Bangladesh boy jockeys in UAE paid compensation

(Aug.18,2009): Hundreds of Bangladeshi boys, who worked as camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates UAE, have begun receiving compensation from the Gulf state. Many of the boys, who were trafficked and lived on camel farms for years with no contact with their parents, broke limbs falling from the camels. The boys, who were as young as three, say they were starved by the camel owners to keep their weight down.
The use of children under 15 as camel jockeys was banned in the UAE in 2002. Then the UAE government agreed with the UN Children agency, UNICEF, to co-operate on the "repatriation, rehabilitation and reintegration" of children involved in the sport. Some 900 boys, many of whom are now young men, are due to receive compensation, ranging between $1,000 and $10,000 each. Robots have now replaced child jockeys in the UAE.