Maktoums face suit over underaged camel jockeys

[Alex2]

Everyday I discover something new about these oil-rich governors! I hope they get what they deserve.

MIAMI - The wealthy rulers of the United Arab Emirates are being accused in a lawsuit of enslaving tens of thousands of young boys over the past three decades and forcing them to work under brutal conditions as camel jockeys.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, the deputy ruler, were the most active perpetrators of the crimes, the lawsuit said.

After getting word of the lawsuit late yesterday, the Herald-Leader attempted but was unable to contact Sheikh Mohammed, who was in Lexington for the September yearling sale at Keeneland.

In a Herald-Leader article nearly two years ago, a UAE embassy spokeswoman in Washington said the sheikh "is not involved in (abusive treatment) because he is the ruler and will not allow anybody to violate the law."

Sheikh Mohhamed has previously declined to respond to Herald-Leader questions about the practices. He owns two horse farms in Central Kentucky -- Raceland in Paris and Darley at Jonabell in Lexington.

Camel races are immensely popular in the Persian Gulf. The UAE banned the use of camel jockeys under age 18 -- long favored because of their light weight -- in 2005.

John Andres Thornton, the Miami Beach-based co-counsel for the children, said Sheikh Mohammed had been served with the lawsuit Monday.

The lawsuit was filed last week in Miami because the members of the royal family maintain hundreds of horses at farms in Ocala -- among their billions of dollars in U.S. assets.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status and was filed by unnamed parents of boys as young as 2 years old who were allegedly a**ucted, enslaved and sold to serve in the popular Arab sport.

More than 30,000 boys could have been victimized in what the suit calls "one of the greatest humanitarian crimes of the last 50 years."

The lawsuit claims the boys were taken largely from Bangladesh, Pakistan and elsewhere, held at desert camps in the UAE and other Perisan Gulf nations, and forced to work. It claims some boys were sexually abused, given limited food and sleep and injected with hormones to prevent their growth.

"Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan treated their camels better than they treated their slave boys for the simple reason that the camels were far more valuable," the lawsuit said.

[Prada]

[/QUOTE]one of the greatest humanitarian crimes of the last 50 years[QUOTE]

What is a great humanitarian crime in 50 years is everyone acted oblivious to what was going on. This was not something that was hidden, it was open and a known trade.

There is a plethora of examples of underage children working in sweatshops or under likewise conditions. Minors used as soldiers in Africa and east asia, fighting with Kaleshnikovs and smoking cigarettes. Everyone turns the blind eye not to be dealt with this problem, that doesnt make it go away.

[Prada]

More than 30,000 boys could have been victimized in what the suit calls "one of the greatest humanitarian crimes of the last 50 years."

What is a great humanitarian crime in 50 years is everyone acted oblivious to what was going on. This was not something that was hidden, it was open and a known trade.

There is a plethora of examples of underage children working in sweatshops or under likewise conditions. Minors used as soldiers in Africa and east asia, fighting with Kaleshnikovs and smoking cigarettes. Everyone turns the blind eye not to be dealt with this problem, that doesnt make it go away.

[Logan13]

What is a great humanitarian crime in 50 years is everyone acted oblivious to what was going on. This was not something that was hidden, it was open and a known trade.

There is a plethora of examples of underage children working in sweatshops or under likewise conditions. Minors used as soldiers in Africa and east asia, fighting with Kaleshnikovs and smoking cigarettes. Everyone turns the blind eye not to be dealt with this problem, that doesnt make it go away.

slavery is alive and well even today in many countries.