It is an accepted truth that slavery and human trafficking exists in the twenty-first century. Because of exposure by the media and the internet, more people are becoming aware of this practice. Today, more than 27 million people are enslaved worldwide. The exploitation of children is probably the most shocking form of slavery in the world. Trafficking children for the purpose of slave labor, pornography, and prostitution has brought global media attention to the problem. However, other types of child exploitation receive little to no attention. Making children camel jockeys is one type of child exploitation that has escaped worldwide attention.In the Middle East, especially in the Gulf States there is an active child slave trade. The United Arab Emirate (UAE) exploits children mainly for camel jockeys. Camel races are among the most popular sporting events in that region. Children as young as three-years old are used to ride camels because of their small size and weight. Although slavery in the UAE was outlawed in 2003, the Gulf region still finds it more profitable to continue this centuries old practice of buying children from Indi, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Asia and Sudan. Many of the children are kidnapped; many are sold into slavery because their families are too poor to support them. It is estimated that as many as 5,000 children as young as two years old have been kidnapped or bought to be used as camel jockeys. South Asian boys in particular are recruited because they tend to be the cheapest, weigh less and tend to scream louder at a higher pitch than most adults, causing camels to run faster.
Being a camel jockey is a seven day a week job, all year round. Children are forced to work up to 18 hours a day
even in extreme heat, which most people in the Gulf States would strive to avoid. The children are maltreated: they are woken up in the middle of the night to clean camel dung with their bare hands. They are regularly beaten to keep them in line or if they do not perform well enough. Some are sexually molested by the trainers. In addition to enduring inhumane living conditions and beatings, the boys are intentionally starved to keep their weight down. Weak from undernourishment, some are maimed or killed while trying to pilot the 1500-pound camels.
even in extreme heat, which most people in the Gulf States would strive to avoid. The children are maltreated: they are woken up in the middle of the night to clean camel dung with their bare hands. They are regularly beaten to keep them in line or if they do not perform well enough. Some are sexually molested by the trainers. In addition to enduring inhumane living conditions and beatings, the boys are intentionally starved to keep their weight down. Weak from undernourishment, some are maimed or killed while trying to pilot the 1500-pound camels. The children are tied to the camels’ back with Velcro so they won’t fall off. However, according to a report from the London-based human rights group Antislavery International, it is not uncommon for children to fall off or get dragged along, sometimes to their death. A Pakistani boy who worked five years as a camel jockey, starting at age 4, remembers the race as noisy and dangerous, where more than 50 camels with screaming children strapped onto their backs would run. He personally saw about 20 children die, and more than a dozen injured every week. He recalls: "There was this one kid whose strap broke at the beginning of the race. His head was crushed between the legs of the running camel.” Once the race has started it cannot stop.
Many of these under-aged riders have been left to die from the terrible injuries suffered on desert race courses without any medical treatment. To the owners, the camels are valuable assets worth millions of dollars; instead the children who are viewed as cheap and expendable. With camel racing heavily patronized by the UAE's oil-rich rulers, who have least respect in the legislature, thousands of enslaved children face a bleak and dangerous future.
In 2004, a Pakistani human rights attorney, Ansar Burney, finally succeeded in bringing the problem of child 
slavery to public attention in the UAE. After spending two weeks filming this form of slavery in action, Burney convinced Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Nahyn of Abu Dhabi to see the film. The film exposed the bare facts of the trade and all who viewed it were horrified. In March 2005, The Emirati Sheikhs pledged that they are going to put a stop to the practice. They set up refugee homes for the boys while an attempt was made to find their families. However, many were too young when they became slaves even to remember who they were or where they came from, which is why so many of them are still in the UAE.
slavery to public attention in the UAE. After spending two weeks filming this form of slavery in action, Burney convinced Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Nahyn of Abu Dhabi to see the film. The film exposed the bare facts of the trade and all who viewed it were horrified. In March 2005, The Emirati Sheikhs pledged that they are going to put a stop to the practice. They set up refugee homes for the boys while an attempt was made to find their families. However, many were too young when they became slaves even to remember who they were or where they came from, which is why so many of them are still in the UAE.In June 2003, the new rules published by Emirates Camel Racing Federation (ECRF) stipulated that it is illegal for a child under the age of 15 or weighting less than 45 kilos (99 Ibs) to be a camel jockey. However, the rules are being ignored and the allegations remain that the Emirate government has acknowledged that many racers are too young and weigh too little but avoid stopping the traffic of child slaves because they themselves are camel and slave owners. Even though the practice was outlawed again in 2005, this does not mean that it no longer exists. Correspondents say that while the UAE has banned the use of camel jockeys under 15, the laws are openly disobeyed, with even televised races showing small boys riding the huge animals.
Burney estimates that there are more than 40,000 children are being used in the Middle East and North Africa as camel jockeys. Burney reported that "During training races they often fall down and are badly injured... Because it is illegal to keep underage jockeys, they never receive medical treatment and often suffer prolonged pain and some
of them even die," However, there is a glimmer of hope in stopping the use of child slaves in the Gulf. In May 2005, the Government of Qatar announced severe punishments for the use of underage children as camel jockeys and ordered to replace the children with robots. The Qatari government and the Ansar Burney Trust plan to establish a centre in Qatar for the treatment and rehabilitation of the children rescued from camps in this country. The Ansar Burney Trust is currently in the process of persuading other Middle Eastern countries to follow the example set by Qatar and the UAE; and ban the use of underage children as camel jockeys. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4063391.stm
http://www.uaeprison.com/trafficking_in_persons_united_arab_emirates.htm
Obi, N. I, & Das, E, & Das D. K. Global Trafficking in Women and Children: New York, CRC Press, 2008.
Tenaglia, M. Global Viewpoints: Slavery. San Francisco: GALE CENGAGE Learning, 2009.
http://www.uaeprison.com/trafficking_in_persons_united_arab_emirates.htm
Obi, N. I, & Das, E, & Das D. K. Global Trafficking in Women and Children: New York, CRC Press, 2008.
Tenaglia, M. Global Viewpoints: Slavery. San Francisco: GALE CENGAGE Learning, 2009.
