(WASHINGTON DC) January 31, 2003.. A royal decree was issued to stop the practice of using children in camel racing, an enterprise mostly owned by the royal family, Alyoum News paper reported Thursday.
Because of their light weight, thousands of children usually from poor Saudi families and African expatriates are used to race camels to entertain the royal family and wealthy businessmen. Children as young as six years old have been used in the past two decades.
The most famous camel race is the annual Janadria race, inaugurated by Crown Prince Abdullah, and attended by many royals and government officials.
Many children fall from the speeding camels to die or receive severe injuries. The number of children killed and injured is not known.
The Saudi Institute, a human rights watch dog, brought the matter to the attention of the human rights commission at the United Nations and other rights groups on many occasions, said director Ali Al-Ahmed. In October a UN reporter on the independence of judges and lawyers visited the country, and possibly raised the issue.
Ali Alyami, a longtime human rights activist, said “it is a drop in the ocean that won’t do any good for the many children who were injured or killed while racing camels for royals.”
Photos showing camel kids in Janadria race can be seen from the official website:
http://www.janadria.org/en/photo.asp?id=66
http://www.janadria.org/photos/66.jpg
http://www.janadria.org/photos/a1.jpg |
