She is the stalwart of her family: a doughty, intelligent woman with the only skilled, white-collar job among all the people that we have been meeting. I really don't know what we can do.". The emergency services were alerted by a mobile phone call made by one of the workers, who spoke little English and was only able to say "sinking water" before the call was cut off. Bo and Yan Li were jailed in 2009 for a scam linked to the deaths of the cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2004. He died in Lancashire, so his mother killed herself in Fujian. [11], Gangmaster Lin Liang Ren was found guilty of the manslaughter of at least 21 people (two further cocklers were thought to have been killed, but their bodies were never found). And, of course, the debt from the dead woman's passage to Britain still hangs over them. eBook ISBN 9780429457357 ABSTRACT This case study describes an initiative titled Operation SeaQuest that was launched in the aftermath of a tragic incident in which 23 Chinese cockle pickers were drowned by the incoming tide in Morecambe Bay in Lancashire, United Kingdom. More than three years after 23 Chinese cockle pickers perished on the Lancashire sands, most people in the United Kingdom believe justice has been done. The deaths exposed an underground. I guess he is also the poorest and least educated. The victims' families - especially their children - are being punished, even though they broke no law themselves. Xu says her brother went overseas after his mother was diagnosed with cancer. The authorities were so pleased with the outcome of Operation Lund (as the case was called) that investigators won last year's top criminal justice award. But they need education to lift them to a level where one of them can repay the debt, which will be passed on to the sons - as is customary in this part of the world. [13][14], A 2006 documentary Death in the Bay: The Cocklepickers' Story, was commissioned by Channel 4 as part of The Other Side from local filmmaker Loren Slater, who was one of the first people on the scene. The organisation was set up to protect vulnerable workers in the shell fish, agriculture, food and food packaging labour markets but MPs and academics are campaigning for it to be given more powers. "Wait a moment," I interrupt. "We are really poor. As they stare into the camera, I notice the painfully inappropriate English slogan emblazoned on her T-shirt. ", At last year's trial in Britain, the boy wrote to the judge. The former detective superintendent, who is now retired, said: "The main reason 23 people died in Morecambe Bay on this particular night was because of poverty in the Fujian province of China. [18], The 2007 folk song "On Morecambe Bay" by folk artist Kevin Littlewood tells the story of the events. Back then, I assumed that the cries would end after a few hours or weeks or months. When he returns home, he locks himself in his room. Det Sgt Derek Tinsley said: "[The Li sisters] clearly have no remorse for the way in which they obtained this money and wasted no time in trying to spend it on their release from prison. Twenty-one bodies were recovered within hours, a woman's skull was washed up six years on and one man has never been found. [2] The Chinese workers were unfamiliar with local geography, language, and custom. He said: "I think a lot about those who didn't survive, particularly at Chinese New Year, because it happened around that time. "Usually all we have to eat is noodles and rice. A tribute to the Morecambe Bay Chinese cockle pickers and the talent of Christy Moore. ", We sneak back into her home so that she can show me the life she left behind. Hundreds of workers lined the Bay's sands in search for cockles, stretching out for miles in dangerous proximity to the treacherous rising tides. The windows are broken. The children couldn't bear to live in their old house, where the pictures of their dead parents hung on the walls. Both Freeman and Bowkett were ordered by the judge to each pay 10,000 costs. "They kept on and on at her. I was just lucky.". "I'm scared to go there," says the daughter, Cai Huiling. The garden was designed and built by young volunteers from the Princes Trust and the fire service in Morecambe. The contrast is visually disturbing, a reminder that China is crushing several centuries of development into a few decades. In the Channel 4 documentary Benefits Street, viewers saw a group of Romanian workers who were owed wages by their gangmaster, who also held their passports. The family has had to move. "I was just numb..then, I don't know how, a wave maybe turned me round. According to the Health and Safety Executive, migrant builders account for 17% of deaths on building sites, though they comprise only 8% of Britain's 2.3 million construction workforce. In the under-regulated world of the booming cockling trade, a local gang culture had been developing since the 1990s, evolving into a turf war. Mandarin, Fuzhou dialect, English. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. A decade ago 23 Chinese cockle pickers drowned when they were trapped by sweeping tides while working in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire. Eighteen cockle pickers have died after becoming trapped by rising tides in Lancashire's Morecambe Bay. They were staying at a hotel in Chippenham in Wiltshire and staff found 22,000 hid in a locker during routine checks. It was their gangmaster, however, and a wider web of criminals, that truly profited while paying scant regard to the cockle pickers' safety on the sands. But she is dragged into poverty by debt and dependants. They have had to move. