or the EU?
Could they be too busy kissing their terrorist friends?
Annan: "We at the Imperial UN support slavery -both African and Arab-, antiSemitism,
and, of course, any anti-US behavior."
Posted on 08/20/2002 5:37:29 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
GENEVA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Bangladeshi children kidnapped or sold to work as camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates will be repatriated after the Gulf state introduced a ban on underage jockeys, an international aid agency said on Tuesday.
But the youths, sold for as little as $75 to work in the dangerous but popular sport in the Emirates and other Gulf states, face difficulties in their homeland, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
"Many of these children were trafficked at a very early age -- perhaps between two and five -- and often cannot recognise their parents," Shahidul Haque, head of IOM's office in Dhaka, said in a statement.
"Some can no longer even speak in their mother tongue because of their prolonged stay in the Gulf," Haque said.
A UAE ban on employing children under age 15 and weighing less than 45 kilos as camel jockeys goes into effect on September 1, before the start of the camel racing season in October, according to IOM spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy.
"These children live in difficult conditions and are underfed to keep down their weight," Chauzy told a briefing.
"The fact that Bangladesh has requested our assistance shows that it is a real problem...We will see what we can do in other Gulf states in the future," he added.
Nearly 1,700 Bangladesh children, trafficked secretly into the UAE, were repatriated during the 1990s, according to the Dhaka-based Centre for Women and Children. A U.S. State Department report in 2000 cited at least 20 cases of underage camel jockeys in the UAE being repatriated to their countries of origin, including Bangladesh.
Under new UAE regulations, owners of camel racing stables will bear the cost of repatriating child jockeys under age 15.
Other government measures to stamp out the practice include a new medical committee to check the age and weight of jockeys before races, and airport checks to stop traffickers from bringing unaccompanied children into the country. ((Geneva Newsroom, +41 22 733 38 31, fax 734 87 60, e-mail geneva.newsroom@reuters.com))
Could they be too busy kissing their terrorist friends?
Annan: "We at the Imperial UN support slavery -both African and Arab-, antiSemitism,
and, of course, any anti-US behavior."
Annan: "OK. One game of hide the salami but no tongue this time Yassir. Your breath smells like cigarettes and camel s**t."
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