Dependant Son Xu Bin, 17 Debt More than 200,000 yuan (13,250) Monthly income 1,200 yuan (80). She makes 500 yuan (33) a month doing piecework - hammering the soles of shoes into place on her kitchen table. "There is a constant threat and risk of people being abused like this and dying because they're being forced to work in dangerous conditions," he added. Clifford Coonan was . Mick Gradwell, who has retired from Lancashire Police, said: "You're thrown into investigating international organised crime gangs, snakeheads, triads, international human trafficking. The children looked lost, disbelieving. One of them, Li Hua, was within seconds of becoming a victim. When he died it was such a loss. 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. Outside, there are building materials for some home improvements that have been shelved indefinitely. 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. It contains 10 pictures. Inside this station, the 1945 film "Brief Encounter" is played on a loop daily. He said: "I think a lot about those who didn't survive, particularly at Chinese New Year, because it happened around that time. But 5,000 miles away in Fujian province . Mr Gradwell claimed other similar disasters could still occur because people are willing to exploit the poorest in society for their own ends. "They kept on and on at her. The Morecambe Bay victims were aged between 18 and 45, Jurors in the manslaughter trial were taken out on the sands in a hovercraft. A NORTH West Tory MP remained defiant today over an offensive joke about the Chinese cockle pickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay. She really got on well with her son-in-law and now he is gone, she knows what problems we face.". Mr Sheridan wants to see its remit extended into industries including social care and construction. Read about our approach to external linking. Bo and Yan Li were jailed in 2009 for a scam linked to the deaths of the cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2004. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. One solitary figure stands at the edge of the sea, the sole survivor . 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). "It is hard work, but I barely earn enough to put food in our mouths," she says. Offer subject to change without notice. Having already cut back its staff (only 37 investigators cover Britain), and with more job cuts expected, the GLA is struggling to carry on operating. "It is his debt now. 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. 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. Photograph: Don McPhee for the Guardian, en years ago this week, 23 men and women lost their lives searching for cockles in Morecambe Bay. 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. The accident happened after more than 30 cocklers - thought to be Chinese who do not speak English - were caught by rising waters in the Hest Bank . The only decorations on the walls are some Christian posters and a portrait of her dead husband, Lin Guoguang. After they have paid the rent and utilities, there is barely enough for food. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . "Sometimes I think if he hadn't died I would live a better life.". Since 2006, 201 licences have been revoked, but this is "the tip of an iceberg", he says. 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. The combination of rising flood waters and ferocious incoming tide meant the trapped cockle-pickers "didn't stand a chance", a sands expert said. We are so poor. Five of them depend on Yu's father's factory salary of 750 yuan. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. Everything he says lives up to the archetype of the downtrodden peasant. 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. Their uncle was too shocked by the size of the burden suddenly thrust upon him to grieve at the loss of his sister. "I worry about their future," says the uncle. The authorities in Beijing have washed their hands of the matter. But she feels a constant pressure. A week after she died, in 2004, I visited the family's home. Bo and Yan Li were jailed in 2009 for a scam linked to the deaths of the cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2004. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Bolton: Concerns over Chorley New Road 'hump' after repairs, Boy with epilepsy campaigning for access to medicinal cannabis, Man racially abused police officer after being hit over head with vodka bottle, WATCH: Vicar of Bolton delivers final service with 'deep gratitude', National Lottery on the hunt for Prestons community heroes, Preston local elections 2023: Watch debate on Guild Hall, Animate Cinema and council cuts, AI chatbots 'may soon be more intelligent than us', Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in five months - US, Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israel prison, The 17 most eye-catching looks at the Met Gala, 'My wife and six children joined Kenya starvation cult', On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Among those who perished were an 18-year-old man and a husband and wife,. The other quietly grasps my hand and implores me to help. "When my son came back home, he thought she was still asleep." He has seen what they are like when they are here.". It wasn't the creditors this time. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. "The brother is 16 and he doesn't study hard. 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. Each time one of the children catches a cold, the family must pay a few hundred yuan for medicine. The Chinese gangmaster who organised the trip and two associates of his were found guilty of manslaughter, breaking of immigration laws and other crimes, and were sentenced to several years in prison. And they were gone just like that. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, The burden of being cricket legend Tendulkar's son, Yellen warns US could run out of cash in a month, HSBC says 1 bank buyout boosted profit by $1.5bn, King Charles to wear golden robes for Coronation, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media. [16][17], In 2010, artist Isaac Julien released his film Ten Thousand Waves about the disaster. These early 19th-century kilns were used to make coke, a key Ingredient in steel production. The doctor says it won't be long. Lin Guohua is at the bottom of the heap.
