The New York Times
By: HASSAN M. FATTAH
on: 02/04/2005

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - As he scratched the cigarette burns on his arms, his face blemished with cuts, 8-year-old Salih Sulaiman recounted the worst moment of his life as a slave.

About a year ago, Salih said, he watched as a boy fell off a camel, broke his neck and was left for dead. "They wrapped his body up in a blanket before the race and hid it," said Salih, a bony Sudanese jockey. "Then they buried him in a hole after the race was over." That day, Salih decided he had to escape the camp where he had been held for four years.

Far from Dubai's high-rises and Abu Dhabi's luxurious lifestyles, thousands of young boys like Salih endure Dickensian conditions as jockeys in camel races in the desert hinterlands of the United Arab Emirates. Boys primarily from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sudan have long been kidnapped or sold by impoverished parents to race camels in the UAE and in other Persian Gulf countries, where child slavery remains an open secret. Child welfare groups estimate that as many as 5,000 children toil as jockeys or in camel farms, known as ozbahs, in the UAE alone. Most work without pay, with any money going to smugglers and occasionally to the children's parents.

Now, after years of campaigning and pressure by human rights groups, the emirates' government has begun to crack down on the use of child jockeys, promising to impose tough new penalties on violators and hoping to close loopholes used to smuggle children into the country. Among the changes is a new law setting an age limit of 16 and a weight limit of 100 pounds for jockeys. The law came into effect on Thursday.

In unusually public decrees and newspaper notices, government officials have warned of the penalties in the legislation and of more legislation that promises even harsher penalties if camel owners do not comply.

There already were laws on the books regulating the camel-racing industry, but enforcement has been weak. In the UAE, as with most other Persian Gulf countries, slavery is illegal, but camel farms have rarely been policed.

"This time, it's going to be difficult for them not to enforce the laws," said Ansar Burney, a Pakistan-based human rights lawyer who has led a 16-year campaign against the use of the child jockeys.

The latest crackdown is seen as pragmatic in part because the issue continues to hamper the emirates' efforts to join monetary unions and trade pacts with the West.

Last year, the International Labor Organization accused the government of taking little action to stem the use of underage jockeys.

The effort to clean up the industry will not be an easy one. Camel racing is a big sport in this country, where prestige, if not money, rides on a victory.

Camel owners prefer child jockeys because they are light and agile. Burney says a 4-year-old fetches up to $600 on the market, while an 8-year-old will attract half that price.

Each year, Burney said, hundreds of boys like Salih, some as young as 2, are taken to makeshift desert camps where they are typically underfed, abused and sometimes sodomized. The children receive poor medical care; disease and untreated broken limbs are common. Salih said his cigarette burns were punishment for losing races or for misbehaving.

Many people credit a documentary broadcast on the HBO program Real Sports, which also made the rounds here, for prompting the crackdown. The program showed film from a hidden camera taken by Burney into the ozbahs showing the harsh conditions under which children were being kept -- in some cases worse than that provided for the camels.

Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai, is a prominent figure in the world of camel racing. He also owns two horse farms in the Bluegrass. Embassy officials for the UAE deny that Sheik Moham-med is involved in or condones the use of children as camel jockeys in his native land.

Burney said the HBO documentary caught the attention of the UAE's armed forces chief of staff, Muhammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Rather than banishing Burney from the emirates, the sheik invited him to Abu Dhabi to help find a solution, Burney said.

With the backing of Sheik Muhammad, Burney agreed to organize a shelter on a UAE army base near Abu Dhabi, where boys could be taken for medical and psychological care before being sent back to their home countries. He also began a publicity campaign at racetracks to let boys know about their rights.

For Salih, the shelter proved a ticket home. About three months ago, he said, he got to a cell phone and called police to report "undocumented workers" at the camel farm where he was being held. When officers arrived, he said, the boys rushed to them. Six children were freed from the farm and taken to the shelter. So far, the center has processed 44 children, who have been sent home, Burney said.

Salih hopes to return soon to his home in Sudan: "My mother is happy I will be returning, but my father isn't. He needs the money."

(Courtesy: NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE Apr. 03, 2005)

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