UAE : horrendous record of child slavery

Kidnapped Children Starve As Camel Jockey Slaves

As many as 5,000 children, some as young as two, have been kidnapped or bought from their parents in the Indian sub-continent and Africa as part of a quest by camel trainers to gain the edge over their racing rivals.

Camel Jockeys Trying To Recover Lost Childhood

Both the UAE and Qatar have talked about plans to use “robots” for camel jockeys, operated by remote control. They say the technology has been tried and tested, but locals involved in the sport doubt it will be popular or practical. “These children have lost their childhood, they are living in hell,” he said, describing starvation to keep the boys light weight to race faster, long hours and sometimes sexual abuse. He said the shelter was paradise but doubted police were able to locate most children’s parents. “These boys should get compensation,” he said, adding he had found one as young as three.

Child camel jockeys find hope

Children from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sudan are still being smuggled to the United Arab Emirates to work as camel jockeys, despite a law passed two years ago banning their use. It is not uncommon for child jockeys to fall off and be injured while racing, and their illegal status means race track owners are often reluctant to take them to hospital. Instead, says Ansar Burney, the boys often arrive with broken hands or broken legs. And many, he says, have been sodomised.

Missing Girl Rescued By A Journalist

“They forced me into prostitution,” Priya said after she was rescued, according to a friend. “I was beaten up several times and finally had to give in to their demands. We were being shifted to a different flat every two days. The customers used to pay dhs50, which the agents used to collect. It was a real hell out there.”

Work Worries

Sri Lankan women are trafficked to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, mainly as sex workers or for forced labor.