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[RC] The Sultan's Slave Trade - Howard BramhallLast night, during the commercial breaks of the Red Sox magical comeback against the Yankees, I flipped around my cabel channels and came upon an HBO show titled ?Real Sports? with Bryant Gumble. The story they were discussing was about Camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates. These jockeys are young boys, aged 4 to 9, and they all weigh less than 50 lbs. I never went back to the baseball game until everything Bryant?s crew had to say and film about this disgusting practice was concluded. Watching it made me upset, angry, and I felt betrayed. Betrayed by my own country for doing business with these people, those Almighty Sultans of Swing, and even betrayed by some endurance riders who go over there and might (I emphasize the might part) know that this kind of crap is going on, just down the road from the endurance barn, in the area where the camels are kept. I went on the HBO Internet site to see if I could get some of what this is all about written in their own words, since I?m so upset about all of this, I don?t think I can write clearly about what I watched on television last night. This is what they say about this part of the show: Desert RacersCamel racing, the oldest and most venerated sport in the Middle East, is a draw for some of the region's wealthiest sheiks, whose stables compete for grandiose prizes. Hidden behind lavish spectacles, however, is a disturbing reality. The tiny jockeys who compete in these races are victims of a horrible slave trade, all young boys who have been kidnapped or sold into slavery as mere infants. In addition to enduring inhumane living conditions and beatings, the boys are intentionally starved to keep their weight down. Weak from undernourishment, some are maimed or killed while trying to pilot the 1500-pound camels. Using hidden cameras, REAL SPORTS travels to the United Arab Emirates for a special expanded report on the perilous lives of camel jockeys and the pitiless human traffickers that exploit them. Correspondent Bernard Goldberg interviews John Miller, a State Department ambassador at large, to determine whether the U.S. government is doing enough to stop the practice in this tense political climate. Correspondent: Bernard Goldberg. All I can say, is ya?ll need to watch this show. It should replay again this week on HBO. If you don?t have HBO go to a friends house who does and watch it. We?re talking slavery, pedophilia, beatings and starvation of these young boys. They have some absurd rule that the jockey?s must be young boys who weigh less than 50 lbs, so, they starve them. Literally, bread and water. There is a direct Sultan of Swing connection here, including the endurance King of Kings, ole Mr. Mohammed. Next time one of you International endurance riders go over there you may want to ask him about all of this. Or, better yet, refuse to participate in anything that they sponsor until they come to grips with the rest of the civilized world and realize this is incredibly upsetting to anyone who has a sense of human decency inside their soul. I realize that this is some sort of clash of civilizations and that their world, one where money and power, together, control everything and they, these Sultans, literally can do anything in that world (theirs) that they wish. We must let them know this is unacceptable and that if it continues we will cut the cord completely. This cord never should have been there in the first place. Otherwise, if we do not, we are as guilty of the crimes committed as they. Tevis, start with getting rid of their sponsorship. Do it now and tell them why you are doing this. International endurance riders: Stop going over there. Tell them why, do it now, and, get your fellow competitors to join with you in this cause. Aussies, I?m counting on you, also. Backyard endurance riders, like myself (I?m not even worthy of that title), seek and find the top riders at the next endurance ride you attend. Have the nerve, the courage, to bring up this subject if the person you are speaking with has participated over there in the UAE. Let them know that you know about all of this and you want to know what they think about what is going on. This will take courage on your part. Watch that HBO show and you will find the nerve to go up to someone like my gal, Val, or anyone else who rides over there, and talk about the camel jockey young boy slave trade. Man?s inhumanity to man, yes, it is in our sport and we need to get it out now!!!! Cya, Howard (and, please, discuss this one openly on here; do not pretend it does not exist or say it?s not endurance related) _________________________________________________________________ Get ready for school! Find articles, homework help and more in the Back to School Guide! http://special.msn.com/network/04backtoschool.armx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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