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. But if something goes wrong, there is no bankruptcy law and scarcely any safety net - a poverty alleviation allowance of 3 per month per child is all that local government pays in cases of great hardship. On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. See. ", Her sick brother-in-law says he feels like an extra burden. "We dealt with the people who were responsible for the deaths on the night. "I've been on those sands man and boy What happened that night was not only awful beyond words it was absolutely avoidable Even when the tide hit them, had they had anybody with them, like me, who knows the area, there was still a safe route off the cockle bed They could have walked to safety.". Healthcare, which is more market-driven than in most capitalist countries, is a heavy burden. One grandmother is still crying as I prepare to leave. Market reforms have produced stunning economic growth and many new millionaires, but they have also eroded access to healthcare and education for the poor. Now living under witness protection, he told BBC Inside Out of his "despair" before help arrived. Su owes more than other families because she had to pay the snakeheads twice: once to get her husband to Germany and then, when he found no work there, to get him to Britain. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. He said the team on the hovercraft covering Arnside in Cumbria began their "normal search patterns" when they made the grim discovery of the bodies. "But we did not make any dent into these wider criminal gangs who traffic people around the world," he said. Apart from the senior hovercraft commander, many of the crew on that particular night on the hovercraft hadn't seen bodies in the water before.". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Only 21 bodies were recovered following the Morecambe Bay tragedy but police believe 23 people died. His wife joined him after local snakeheads told her that migrant men find mistresses if they are separated from their spouses for too long. In any case, she says, her son no longer wants to go to school. The deaths 10 years ago of 23 Chinese cockle pickers who were searching for a "better life" has had a lasting effect on all those associated with the Morecambe Bay disaster. Morecambe's RNLI crew worked for 22 hours during the search and rescue operation. "They put me in prison for a year. Mr Gradwell claimed other similar disasters could still occur because people are willing to exploit the poorest in society for their own ends. It is as though the Chinese tragedy became a triumph, a vindication of Britain's way of dealing with disaster. Two sisters who laundered money linked to a human trafficking operation which caused the deaths of 23 cockle pickers have been jailed for a second time. It is not migrant workers per se but their exploitation that undermines local wages. [3][4] The workers had been trafficked via containers into Liverpool, and were hired out through local criminal agents of international Chinese Triads. Since 2006, 201 licences have been revoked, but this is "the tip of an iceberg", he says. BBC News. Misery appears to be what he is used to. Ten Thousand Waves, featuring Maggie Cheung as Mazu, is a collaboration with the Chinese poet Wang Ping, whom Julien met in 2006 and brought to Morecambe Bay; she produced a poem that "became . VideoOn board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, I didnt think make-up was made for black girls, Why there is serious money in kitchen fumes. The Gangmasters Licensing Authority is unsurprised. The creator, artist Anthony Padgett stated that the sculpture was designed to inspire walkers venturing along the bay. She refuses. Photograph: Don McPhee for the Guardian, en years ago this week, 23 men and women lost their lives searching for cockles in Morecambe Bay. We must go on. There is no anger or grief in his voice. Rescue workers take away the body of one of the Chinese cockle pickers who died after they were trapped by the rising tide in Morecambe Bay in 2004 Tracy Brown, a Morecambe town councillor said . With China's economy racing along at double-digit pace and huge inflows of cash from overseas, this region has never had it so good. They were each jailed for two years at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday. Where things are going right, the success stories - of giddy growth, sudden wealth and market domination - entirely justify the country's image as the nascent superpower of the 21st century. It is a rough-hewn, empty house. [10], David Anthony Eden Sr. and David Anthony Eden Jr., from Prenton, Merseyside, who bought cockles from the work gang, were cleared of helping the workers break immigration law. "I adopted him as my son, but I am worried about his future," sobs his aunt. Yet, 10 years on, campaigners say workers are still being dangerously exploited in the UK. In fact, the snakeheads were paid off long before the accidents. For its part, the GLA accepts exploitation exists in other industries and insists it could be more of an "effective deterrent" with extra resources. But let something go wrong - an accident, illness or injustice - and the clock whirs back to the 19th century and a worse-than-Dickensian nightmare of instant ruin, hopeless poverty and chilling social indifference. The absence of a social welfare net in China drives people overseas and then leaves their families exposed when something goes wrong. "The Devil's beach," one newspaper cried. Li said: "I wanted to get justice for those who died. It is the complications that unsettle him. Bo and Yan Li were jailed in 2009 for a scam linked to the deaths of the cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2004. Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (David Morris) on securing this timely debate. But she had to come back because her children's schoolwork was suffering in her absence. ", Dependants Wife Chen Jinyun and sons Lin Luan, 19, and Lin Huan, 18 Debt More than 100,000 yuan (6,625) Monthly income 600 yuan (40), Chen Jinyun is on the run. But the Japanese police were very good. It is not enough to live on, let alone pay interest. The 2004 Morecambe Bay disaster saw a group of Chinese cockle pickers drowned by rising tides as they worked gathering shellfish for criminal gangmasters. Languages. Morecambe Bay. We left our families to make a better life. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. In March 2006, Ren was jailed for 14 years at Preston Crown Court. Chen says she has sold her wedding jewellery and persuaded the creditors to stop charging 10% interest. "Three years ago, we were poor but our lives were tranquil. I tell them I am not worth killing. The Morecambe Bay cockle pickers tragedy: a survivor's story. This abandoned limestone quarry now provides visitors with multiple, breathtaking viewpoints. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. Yet, 10 years on, campaigners say workers are still . This crude architectural hierarchy marks Zhou Xiaomei out as a failure. "From time to time I wake up in the night with a panic attack and remember them. That anger grew as it became clear how desperate the victims' lives had been. Everything he says lives up to the archetype of the downtrodden peasant. "I worry about their future," says the uncle. "I was on my own And then a helicopter came," he said. Some 30 cockle pickers set out at 4 pm. His evidence helped convict Lin Liang Ren of 21 counts of manslaughter, facilitating illegal immigration and perverting the course of justice. Freeman, of Wiggington Road in Tamworth, received a four-month jail term suspended for 12 months. Charitable appeals have made little progress. "It won't be easy," says David Tang, the London lawyer who represents the victims. Some creditors keep adding interest, which has pushed the debt to 300,000 yuan (20,000). "From time to time I wake up in the night with a panic attack and remember them. On 5 February, Chinese cockle pickers were at work in the dark but facing the incoming tide. The boy is lying on the bed, still flicking through a comic book. "The Chinese workers were caught up in it," said local fisherman Gary Cheetham. A NORTH West Tory MP remained defiant today over an offensive joke about the Chinese cockle pickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay. And perhaps some fatty scraps of meat. An unusual artwork dedicated to a unique man that entertained people visiting Cambridge while raising money for charity. Aerial shots of large-scale calligraphy counterpoint to the thermal imaging footage from the rescue services to Morecambe Bay. Abstract. Li Hua was the only worker to be rescued on the night of 5 February, 2004. "The only way I can bear life now is to imagine that he is still alive.". Even in grief there is competition. She has not broken any laws, but the death of her husband in Morecambe has made her a fugitive from the family's creditors. [19] This song was later covered by folk musician Christy Moore.[20]. The 21 cockle pickers who were killed in Morecambe Bay in February died from drowning, an inquest has heard. The UK Fujian Association gave 10,000 yuan (about 660) to many of the victims, but this was barely enough to pay for the funerals. Education - supposedly free - costs more than 2,000 yuan (132) a year. Running time. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Gang labour is common in the building trade, and poor health and safety under gangmasters has led to many injuries and, in some cases, deaths. Mr Hua said: "I could not believe I was being rescued and I was alive again.". Gangmaster-controlled work is worth 1.34bn to the UK economy, but only 950 labour providers are licensed under the act. Cockle picking can be a deadly business however - in February 2004 a group of Chinese immigrants drowned after they were cut off by an incoming tide in Morecambe Bay. And well beyond 2004 cockle pickers have had to be rescued. Only 21 bodies were recovered. A family portrait in 2004 shows the couple smiling with their two children. