KEY POINTS:
MUZZAFARGARH - Amir is a victim of the trade in child camel jockeys. But he cannot tell his story. When he opens his mouth, he can make only incomprehensible sounds.
Sold by his parents at just 5 to take part in races in Dubai, he fell off
the back of a camel in a race and was badly trampled by the camels running close behind. His face was shattered so badly he cannot speak any more. He is blind in one eye.
He is just 6 and his life is ruined before it has even begun.
Child camel jockeys are not allowed in Dubai any more, thanks to a prolonged campaign by Anti-Slavery International.
But such advocacy is not yet over, says Tanveer Jahan of Anti-Slavery International's local partner in Pakistan, the Democratic Commission for Human Development.
The town of Rahim Yar Khan sits on the edge of the desert. It's a dirt-poor sort of place, but dotted around the town are several palatial residences.
These are the hunting lodges of wealthy Arabs from the Gulf states, who come here to hunt the abundant wildlife of Pakistan's desert. But, says Jahan, they also employ local agents to find children to work as camel jockeys.
The use of children may have been banned in Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates, but that is not the end of the story.
Before the ban, there were believed to be 3000 child jockeys in the UAE - most of them from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sudan. But only 1000 ever returned home.
No one knows what happened to the others, but the use of child jockeys has not been banned in all countries and Jahan says they are still recruiting in Rahim Yar Khan.
Children are favoured as jockeys because they are small and light enough not to slow the camels. But the conditions they face are grim.
Mubasher Hussain was sold to work as a camel jockey by his parents when he was 7. Today, aged 12 and back in Pakistan, he tells his story in the garden of the government school where he is catching up on lost years.
"My parents told me they were going to perform the Haj [ the pilgrimage to Mecca], but they took me to Dubai," he says.
"There was a sheikh. My parents gave me to him. They told me to stay with the sheikh while they performed the Haj, but they didn't go. My father got a job in Dubai."
This is a common arrangement, Jahan says. The camel owners agree to arrange visas for the whole family if they sell a son as a jockey.
As Jahan puts it: "The child is the main bargaining chip."
For the family, it's an opportunity to work in Dubai, where they can earn far more than at home. But for the child, it is the start of a nightmare.
"I spent one month learning to ride the camels. When I fell off, the supervisor used to beat me. I was scared on the camel. I was very high up and the camel went very fast. But after I learnt how to ride I was not so scared."
Still, Mubasher is one of the lucky ones. He never fell in a race and he escaped serious injury.
Nasir Hussain, no relation, was not so lucky. He was old at the age of 5. He fell off the camel in the middle of a race and was trampled by the camels coming up from behind.
Now Nasir is 7. His leg is still badly damaged and he is no longer able to ride. After the accident, his parents were able to bring him back to Pakistan.
- INDEPENDENT
