KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti desert may be filling up with tanks and troops in preparation for war against Iraq but there is one corner of the country which the Kuwaiti government would not dare give over to the US war effort: the nation's camel racing track.
For the past week, thousands of Kuwaitis have been gathering at the dusty course in the heart of the desert for the Gulf international camel racing competition to forget the talk of war and instead to the traditional subject of thoroughbred camels.
Following Islamic custom which prohibits betting, it may not be possible to have a flutter at the races, but the prestige in winning is "enormous", according to the emissary of the Emir of Qatar, one of the many Arabian royals to have brought camels to the races.
A prime racing camel can be traded for up to £2 million and in typical Gulf fashion there are prizes for the winners: a fleet of 31 sports utility vehicles provided by the Emir of Kuwait to drive home again in.
"We've smuggled in Sudanese camels," the Qatari emissary confided, "they're much faster than the Qatari ones we're supposed to have. My master demands success." In a scene reminiscent of a camel charge by Lawrence of Arabia, the 50 camels assembled at the start line begin to gallop down the 10 km track, chased by a flotilla of Kuwaiti film crews and camel trainers.
But this sport, popular throughout the Gulf region, has not been without controversy in recent years due to its use of child jockeys.
Preferred for their lightweight and cheap wages, children from Sudan, Somalia and Pakistan as young as four are sold by impoverished families to Arab "minders" who bring them to the races. Kuwait, a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that prohibits the use of child labour, has sworn to stop the practice.
But despite the protests of the camel club's director that every jockey was 14 years old or over and racing by their own consent, it is obvious that more than half the jockeys disappearing down the track are under age.
Six-year-old Omar, from Sudan, said he had not seen his family in one year, before being roughly bundled away to the next race by his minder - paid £60 for each child he has racing.
A spokesperson for the Red Crescent Society in Kuwait said pressure was being put on the government to clamp down on these practices "but there seems to be little political will to do so". Back in the royal box, the thought of child jockeys raised little interest.
"What's the problem," said one camel owner, "we're too big to ride. And these children love racing." As the camel belonging to the team from the United Arab Emirates romped home to win the second race of the day to the restrained jubilation of the country's emissary, it was clear that it was the adults who really enjoy racing.