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UAE plans to end the menace

DUBAI — When American TV channel HBO telecast the 25-minute documentary Real Sports on the pitiful conditions of young camel jockeys early this month, Pakistani Human Rights Activist Ansar Burney never thought that the world would cry with him.

Later, the documentary made my Ansar Burney Welfare Trust (ABWT), caught the attention of UAE leaders who invited Burney over to Abu Dhabi, assuring him of all the government’s support needed in eradicating the menace from the country.

In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, Burney said he was invited to the UAE by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who lauded Burney’s human rights services around the globe and discussed the child camel jockey issue and the state of Pakistani prisoners in the UAE jails.

“The UAE government has assured me of their support and have also said that soon, the United Nations, the entire world and the ABWT will see great decisions taken by the UAE government in improving the human rights situation further in the country,” he said.

Burney also said that he later met with Major-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, who also assured him of the government’s support in eradicating this heinous crime from the UAE.

“The UAE government is taking historical steps to ensure that this crime is over in the country, which could see other Gulf states following suit,” said Burney.

Speaking about the documentary that his Trust had filmed, Burney said that sexually-abused child camel jockeys were shown being forced to ride camels, while their living quarters were in a miserable condition.

“This film was enough to shake the entire world. The original film is a 30-hour movie which covers several aspects, while the edited version shown on HBO is only of 25 minutes,” explained Burney.

He said that the UAE government had granted him an open visa so that he could enter the country whenever he wished and to help take the children back to their countries.

“The actual people responsible for committing this heinous crime are ‘agents’ who smuggle children from the Third World countries including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh and sell them in the Arab countries,” he said.

Burney also said that as per his meeting with Gen. Shaikh Mohammed, all government departments had been instructed to tackle the issue as soon as possible.

Kid jockeys to be sent back home

DUBAI — Beginning today, child camel jockeys will be extradited to their home countries with the official help of the UAE government. “Though I have been helping children in need for a long time, now with the official support of the government, the process of extradition will be easier,” he said.

“Extradition of the children in large numbers may create panic, so we are planning on taking them back to their countries in smaller numbers. Before that, we also need to bring them out of their state-of-shock so that they can recover well,” he explained.