600 குழந்தை ஒட்டக ஓட்டிகள் அமீரகத்திலிருந்து விடுதலை!

பாகிஸ்தானிலிருந்து அவர்களது அரேபிய எஜமானர்களை குஷிப்படுத்துவதற்காக அனுப்பி வைக்கப்பட்ட குழந்தை ஒட்டக ஓட்டிகள் படும் துயரம் பல நாடுகளை கண்டனம் செய்ய வைத்தது.

யுனிசெப் என்ற குழந்தைகள் பாதுகாப்பு ஐக்கியநாடுகள் நிறுவனம் அமீரகத்தை வற்புறுத்தி குழந்தைகளை ஒட்டக ஓட்டிகளாக பயன்படுத்துவதை நிறுத்த கோரியது.

யுனிசெப்பின் மூலமாக இந்த குழந்தை ஒட்டக ஓட்டிகள் பாகிஸ்தானுக்கு திரும்ப அனுப்பப் படுகிறார்கள்.


Emirates: Over 600 Pakistani child jockeys sent home

Abu Dhabi, 23 August (AKI/WAM) - Over 600 Pakistani child camel jockeys working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have so far been repatriated to Pakistan under an agreement between the UAE and the UN children's agency UNICEF, a senior Pakistani foreign ministry official has disclosed.

''More than 650 child camel jockeys have been brought home from the UAE after undergoing an extensive rehabilitation programme for social and psychological support," Pakistan's foreign ministry director general Ghalib Iqbal told Arabic daily Al Ittihad.

He described the moves as part of "efforts adopted by the UAE to put an end to the problem of using underage children in camel races,''

''The move testifies to the good intention of the UAE and its wise leadership's care for the those helpless children who fell victims to the human trafficking gangs which abused them in a profession that is not compatible with their age,'' Iqbal affirmed.

He maintained that the Pakistani government had taken stringent measures against traffickers of young children and tried its best to prevent parents from sending their children voluntarily to the Gulf region to work as camel jockeys.

Camel racing is a favourite sport in the Gulf States.

The UAE banned the use of children under 16 or weighing less than 45 kilogrammes as jockeys in camel racing, following widespread criticism of the abuse of children. Since new restrictions have been imposed, many of the youngsters have been repatriated. A previous 1993 ban on the use of children under 15 had been widely ignored in the UAE.

The child jockeys come mainly from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and are as young as four years old. Human rights groups have highlighted the exploitation of children by traffickers who either pay a small sum to their impoverished parents or just kidnap the potential jockeys and smuggle them into the UAE.

They are often kept in harsh conditions in camps, under-fed by employers to keep them light. They also risk being thrown-off and trampled on as well as longer term orthopaedic damage.