Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ABUDHABI277
2006-01-28 14:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:  

CAMEL JOCKEY REPATRIATIONS CONTINUE -- RACING

Tags:  PREL PHUM ELAB AE 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000277 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/RA AND NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ELAB AE
SUBJECT: CAMEL JOCKEY REPATRIATIONS CONTINUE -- RACING
BEGINS WITHOUT LIVE JOCKEYS

REF: A. 05 ABU DHABI 4737


B. 05 ABU DHABI 4903

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000277

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/RA AND NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ELAB AE
SUBJECT: CAMEL JOCKEY REPATRIATIONS CONTINUE -- RACING
BEGINS WITHOUT LIVE JOCKEYS

REF: A. 05 ABU DHABI 4737


B. 05 ABU DHABI 4903


1. (U) Summary: The UAEG is close to concluding the
repatriation of former camel jockeys to their countries of
origin. Having already sent 1,038 jockeys home, only 27
children remain at the Bani Yas shelter outside Abu Dhabi.
UNICEF,s representative in Abu Dhabi monitoring progress on
the rescue and repatriation of the boys expressed
satisfaction about the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Dubai
Police, saying they have been very cooperative in the
repatriation process, often seeming to compete with each
other over who can do more, faster, and better. The UNICEF
representative and PolOff attended separate camel races in
Abu Dhabi where all the jockeys were robots. End summary.

--------------
Repatriations Continue
--------------

2. (U) UAEG continues to be forthcoming in reporting
trafficking issues. On January 23, an official at the
Ministry of Interior contacted the Embassy to volunteer the
following information: the repatriation of former camel
jockeys continues while the number of children remaining in
the shelter drops to only 27. From March 2005 when the UAEG
announced its intention to pass a law banning persons under
age 18 from taking part in camel races through January 14,
the UAEG has repatriated 1,038 children and their resident
family members, to their countries of origin, according to
statistics provided by the UAEG.


3. (U) Countries of origin for the children repatriated:
- Pakistan -- 552
- Bangladesh -- 311
- Sudan -- 151
- Mauritania -- 17
- Eritrea -- 7


4. (U) Countries of origin for the children remaining in
shelters:
- Pakistan )- 13
- Bangladesh -) 5
- Sudan )- 8
- Mauritania -- 1


5. (SBU) Buthayna al-Khatib, UNICEF,s representative in Abu
Dhabi, confirms that the MoI,s statistics agree with UNICEF
data. She noted that MoI officials have been extremely
cooperative through this process as have the Dubai Police.
She proffered that there seems to be some competition between
the two emirates, police authorities which has resulted in
each trying to outperform the other in identifying jockeys
and locating relatives to whom they can be sent. She noted

that this "friendly" competition has been a "welcome
surprise" that has been of great benefit to the program and
the children involved.

--------------
Camel Racing without Children
--------------

6. (SBU) Al-Khatib stated that she had been attending camel
races in Abu Dhabi Emirate during the week of January 19-25,
and had found no children working in or at the races in any
manner. She reported that the races she attended appeared to
be run by robot jockeys only. She further reported that she
had been looking into the implementation of the new licensing
and identification requirements for jockeys and noted that
they seemed to be working well. Offering that perhaps
because of the high profile of the jockey issue, she has
found no evidence that anybody has even attempted to
circumvent the new regulations.


7. (SBU) On January 25, PolOff attended a camel race at the
al-Wathba racetrack in Abu Dhabi. The race was the concluding
competition of a week-long event at the track. The racetrack
was open to the public, and although police were present they
did not appear to monitor who attended the race. Spectators
used binoculars and cameras without objection, and portions
of the races were shown during the sporting news broadcasts
of several local television stations. The race was run with
robot jockeys only, and PolOff did not see any children
working at the racetrack in any capacity.


8. (U) PolOff noted that the race was not as well-attended as
in the past, even though it was the concluding race at
al-Wathba. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the race
was run on a weekday, but it may indicate a waning interest
in camel racing. Since the camel racing season began,
neither the English nor Arabic language press has reported
much on camel racing. When questioned, a reporter at "Gulf
News" stated that he thinks this is due to lack of general
interest in the sport, not editorial restrictions.

9. (U) On December 5, "Gulf News" reported on the switch to
robot jockeys and the impacts that it has had on racing. The
article reported that while camel farm owners were supportive
of the government's decision to ban child jockeys, many were
refusing to race camels without live jockeys. One prominent
owner was quoted as saying that "the sport is in a coma right
now." He explained that as it will take three to four years
to prepare a stable of racing camels trained with the heavier
jockeys, most of the owners he knows have chosen to eat their
losses until the next generation of camels are ready rather
to race with the "abomination" robots. Contrarily, a UK
diplomat told us that camel farm owners who met the Duke of
York during a recent visit to Abu Dhabi commented on how much
easier it was to use robots because they did not require as
much care as young boys.


10. (SBU) Comment: We continue to hear anecdotes about
underage camel jockeys being used in races in more remote
regions of the UAE, but we have not been able to substantiate
any of these reports. Contacts at the Embassy of Pakistan
state that they have been investigating these anecdotal
reports as well, but that they have not been able to
substantiate any of them either. We will report septel on
our discussions with Dubai Police this week, including their
efforts to rescue underage camel jockeys, and determine what
measures they have taken to tackle the UAE,s continuing
problem of trafficking in women for the purposes of sexual
exploitation.
SISON