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Money, though, is clearly the main driving force in a country where communist values have long since given way to a dog-eat-dog culture. "It still makes me sad whenever I come here. But we quickly ran out of things to eat so I had to start working again. But the family is subsisting rather than living. ", There has been a little charity for her and several other families, from the Fuqing Overseas Workers organisation. When 23 Chinese cockle pickers died at Morecambe Bay in 2004, the gangmaster was caught and convicted, bodies were repatriated, the disaster tidied away. Everyone was panicking, they got out of the vehicle and tried to swim. The Morecambe Bay victims were aged between 18 and 45, Jurors in the manslaughter trial were taken out on the sands in a hovercraft. ", The creditors have also suffered, she says. Barbara Storey, chair of SOS Polonia, a Polish community organisation in Southampton, said: "Abuse in gang labour is still common in the industries where migrants find work." They cook a little extra and bring some for us. Survived by Father Lin Guohua Debt 100,000 yuan (6,625) Income None. (modern), The dangers of Morecambe Bay, where 23 Chinese cocklers lost their lives in 2004, include fast-rising tides and quicksands. He earned a lot in his first year and wrote to say that he was happy in Britain. Mr Guy said: "At that stage they effectively came into a sea of bodies. "The situation is getting worse. There is a common misconception that donations to the cockle-pickers' families will go into the pockets of the "snakehead" gangsters who smuggled the victims into Britain. The Fujian style of mourning is somewhere between a lament and an undulating, almost melodic wail of misery. The men put the cash in a plastic container and buried it in the back garden, where it was later discovered by officers. The uncle, Chen Minyi, said he could not afford to keep them both, so the son stays with another aunt. Ten of us used to live here," says Chen. All rights reserved. "We will probably never know where the money was hidden for the last few years but we are convinced it was kept from the original people-trafficking operation and other related crime.". On the evening of February 5, 2004, 23 men and women lost their lives after . The children looked lost, disbelieving. [8] A further two cocklers were believed to have been with those drowned, with remains of one being found in 2010. Those who sent them to their deaths have not been punished as much as us." "We dealt with the people who were responsible for the deaths on the night. Europe is a devilish prison. The death of her husband Dong Xinwu has left them with a debt of 240,000 yuan and no breadwinner to pay it back. In fact, these . Select from premium Cockle Pickers Work At Morecambe Bay of the highest quality. Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park.It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 120 sq mi (310 km 2).In 1974, the second largest gas field in the UK was discovered 25 mi (40 km) west of Blackpool, with original reserves of over 7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) (200 . Inside Out is broadcast on Monday 3 February at 19:30 GMT on BBC One North West and nationwide for seven days thereafter on the iPlayer. Their mother, Chen Aiqin, went to work in Britain because she thought it was her family's only chance to escape poverty. 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In fact, these migrant workers came to the UK to escape the poverty created by socialism in China and were working under a regime of stateregulated access to the cockle beds. There are some outlets just 10 minutes from here and I hear they pay OK, about three or four yuan [20-25p] an hour. In Westminster, Mr Sheridan has tabled an early day motion to mark 10 years from the tragedy. Her miserable red-brick cottage grovels at the feet of neighbouring multi-storeys - designed in a European style with Greek pillars and pediments. She really got on well with her son-in-law and now he is gone, she knows what problems we face.". The Praying Shell artwork, carved in limestone, sits above the site where 23 Chinese cockle pickers working for. Congleton MP Ann Winterton stunned an audience at a dinner when . David Anthony Eden Sr. and David Anthony Eden Jr., a father and son from England, had allegedly arranged to pay a group of Chinese workers 5 per 25kg (9p per lb) of cockles. The Child-Eating Bunyip Haunts Australias Wetlands. ", As we leave, our driver, Lin Wanxiong, explains how Fujianese people have been travelling overseas to make their fortunes for many generations. All she does all day is collect rubbish for recycling so we can get a little extra money," explains Chen. The area of Morecambe Bay where 21 cockle pickers died is seen in this illustration released by Lancashire Police Credit: Reuters. A sculpture of a blood drop designed to honor those that have donated the precious liquid. "That was taken just days before he set off to Europe," she says, breaking into tears. But it is near the creditors so they used to come knocking all the time. "The tragic deaths of twenty-three young Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay on the Lancashire coast have been attributed to the machinations of global capitalism. Today marks 15 years since 23 people died in the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster. But she feels a constant pressure. My husband is dead. 894646. On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. The remit of the GLA, Prof Craig said, should be extended to include industries including "construction, hospitality and leisure and social care". Unveiled in November 2013 and carved out of limestone, The Praying Shell overlooks the Morecambe Bay. In 2004 23 cockle-pickers drowned after becoming trapped by rising tides in the Lancashire bay. "I was just numb..then, I don't know how, a wave maybe turned me round. One of them, Li Hua, was within seconds of becoming a victim. Her orphaned nephew Xu Bin has inherited debts of more than 200,000 yuan (13,250). [12] Lin Mu Yong was sentenced to four years and nine months. When their gangmaster, Lin, was