Robots Will Soon Replace Children As Camel Jockeys

by Meena S Janardhan

(IPS) DUBAI -- The practice of using children as jockeys forcamel racing in the United Arab Emirates will soon be a thing of the past, with robot riders replacing the youngsters.

A UAE ban on the use of jockeys under the age of 16 in the lucrative sport popular among Bedouin Arabs came into effect this month.

Light in weight, the robot jockey receives orders from an operator through a remote control system fixed on the back of the camel. The system allows the operator to guide the camel using the mechanical jockey, the same way a human jockey races the animal.

According to Sheikh Sultan Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, chairman of the protocol and guesthouse department, the mechanical jockeys will be used in the next racing season and the first batch is due in Dubai in August.

'The move will gradually phase out human jockeys over five years. The UAE is determined to invest heavily to put an end to the problem of using underage camel jockeys,' he added.

In announcing the ban early this month, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is state minister for foreign affairs, said: 'The law will stipulate that the jockey's weight should not be less than 45 kilograms while his age, according to passport, should not be less than 16 years.'

'A medical committee will conduct tests on all jockeys as part of the pre-race handicapping,' he said. 'All camel breeders who employ children less than 16 years of age as jockeys must return them to their countries, failing to do so they will face legal action.'

The deputy prime minister also made it known the country's ports of entry will be put on high alert to ensure that 'no children enter for the purpose of being used as camel jockeys.'

Camel races are immensely popular in the Gulf and children, some as young as four, have been favored as jockeys because they are light. The jockeys, riding bareback or strapped to the camels' backs, risk falls and trampling.

Rights groups say several thousand young boys work as camel jockeys, many after being abducted or sold by their families.

To show their seriousness in stamping out child abuse long associated with the popular sport, the UAE invited Ansar Burney, a human rights activist and chairman of the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International in Pakistan, to set up the first rehabilitation center for young camel jockeys.

'More than 40,000 innocent children, mostly from countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Ethiopia, are being used in the Middle East and North Africa as camel jockeys,' said Burney.

It was a documentary made by Burney's trust on the plight of underage camel jockeys, aired on HBO, that brought the issue to the forefront recently.

'The film caught the attention of UAE leaders who invited me over to Abu Dhabi, where I was assured of all the government support I needed in eradicating this menace from the country. The documentary also shows the ordeal faced by some of the young camel jockeys,' Burney said.

At the center, the children will receive physiotherapy and psychological treatment. It opened with 16 children between the ages of three to 10 from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sudan.

The UAE is the first government with a camel racing industry to ban the use of underage, underweight jockeys. The move is also part of the Gulf nation's responsibility to combat all forms of human trafficking, especially with respect to child labor.

Anyone who enters the country as a camel jockey must possess a valid visa and be accompanied by at least one parent. The parents and the child applying for a visa as a camel jockey, regardless if they are arriving from another country or are residents here, are sent to the Dubai Criminal Investigation Department's laboratory for a DNA test to verify the blood relationship.

On being caught for committing the offence the first time, the camel-racing stable owner will have to pay a fine of 20,000 dirhams (around 5,500 U.S. dollars). If the owner re-offends a second time, he will be banned from participating in camel races for one year.

For the third time and subsequent offences, the guilty will face imprisonment.

'This will decisively bring an end to some illegal practices, which used to take place in the past. The cabinet is keen to keep the camel racing sport clean and in conformity with efforts to preserve traditions and heritage and to strengthen social bonds among citizens,' Sheikh Hamdan said.

The decision by the UAE authorities has received praise from international organizations.

'I congratulate the UAE for its bold step to issue a law on the protection of children. The UAE deserves kudos, not only for admitting the existence of the problem of child jockeys but also for seeking permanent solution to it,' said Rima Saleh, UNICEF's regional director for West and Central Africa, in a statement.

But rights activists remain skeptical.

'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 belongs to a sheikh, a trainer will always choose to break the rules if it gives the camel a better chance of winning,' said the activist web-site camelraces.com.

'The trainer receives a small prize if his camel wins. The camel jockey receives nothing,' it said.