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RETURN OF CAMEL JOCKEYS

Safe within walls of shelter, but roots to be traced

FAIZUL KHAN TANIM
Children between five and 12 years used as camel jockeys along with their parents totalling 132 were brought to Dhaka in four phases, are now kept at the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA) shelter home.
On a visit to the home, some of the children were playing, a few sleeping and others trying to fit into the new environment. They were talking in Arabic, Urdu and Hindi, Bangla being unfamiliar as they left Bangladesh as babies or toddlers. The shelter workers are struggling to locate their roots.
Seventeen-year old Obaidullah Hossain who spent his teens in the heat of the desert in United Arab Emirates (UAE) narrated his story.
He was taken to the UAE by his own parents about nine years back, along with his younger brother who was 18 months.
"I lived with my family six months where my brother and I were marked by a Kafil (sponsor) who later became our owner. A Kafil turns Arbab (owner) when he takes complete charge. My parents got back to Bangladesh at the end of six months and we started
our training," he said.
"We started with 400 dirhams and two days holiday a month. At the end of two years, we received an increase of only 200 dirhams. We witnessed how fractures were caused as children fell off and run over by camels. I was afraid, but had to go on," Obaidullah added.
"An average weight of a jockey was 25 to 30 kilograms. The younger the kid, the better it was as the camels could run faster with lightweight on their backs. As I grew older I was made caretaker where I had to feed, exercise and take care of the animals," he continued.
"The owner treated us well. We had enough food, medicines and other facitilities we required. My life was at a risk, but the benefits were plenty, and I never wanted to return," he said.
Shamim, a seven-year old said those who posed as his parents were not real. He lived in the UAE for five years. He fell off the camel twice and had each his hands fractured. He is now acquainting himself with the culture here. Only at the Shelter, he found that he was trafficked as a child.
The children said they were given hormone injections to hinder growth and keep their weight within limit to continue as jockeys.
Digging into their roots, it was found that most children were trafficked from Cox's Bazar. Many came from Narshingdi and Comilla and a large number from Chandpur.
Mominul Islam Shuruz, senior investigation officer of BNWLA said: "It is trying job to trace their actual kith and kin. Dishonest people pose as their parents. The risk is that once a child is handed over, he may be sent back to UAE."
"We received information that about 600 Bangladeshi camel jockeys are in UAE, and along with their parents, almost 1,600 Bangladeshis are waiting to return home," said Mominul.
Those in the business are unaware that the use of children as a jockey in the sport has been banned in the UAE, said sources involved in bringing the children back.
Passport office officials who are aware of this business issue passports to the children and 'make-shift' parents while those in the police department supply verification knowing well that the process is illegal.
Traffickers transport children by bus and air. The outward journeys begin from the Zia International Airport direct to UAE,
or to Kanthmandu via Jalpaiguri and from Benapole to Dubai via Kolkata. Transit visas are issued in Nepal.
On reaching UAE, the boys face a lot of trouble including sexual harassment, as sources revealed.
Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah airports see these children arrive and it is here that the Kafils, who plan the entire immigration process, choose which of the children to employ.
It has also been pointed out that a fraction from the Bangladesh High Commission in UAE is also involved, including clerks and drivers.
With only four BCS cadres in the high commission, the lower level staff employed locally renew passports.
The Bangladesh government took the initiative to bring these children back home with the assistance of United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The UAE government signed an agreement with Unicef in May this year, which banned the employment of children under 16 and weighing less than 45 kilograms in camel races.