Dubai, June 12: More than a thousand child jockeys
smuggled into the Emirates to race camels have been sent to
their home countries, government officials here said.
The United Arab Emirates began enforcing a ban on child
jockeys last year, after the US State Department cited the
country as a top destination for smuggled children who were
being pressed into camel riding. Some 20 smugglers have been
prosecuted for trafficking in child jockeys.
"They are now a thing of the past, they no longer
exist in the Emirates," Deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen.
Saif al-Shafar said of the child jockeys yesterday. "The UAE
has helped 1,075 children from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan,
Mauriania and Eritrea return home after undergoing a
rehabilitaion program."
Since the campaign, riders in lucrative camel races
here have to prove they are older than 18. The UAE, Qatar and
other Gulf countries have also begun using small robots as
jockeys, with camel owners using remote control to issue
commands.
Lightweight robots allow more speed and stamina in
the races, which are far longer and more endurance-based than
horse racing, said Lt. Colonel Nasser al-Minhali, the chief
government racing monitor.
This year, the US State Department's human rights
report upgraded the Emirates status, citing the action on the
child jockeys, which also won praise from UNICEF and the
Pakistani government.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, June 12, 2006, 00:00