Qatar People, Qatar Interviews|
Camels to the left of me, camels to the right of me, camels all around me- but if you want to ride one you have to be over 18. |  |
|  |
Date:
03/02/2009 | |
| |
One of the two annual camel races recently jockeyed through the dessert, bringing riders from teens to old age together to gallop through the sands. Hundreds of camels jostled each other in the day-long event, many of them owned and ridden by members of Qatar’s Bedouin community. The scene was one that could have happened yesterday, or 50 years ago- but it’s also one that’s becoming rarer. Crackdowns in the Gulf Region over the last several years have led to tougher regulations on the age of people allowed to race camels, and the inclusion of more and more robotic riders. Qatar was one of the first countries to adopt the robotic riders, in an effort to stop trade in child riders, who were often purchased from their families, abused, forced to ride in dangerous races, and often starved to keep their weight down. And while it means no more abused children being forced to ride, it does put a bit of a damper on a traditional part of Bedouin culture. “We are Bedouins, so we have to ride. When they start to make camel races, we were the first people who went there,” said Ali Al Marri. He and his family participate in the two yearly camel races where people are allowed to ride. And by people, they mean anyone from age 18 all the way to men in their 60’s. Ali has been riding since he was five years old. “It’s harder to learn when you’re older. It is painful if you are doing it for the first time, but if you’re used to it. But if you stop riding for maybe three or four months and you ride again you will feel pain,” he said. “We like it. I wanted to ride; I wanted to be a camel rider when I was a little kid. But now a days they put a rule that you can’t ride until you’re 18. We can ride our camels, but not in the race.” And while he says the new rules are a positive thing if it keeps children from being exploited, harsher regulations do make it harder to enjoy a traditional part of his own culture. “It’s a good thing and a bad thing. For us, we see it as a bad thing because we like to ride,” he said. “It’s a shame the Bedouins can’t ride camels. You have to know how to ride it I think, its part of our culture.” It can also be a lucrative commercial venture, something that could give a boost to one of the Arab worlds richest cultures. However many people argue that camel racing is dangerous- and watching camels speed down a track, some deciding they’d rather not race at all and instead running in a circle before sending their rider toppling to the ground, it’s easy to see why. But Ali says it’s no more dangerous than riding a horse- something no one would ever say children shouldn’t do. “I don’t think (it’s a dangerous sport). I don’t think so. My mother and his mother, all mothers get worried because the camels hit each other, one may fall down, and that’s the dangerous thing. But I don’t think it’s a dangerous sport at all for us,” he said. “The first thing I’ll teach my kids is to ride a camel. Absolutely.” The next race, without robotic jockeys, will be held in April in Al Rayyan, please check www.qatarhappening.com for more information as the race approaches. By Jessica Davey Quantick. 
|