The Praying Shell - Bolton-le-Sands, England - Atlas Obscura 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. "We all came for the same reason. 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.
A powerful statue sits on Scalestone Point, looking out over Morecambe Bay. I thank him and the Minister for allowing me to speak briefly on this important matter. "We are really poor. AI chatbots 'may soon be more intelligent than us', Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in five months - US, Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israel prison, 'My wife and six children joined Kenya starvation cult', On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. He believes the small gangmasters not following the rules may get caught, but the large ones are still out there. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. In Westminster, Mr Sheridan has tabled an early day motion to mark 10 years from the tragedy. Tide kills 18 cockle pickers. He earned a lot in his first year and wrote to say that he was happy in Britain. What is inside is almost irrelevant. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He said he "kept waving" at the helicopter. 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. She supports a daughter with learning disabilities, an unemployed husband, an elderly father, a sister who became mentally ill after being raped, and, since February 5 2004, a nephew. But they drive her to distraction. But returning to Fujian more than three years later, I find that familiar lament greeting me as I enter the home of Chen Yanchun, who has met me at the airport and sobbed for most of the 50-minute drive to see her family. ", Inside Out talks to Li Hua, the only cockle picker to be rescued alive from the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy 10 years ago. Please, The subscription details associated with this account need to be updated. Chen's mother wails when she sees me and falls to her knees to beg for help. To put her two children through school, she has borrowed more money, taking her debt to more than 300,000 yuan (19,900) . The creditors haven't started to harass him yet because they know he is just a kid, but they will when he grows up. Gangmaster Lin Liang Ren would drive the workers to Morecambe from Liverpool and visit casinos while the men and women toiled through the night. "When the GLA was first introduced we were hopeful that it would be extended into other sectors but that's proven not to be the case," 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.". His evidence helped convict Lin Liang Ren of 21 counts of manslaughter, facilitating illegal immigration and perverting the course of justice. All rights reserved. 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. In 2006, Liverpool gangster Lin Liang Ren was convicted of the manslaughter of the 23 . . "I was just numb..then, I don't know how, a wave maybe turned me round. Xu Liying knows just how hard life can be without any support from society, the state or charity. If I am dead, I will never be able to repay them.". The Gangmasters Licensing Authority is unsurprised. It was the eight-year-old who found the body. He said: "If there's any fitting memorial to the poor people that died it would be that we can legislate or do our best to make sure no one dies in a similar situation. Please, Main image: Morecambe Bay. The report also called for the scope of the GLA to be widened. But 5,000 miles away in Fujian province, on the south-eastern coast of China, lives are still being sucked into the sands. "Usually all we have to eat is noodles and rice. I can't sleep with worry." "It was very harrowing. The cockles to be collected are best found at low tide on sand flats at Warton Sands, near Hest Bank. ", 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. He died in Lancashire, so his mother killed herself in Fujian. They used houses and shops in Shirley in Solihull, and Dudley to run their operation, it said. I don't want another. "The families who lent us the money are also poor. I am paralysed most of the time. Typically in such situations, they have each lent 5,000 to 10,000 yuan (330-660) to a family to pay the cash that the snakeheads demand as soon as the migrant has been smuggled to his or her destination. [18], The 2007 folk song "On Morecambe Bay" by folk artist Kevin Littlewood tells the story of the events. In the background of both is a British beach. Jonathan Watts hears the stories of eight victims' families plunged into debt and despair, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Misery appears to be what he is used to. But she had to come back because her children's schoolwork was suffering in her absence. "Please help us. Charitable appeals have made little progress. "Shouldn't the boy go and play next door?" Unlike most of the families in Fujian, Yu knew that her husband was in trouble before she read about it in the newspapers because Guo had a mobile phone with him in Morecambe Bay. The boy is lying on the bed, still flicking through a comic book. "So it had a lasting effect on them," he added. We left our families to make a better life. "It is not fair for the children.
