A man surveys the young camels on auction at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (Anna Zacharias / The National / September 2014) .
A man surveys the young camels on auction at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (Anna Zacharias / The National / September 2014) .
A man surveys the young camels on auction at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (Anna Zacharias / The National / September 2014) .
A man surveys the young camels on auction at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (Anna Zacharias / The National / September 2014) .

Camel Auction: “In the camel games, there is no transparency”


  • English
  • Arabic

It was not just the next generation of race camels on display at last week’s camel auction.

Children sat in the stands, bidding away thousands on camels paraded before the VVIP section. Young men smoked dokha in the stands.

For some children, camels teach caregiving and maturity.

For others, camels are a chance to spend father’s money.

The stands were full of young men bidding on behalf of their fathers.

Would my father and mother have ever trusted me to bid tens of thousands on their behalf? My parents did not trust me with more than a five-cent-a-week allowance. At the age of these boys, my mother hired me out as a Dh10-an-hour babysitter, negotiating a lower rate than family friends offered.

“Wash the dishes, too,” my mother told me. “Clean when the kids go to bed. Earn your keep.”

While my parents prepared me for the realities of low-wage grunt work, these boys are traders in training and a cutthroat bidding strategy is considered a step towards entrepreneurship.

“Now the second generation are taking over the hobbies,” a bidder named Abdulla told me. “It’s not only a hobby. Now it’s commercial. For most, it’s not their money, it’s their parents money and some generate good money from the camel. Some take the risk.”

By pure chance, I sat behind a boy of about 12 who I’d met a week earlier. Initially, I thought he did not recognised me with my hair down and makeup on because he did not acknowledge my hello. But he assured his friend that he did indeed know me and I had been to his farm a week before. He was in no way shy. Just busy. Being a busy businessman.

During a break, I asked the boy his age. He turned to his 11-year-old friend and instructed him to tell me he was “too busy buying camels” to talk to me.

Auctions may teach youth business. Grace and manners are perhaps better learnt at the majlis. He was, after all, very quick to stand for the VIPs.

Snubbed by a child, I was nonetheless received with warmth by the boy’s 42-year-old cousin, Abdullah. Abdullah, the owner of two racers and 15 breeding camels, had attended the auction for five years and finally decided to participate.

“I don’t have a good race camel this year so I seek another another opportunity,” he told me.

Abdullah came with a strict budget and a shortlist of three camels. He planned to buy one.

“This is just entertainment. Once I retired I will be fully dedicated to the camel,” he said.

“How old are you now?” I asked.

“42,” he said.

“When will you retired?,” I asked.

“In 19 years,” he told me.

Abdullah listed the factors to consider when bidding and concluded, “My strategy is to wait a little bit and also I have to watch the others because some are buying on behalf of others so they don’t care about the money. It’s true, sorry.”

Abdullah relied on observation to guess others’ plans.

“They will not tell me. Because, you know in the camel games, there is no transparency. Each one tries to hide what he has planned. But at the end of the day, when you consider all the factors, you have to be lucky if you want to have a camel that’s 1 in 1,000.”

When the camel he wanted appeared, he made his first bid at Dh40,000. A VVIP bidder quickly drove the price to Dh100,000 but Abdullah only dropped out when his boy cousin began to outbid him, eventually purchasing Camel #76 for Dh200,000 on his father’s behalf.

“I didn’t want to bid against him,” Abdullah told me. “He’s my cousin.”

He turned to the boy. “Mabruk, congratulations.”

Then he turned to me. “Relatives. This is one of the factors to consider.”

Although the boy has a farm with many fine camels and knew that Abdullah waited five years to enter the auction, he bid against him a second time later that night.

That is business.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
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  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

The UAE squad for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games

The jiu-jitsu men’s team: Faisal Al Ketbi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Yahia Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Obaid Al Nuaimi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Mansoori, Saeed Al Mazroui, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, Salem Al Suwaidi, Khalfan Belhol, Saood Al Hammadi.

Women’s team: Mouza Al Shamsi, Wadeema Al Yafei, Reem Al Hashmi, Mahra Al Hanaei, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Hessa Thani, Salwa Al Ali.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars

The BIO

Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.

Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.

Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.

Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955

30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896

30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924

35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899

36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932

36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902

36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020

38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019

42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946

42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Abu Dhabi race card

5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | ​​​​​​​Dh80,000 | 1,400m
6pm: Liwa Oasis (PA) Group 2 |​​​​​​​ Dh300,000 | 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 (PA) Group 3 | Dh300,000 | 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) |​​​​​​​ Dh80,000 | 2,200m

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