trust International, Ansar Burney, has requested the UAE Ministry of Interior to let the Trust know about thousands of missing and hidden underage child camel jockeys in UAE, since the announcement of ban on the use of such children as Jockeys. The ages of thousands of missing children are 3 to 7 years.
While talking to newsmen at Islamabad Airport on his arrival in Capital, He said that that according to the estimation of the Ansar Burney Trust some 5000 to 6000 underage children were on slavery as camel jockeys and detained in private jails. The estimation of the UAE Ministry of Interior shows that 3000 to 3500 children were on slavery as jockeys in UAE.
Ansar Burney, who recently declared as International "˜HERO' by the Government of the United States of America, in the field of human rights (Hero in the fight against modern-day slavery) has showed his very much concern for the whereabouts of such missing underage children and there
wellbeing.
"I am very much concern for the whereabouts, lives, health, living conditions etc. of such missing children in UAE." Burney added.
"I wrote several letters to the Minister of Interior, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, requested them to let the Trust know about the whereabouts of unfortunate children, who already lost their childhood, health and happiness during their period of slavery as underage jockeys in UAE and now they are missing from their camps". Ansar Burney added.
Ansar Burney said that after the so-called ban on the use of underage children as jockeys, only less then thousand children were so far recovered from the private jails out of five to six thousands. He said thousands such children are still missing. He said he is very much concern about the missing, hiding and the further fate of such children in the region.
He said that the Ruler of Dubai and Ministry of Interior in UAE should let him know about the underage children those missing immediately after the laws were announced to ban the use of underage children as jockeys.
He said the official figure as announced by the Ministry of Interior those underage children who were on slavery as child camel jockeys in UAE were about 3000 to 3500 and those who were rescued till now are only one thousand. He asked Dubai Government to let the Trust know, where the other children hidden and why? He said Ansar Burney Trust International is very much concern about there wellbeing.
Ansar Burney, also member of the American Bar Association (USA), International Bar Association (UK) and Karachi Bar Association has said that thousands of innocent children mostly from Asian countries including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are on slave labour as 'child camel jockeys' in miserable circumstances in most of the Arab and Middle astern countries.
Ansar Burney, mostly known as human rights "˜Saint' said that several thousands innocent children are living in most miserable circumstances and also dieing in a very miserable conditions for which one cannot even imagine. "These innocent children of humanity are living in iron tents,
without electricity in the temperature of above 50 degree centigrade (above 100 degree Fahrenheit), where the sexual abuse is common," He added.
Ansar Burney Trust International has rescued hundreds of such children from the slave labour and rehabilitated them in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Sudan, Ethiopia and other parts of the poor world. Years of abuse has led these children to have their upper legs flesh rubbed away, their bones being damaged as well as their body structures.
The gruesome idea of making these innocent children disabled at such a young age is an enjoyable sport! Injuries are a common factor; over the years the injury deteriorates and causes long term defects in the lower part of the body. They even lost their sexual ability because of use them as child camel jockeys from the age of one and a half year or start from two years of age and used them till the age of seven.
"These children will face problems once and if they start a family. The riding and rubbing on the camels continuously will be damaging on their sexuality. The ill treatment of these employers and traffickers is very upsetting but very true. Some children are also abused and taken advantage of by traffickers and their employers," Ansar Burney added.
Ansar Burney Trust International, only charity working practically to free the child jockeys, said: "These children are purposely underfed so that their weights are kept down." Burney said.
The food they're 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 bread in 24 hours. They get up early 3O'clock in the morning and go to sleep at 9 at night; they work for 18 hours a day, while the ages of these children are one and a half year old to six years. They are continuously on slave labour without any rest, 7 days a week and 365 days a year and work for 18 hours per day.
"They sleep in hot, crowded huts made from corrugated irons sheets. It's boiling hot out in the desert yet they have to train twice or three times a day. It's hard and painful work and, after a while, the boys have permanent damage to their sexual organs from bouncing up and down on the Camels."
"During training and in races, they often fall down and are badly injured or crushed to death. Because it's 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." He said, the uses of children as jockeys in camel racing are extremely dangerous and mostly result in serious injury and even death. Children are as young as 'one and a half' year that are used and abused by these very people who have no heart and no fear.
Ansar Burney said with sorrow and grief that after giving them training in Dubai, now the users of these innocents are using another tactics and selling them or giving them on rent to other Middle East and Arab countries to use these children as 'Child Camel Jockeys'.
Ansar Burney said that Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and other Sheikhs of the ruling families in UAE own most of the camel camps. He said in some cases the parents are selling their milk-sucking babies or the human smuggler agents kidnapping them or using tactics to take out children from the laps of parents and selling them in Middle East and Arab countries to use them on slave labour as 'Child Camel Jockeys'.
The trafficking of young children for forced labour is one of the fastest growing areas of international crimes. The study of Ansar Burney rust International, pointed out that child trafficking is not new, but it is a current practice in most of the Middle East and Arab region. However, it has
considerably gathered momentum over the past years.
The use of children as jockeys in UAE from Pakistan, however, dates back to early 70's. "There are estimated 30,000 active racing camels and about 17 racetracks throughout the UAE. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, which are
centers of this activity, have five of the main stadiums near the Rulers Palaces in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah," Ansar Burney said.
The high-risk areas for child trafficking, it says that for child traffickers Rahim Yar Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan and Southern Punjab, as well as some parts of Sindh and Baluchistan are the centres for trafficking in children, and are major sources of children trafficked as camel jockeys. He said, it is mainly the work of international networks that have made it a sophisticated and well-organised human trafficking industry in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, Srilanka, Ethiopia, Sudan and other poor
countries. It has become an earning for those criminals who torture the lives of these innocent children and enjoy the pleasures of life from the tears and cursing of these children.
He said according to the history and trend of this sport, it says that camel racing in UAE is an old sport, but they are not using there on children as 'jockeys'. The Ansar Burney Trust during his work and research of several
years on this particular issue never find any Arab child on camel from UAE.
Highlighting the root causes of trafficking in children, it says that they are multiple and complex. Some more apparent, which especially persuade parents to part their children at such a young age are poverty they have so
many children and no money to feed them all. If they don't sell one or two of their children they will all die of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, unawareness. And inadequate legislation and weak enforcement of related laws
and may be greed in some cases. Poverty has forced many families to sell their children, some as young as one year, to find whatever work they can.
Even Pakistani children are smuggled as camel jockeys to the Gulf States;
some are sold by their parents and others are kidnapped by organised groups. Organized groups have made this a business on the expense of the lives of these children. He said 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 which have been ratified by the UAE but its still grooming alarmingly.
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. But the age is still a very important factor, children as young as one and half year
are being used as camel jockeys. The minister announced that the ban would come into effect on 1 September 2002. A fine of 20,000 Durham's ($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 Durham's will be imposed for subsequent offences.
Ansar Burney said that violation of the law enforced in 2002 is still being continued, indicates that rules are still being violated and ignored. The large numbers of such children are not traceable or deducted by government officials in UAE and Pakistan and remain ignored and nvisible from the scene. "These kids have a right to live. They should not be tortured, degraded in any way despite their parents need for money," Burney added.
Recently Ansar Burney Trust has made another video documentary film of several hours with a hidden video camera, on the plight of these unfortunate children. "The children are made to train on the camels for periods lasting up to 18 long hours twice a day," he said. "Even when the temperatures reach 50°C or above (above 100 degree Fahrenheit), they have to wear heavy, metal helmets. It's clear that many of them, boys, are sexually abused by the men running the camps." 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. 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," he said.
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