World Camel Day (WCD) Session on 24 tv Channel Riyadh Saudi Arabia
The session was directly covered by the 24 sport channel of Saudi Arabia. It was a 1 hour live seminar about the world camel day. Abu Muhammad Bin Oudah (camel farmer from KSA), Dr. Suleiman, Dr. Mubarak Swelem, Dr. Abdul RAZIQ Kakar (the founder of the world camel day) participated in the conference.
Bin Oudah spoke about the present status and future prospects of the camel in Saudi Arabia. He emphasized on the role of camel in Saudi culture and business. He was quite optimistic with the future of the camel in Saudi Arabia and the world. He suggested to be get ready well in time for the year of camelids in 2024.
Camel is the Animal of Future
Future of the camel is very bright because it is highly adapted to the harsh climate conditions. It can sustain milk production (where temperature reaches to 52C) in conditions where the other type of livestock can hardly survive. The camels eat the food mainly based on woody material which has otherwise no use except burning for fuel. The camel convert such wood material into valuable food for human (milk, meat) and detritivores (manure). Adaptation is the real worth of camel and the utmost need of the human being. We need livestock for our food security to be convenient in harsh weather and doesn’t need much inputs like more water, cooling, biosafety, specialized food etc.
2024 is the year of Camelids, specified by the UNFAO. I wish the policymakers and scientist recognize and appreciate the camel as the highly adapted livestock ensuring food security and managing the fragile ecosystem under the climate change scenario.
Dr. Muhammad Suleiman detailed out the issues, problems and challenges of the camels in Saudi Arabia. He mentioned the challenges for the camel as; no proper knowledge/practice about the diseases, especially with the climate change as new health challenges are emerging. He stressed on coordinated efforts to organize a serious forum to have a comprehensive work on the camel health challenges.
Dr. Mubarak Swelem highlighted the importance of the camel as a business opportunity in the kingdom and abroad. He elaborated that investment in the camel can increase the business opportunities and jobs for the people in the camel world. He suggested to find out the chances which can be grabbed for the business opportunities in the camel world.
Dr. Abdul RAZIQ Kakar (author and key speaker) was stormed by many questions from all the 3 panelists/presenters and the TV anchor person. In following lines I’m sharing the questions along with the answers.
Q 1. Why a World Camel Day and what were the motives behind this idea?
Answer: No doubt the camel is well known and praised in some cultures but still it is hiding from the eyes of the major part of the world especially the policymakers. The camel is considered as the animal of old world and remote and regions. The policymakers have no clear understanding about the real worth of the incredible camels. In Australia without any support the camel increased in population manifolds. They helped in revegetation and revitalization of the remote drylands of the inner Australia but the policymakers of the country decided to kill the precious camels. Thousands of camels were killed in last few years. In other camel countries the camels are badly neglected and seldom considered in the research and development policies of the country. The overall understanding and knowledge about the camel is very rare and sporadic. In such a circumstances, I realized to have a specific day in the year’s calendar to speak about the camel and highlight its importance a the global level.
Q 2. When a World Camel Day was started?
Answer: With a small one day seminar in the beautiful city of Quetta (capital of Balochistan province of Pakistan) the foundation of the world camel day was laid. Interestingly, the first event was sponsored by a Saudi professor, Dr. Abdul Salam Abax from Qasseem area. The city of Quetta was selected because of the 50 % of the camels of Pakistan are only placed in Balochistan. Later on, each year many more people joined the WCD from different quarters of the world and now it is being celebrated in different parts of the world even in the regions which are not culturally familiar with the camel world.
Q 3. Why 22 June was selected for the world camel day?
Answer: June is the hottest month and 22 June is the hotted and longest day of the year. In such a challenging conditions, camel is the only player sustaining its own survival and providing precious food item to the people living in the deserted hot weathers. To praise and admire the importance of the camel, no other day is better than 22nd June.
Q 4. What is your message at the occasion of the World Camel Day?
Answer: Camel is the animal of future, sustaining food security under the challenging weathering conditions. The camel not only secure the food sustenance but also play a pivotal role in the ecosystem management. My message is to please love the camel, care the camel and give the camel a chance to play its role.