convicted of criminal negligence the judge at Preston crown court said the accused was motivated by greed to shockingly exploit his countrymen with no heed for their safety. Is climate change killing Australian wine? "It was very harrowing. His mother, Shi Aizhu, took that call. But 5,000 miles away in Fujian province, the tragedy has only deepened. She was always crying. Read about our approach to external linking. Almost a decade after the disaster, Mr Hua said he still has panic attacks. Ren was sentenced to 12 years for manslaughter, 6 years for facilitating illegal immigration (to be served concurrently with the manslaughter sentence), and 2 years for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice (to be served subsequent to the manslaughter sentence). I heard it a lot that month, during two visits to the province to interview some of the families of the cockle pickers who had just died at Morecambe. Activists are concerned about the impact of funding cuts on working conditions. Chen's mother wails when she sees me and falls to her knees to beg for help. The media go wild, she says, about the inflow of migrants, but what they should be talking about is migrants' rights. Some 30 cockle pickers set out at 4 pm. "I am sorry I couldn't invite you to my place. Police said they were part of a money-laundering gang that made 4m and had assets in the UK, Thailand and Norway. "Some are polite. The doctor says it won't be long. At least 21 Chinese cockle pickers drowned in treacherous weather conditions in Hest Bank, Lancashire, on the night of 5 February 2004. It took a year to reach Morecambe. During lunch with two of the other bereaved relatives, he says nothing, just slurps his noodles and lets others talk of compensation, human rights and justice. VideoOn board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, I didnt think make-up was made for black girls, Why there is serious money in kitchen fumes. Everyone was panicking, they got out of the vehicle and tried to swim. The tragic deaths of twenty-three young Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay on the Lancashire coast have been attributed to the machinations of global capitalism. It is a tale of globalisation, of events on one side of the world rippling to the other and back, each time with tragic consequences. It was the eight-year-old who found the body. "One women supports two children and me. The detective who led the investigation into the tragedy said the deaths had "lived with him" ever since. The authorities in Beijing have washed their hands of the matter. "My family are all healthy and we are happy. Now he had inherited two more and a debt of 150,000 yuan (9,940). He said: "I think a lot about those who didn't survive, particularly at Chinese New Year, because it happened around that time. When 23 Chinese cockle pickers died at Morecambe Bay in 2004, the gangmaster was caught and convicted, bodies were repatriated, the disaster tidied away. Li Hua knew very little about England before leaving his home village in China, beyond what hed read about and seen on television and yet he already made of it in his imagination something magnificent and welcoming. In this boring Europe, I miss you and mother and our relatives very much. I was just lucky.". Offer subject to change without notice. "Someone told them that we had received compensation from the UK, but it is not true. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. That afternoon, she ate with her grandson during his lunch break. There is usually less risk than for a loan for college or business.". Others are furious and threaten to beat me. If anyone gets sick, it will be a total disaster for all of us. These early 19th-century kilns were used to make coke, a key Ingredient in steel production. ", Among all the people I meet in Fujian, Lin has come the furthest to talk but appears to have the lowest expectations. Lin Liang Ren was jailed for 14 years in 2006 after being found guilty of manslaughter and helping the cockle pickers break immigration laws. [5][2] An extensive search and rescue operation was launched. Guo Binlong's brick-making business failed in China, so he went to Britain. "There is no precedent All we can do is wait.". At the moment, it is impossible. The focus of the family's concern is on the youngest member. We do not have a lot of money but we are happy to go through each day peacefully and I am very thankful And glad to be alive," Mr Hua added. Country. You must go around the back of Red Bank Farm and it is a sharp left up on the on the banking, looking over the Bay. The deaths 10 years ago of 23 Chinese cockle pickers who were searching for a "better life" has had a lasting effect on all those associated with the disaster in Morecambe Bay. And they were gone just like that. Inside Out talks to Li Hua, the only cockle picker to be rescued alive from the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy 10 years ago, "But the water was flooding so quickly some were dragged right away under the water.". [7] Ren, his girlfriend Zhao Xiao Qing and his cousin Lin Mu Yong were also convicted of breaking immigration laws. Mr Hua agreed to be interviewed and talk about the disaster almost 10 years on. But now she is furious at those who have left her alone with such a burden. Under this government's war on regulation and "red tape", migrant workers continue to be subjected to exploitation at work.

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