Camel Races in the Middle East - the camel jockeys are child slaves
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Camel Jockeys in the Middle East

It is a fact that any animal can travel faster with a small rider than with a large one. Horse and camel jockeys are chosen for their size, but it would take a little effort to find small adults to ride the camels. Around the Middle East, rather than make this effort, child slaves are used as jockeys on the camels. It is easier for the oil rich gulf countries to continue, as they have done for hundreds of years, to buy children from the poorer countries across the gulf in the Indian subcontinent and to force them to work as camel jockeys.

Oil Money

Before the Gulf states were blessed with oil the practice was not as widespread as it is today. Now the rulers of the Gulf states have more money than they know what to do with. You may well have seen reports of some of the extravagances that occur on television. The richest horse race in the world is in Dubai, sponsors are few and, as the UAE is a Muslim country, gambling income is nil. Greyhound races are similarly run at great expense and generate no income. Such sports are a means for the ruling families to compete with each other. Massive sums of money are spent on the animals by each family. There are special animal hospitals for the racing camels where no expense is spared. A camel jockey however is nothing more than ballast. If he gets hurt it is easy to buy another camel jockey.

The children go outside to play and never return

The jockeys will tipically start their life in the same way as millions of other children in the Indian subcontinent. Perhaps having parents who are poor, but still have dreams for their sons which do not involve camels. Then maybe at the age of two or three the children go outside to play and never return. They are kidnapped by local gangs who will deal in any commodity that makes money. The children will then be taken by adults who when questioned may claim to be the children's parents. They will then travel, perhaps along the ancient slave routes to Karachi, and across the Gulf.

No holiday riding camels

The work of a camel jockey is no holiday. Away from their parents, in a foreign country with no legal status, the children have no one to protect them. They must exercise the camels seven days a week in heat that even the local people shelter from. There is no choice about whether to work on the camels or not. A beating or two and a couple of days without food convinces them all. There is nowhere to run to. Many of the children are told a story about being unwanted and being sold by their parents into slavery, just in case they were considering trying to get home. Before the camel races the children go without food, not as a punishment, but to keep their weight down so the camels will run faster. The children receive no schooling and grow up without even knowing the country of their birth.

Winning at any cost

Occasionally, in response to pressures from outside the region, rules are written to restrict the legal age and weight of camel jockeys, but when the camel belong to a sheikh, a trainer will always choose to break the rules if it gives the camel a better chance of winning. The trainer receives a small prize if his camel wins. The camel jockey receives nothing.

Consensus Politics

Many Arab governments rule through a consensus of several powerful families. There is some degree of concern about the children who work as camel jockeys. There is also a strong wish not to upset colleagues who enjoy watching the sport.

Disposable assets

Once the children grow too large to be of any use as camel jockeys a lucky few will be employed by the camel stables, a few more will be able to get work by employers who know and can exploit their situation. However, if they ever step out of line in the future they risk being arrested as illegal immigrants. Throughout the Middle East the punishment for being an illegal immigrant is a fine and the punishment for not paying a fine is prison. Through no fault of his own, a camel jockey could end his days in the inhumane confines of an Arab prison. Occasionally an effort has been made to repatriate children once they outgrow their usefulness, but, as no records are kept about where the children came from, this merely dumps the children into the slums of a nearby country.

You camel jockey!

The insult "camel jockey" has worked its way into the languages of the Middle East to mean someone with little education. Many of the people who use this term are ignorant of the true origin of the term and often those that understand prefer to keep quiet rather than risk upsetting the wealthy people who run the traditional sport of camel racing.

Worse Things Happen

When the issue is raised with local people, a common response is "worse things happen in your country". There are many parallels with the suffering of child chimney sweeps in seventeenth and eighteenth century Britain. For this reason a page has been added to the site about chimney sweeps. Hopefully lessons can be learned from history about how to end child slavery in camel racing.

What can I do?

This site was originally produced by a British teacher in the UAE who, like you are doing now, asked himself "what can I do about it?". He took some photos at the local camel exercising track and produced this web site. If you would like to help to end the exploitation of children then check out some of the links. If you post your views to a forum or send an email to a newspaper, it wont end the practice tomorrow, but it certainly wont do any harm.

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