Four jockeys back to parents after 10 years

Officials of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA) that sheltered the children at its shelter home in Dhaka officially handed them over to their parents.

With these four jockeys -- Helal, 17, Romen, 15, Saidul, 14 and Sujan, 13 the number of total returnees stood at 61, while 119 children from the UAE came home between August and September this year in association with United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and the government.

BNWLA officials said they are trying to send all the children now at the shelter home to their parents before Eid-ul-Fitr so that they can share the joy of Eid after many years.

As soon as the Eid passes by, the monitoring committee comprised of representatives from the government, Unicef, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), BNWLA and some other NGOs to monitor the reintegration process will plan the rehabilitation process for the former camel jockeys.

Some of the children aged more than 15, already returned to their homes, want to work, while the small ones are eager to go to schools.

"The rehabilitation plan will be designed considering the ages, interests and the future of the children," a BNWLA official said.