A DAY WITH REPATRIATED CAMEL JOCKEYS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 001243

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KOCI SMIG BG
SUBJECT: A DAY WITH REPATRIATED CAMEL JOCKEYS


1. SUMMARY: Poloff visited the shelter for repatriated camel
jockeys to get a sense of their pre- and post- repatriation
life. Three boys talked about the difficulties they faced in
the UAE, and that they were generally glad to be home, but
that in many ways life continues to be difficult for them
back in their homeland. END SUMMARY


2. Poloff visited the Proshanti Shelter run by the Bangladesh
National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA),which
accommodates approximately 120 women and children who are
victims of either domestic abuse or trafficking. Proshanti's
most publicized residents over the last year have been the
camel jockeys repatriated from the UAE. There are currently
22 camel jockeys at the shelter; 16 are preparing to return
to their families, and six whose families have not yet been
identified. The purpose of the visit was to interview one or
two residents in depth about their experiences in Abu Dhabi
or Dubai, and to compare that to their life in Bangladesh.


3. On the day of the visit, the shelter was also hosting
Major Ibrahim Marzouki, Department of Juvenile Care, Abu
Dhabi. Major Marzouki runs the shelter where the jockeys had
stayed before returning to Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sudan.
Marzouki said he was in Dhaka to follow up on his former
charges and to turn over savings accounts that he had been
holding in trust for many of them. According to Marzouki,
these accounts held as much as 8,000 UAE dirham
(approximately USD 2,200). Each parent or guardian had to
show that there was now an account set up in Bangladesh so
that the funds could be transferred to a responsible adult.
Each boy's reintegration committee will monitor how these
funds are spent.


4. Shohel and Ronnie were both around 12 years old, and said
they had worked as camel jockeys for eight years. Shohel was
taken to the UAE by his mother, who worked there as a school
janitor. Ronnie was taken by traffickers masquerading as his
parents. Shohel is an outgoing and confident young man.
Ronnie was withdrawn, avoided eye contact, fidgeted, and
appeared anxious. The officials at the shelter stated Ronnie
is one of six boys whose parents and family members have not
come forth to reclaim him.


5. Asked to describe a typical day as a jockey, the boys said
they would wake up at 3:00 a.m. to begin exercising their
camels at 4:00. Most days, they would groom the camel, clean
the stalls, and perform other chores on the farm. They would
eat small meals, and engage in strenuous exercise to maintain
their low body weight. The boys described running for long
periods of time while their "trainer" chased them in his
automobile.


6. They would race camels two or three days a week. The
first race of the day was at 7:00 a.m. and the second at 7:00
p.m. In between races, they would care for the camel and eat
their "meal" for the day -- one piece of bread. If they won,
they could expect a bonus from the camel's owner and
triumphant gamblers. Shohel remembered one especially large
bonus that allowed him to purchase a bicycle.


7. Asked what happened when they didn't win, the boys
displayed scars from cane beatings. They also had scars from
having fallen -- or been knocked off -- during races. They
added that an ambulance was always kept near the racetrack
and hospitals provided free medical care to the injured.


8. Both boys were repatriated to Bangladesh four months ago.
When asked if they were happy to be back, the boys were
ambivalent. They talked about friends from Pakistan and
Sudan that they miss, about how hard it was to get used to a
new diet heavy on rice, and how much they have to work to
understand Bangladeshi life and culture. Shohel would like
to return to Dubai to work in a store, maybe someday own his
own shop. Ronnie wants to study in Bangladesh and get a
professional job, and, most of all, to find a home.


9. Rohim was repatriated about four months ago. He is 18
years old, and did not have the stunted growth and barrel
chest of the other boys. He was sent to Abu Dhabi as a camel
caretaker about three years ago, along with his younger
mother and a broker. His mother returned to Bangladesh after
two months. He is now learning to be an auto mechanic.


10. Rohim is happy to be back, but their return has been
hard on his family. His mother is single and has two other
children. She currently supports herself doing domestic

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work. While he and a brother were in Abu Dhabi, they both
earned a salary of 600 dirham a month, and were able to send
about half of that back to their mother. Rohim is anxious
now to complete his training so he can again contribute to
his family's upkeep.


11. Asked to compare Dhaka to Abu Dhabi, Rohim said in Abu
Dhabi everything was big: tall people, high buildings, and
many opportunities to earn money. In Dhaka, he said,
everything seems small. Still, he is glad to be home. When
told that Poloff would be writing a report to the US
government about him, he said to tell the President that he
is grateful to the US and Bangladeshi governments for helping
him go home. He said by leaving Bangladesh, he had lost
friends, an opportunity for education, and time that should
have been spent in the company of his family. He was never
going to get that back, but he was glad to feel like he had a
future in his homeland now.


12. Comment: The boys made it clear that they do not want to
return to their former lifestyle, where they were denied
adequate food, protection and access to education. At the
same time, they expressed a nostalgia for certain aspects of
their former lives. The reaction of the boys to the UAE
representative was a vivid display of the mixture of emotions
these boys need to deal with since they have been brought
home. Although a representative of the country that
exploited them, the boys crowded around Marzouki, vying for
his attention, and anxious to speak Arabic, the only language
that some of these boys speak well. While expressing
gratitude to those who had brought them home to Bangladesh,
they are becoming aware of the difficulties of life here that
contributed to their being trafficked in the first place.
CHAMMAS