Morecambe Bay - Wikipedia He makes no first impression, creates no fuss, just sits quietly waiting for his chance to speak while others are pulling at the heartstrings. Her husband's death meant instant ruin. If anyone gets sick, it will be a total disaster for all of us. How can the Chinese and the UK governments say that it is not their responsibility? The sculpture was actually imagined before the tragedy occurred in 2004. Back then, I assumed that the cries would end after a few hours or weeks or months.
Accidental Drownings of Migrant Labourers in Morecambe Bay, England The 2004 Morecambe Bay disaster saw a group of Chinese cockle pickers drowned by rising tides as they worked gathering shellfish for criminal gangmasters. Li was lifted by violent waves as he struggled to swim against the tide. Two of the victims were women; the rest were mostly young men in their 20s and 30s, with only two being over 40 and only one, a male, under 20. In March 2006, Ren was jailed for 14 years at Preston Crown Court. Mr Hua said: "I could not believe I was being rescued and I was alive again.". If I had any money, I would pay them, because I know they have to work hard for their money too. It is an impossible burden for a landless farmer who is too old to find work in a factory. 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. I wish you and my son health and safety. In fact, the snakeheads were paid off long before the accidents.
Are UK Asian gangs secretly exploiting cockle pickers? ", At the bottom, he tags on a brief message to their two sons. Education - supposedly free - costs more than 2,000 yuan (132) a year. Even so, small expenses quickly mount up. It is not migrant workers per se but their exploitation that undermines local wages. Mon Nov 15 2004 - 00:00. "Perhaps," she says with a shrug. Widow Lin Meiqin, who lives in China's Fujian province, has never remarried after her husband Lin YouXing died in the bay at the age of 38. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. They didn't beat me, not even once.". Think the car is still there completely buried, but surfaces occasionally when the channels change. Often mistaken as a commemorative statue, this sculpture has become a memorial of sorts, honoring the deaths of 23 Chinese cockle pickers who died in Morecambe Bay working for criminal organizations. The interview over, I ask if I can take some pictures of the mother, grandmother and son. Although they don't say anything, I know they worry every day about debt. The problem is the creditors. Oneupmanship does not come much more literal. 2023 BBC. Read about our approach to external linking.
Activists are concerned about the impact of funding cuts on working conditions. Yet many of the underlying causes, and especially the role of gangmasters, remain unresolved. At least 21 Chinese cockle pickers drowned in treacherous weather conditions in Hest Bank, Lancashire, on the night of 5 February 2004. File photo: Lancashire Police. Even in grief there is competition. "Look at this house. Then she went upstairs and swallowed a bottle of rat poison. Chinese cockle pickers who died in Morecambe Bay, northwest England in 2004. He was called in by the coastguard to help with the rescue, but only got there in time to bring the workers' bodies out of the sea. Read about our approach to external linking. And tradition says the wife and children inherit the debt of the father. I had a warm and happy family even though we weren't rich. My only hope is that all of the family stay safe and healthy. Find Cockle Pickers Work At Morecambe Bay stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. In Britain, the Morecambe Bay disaster is history. "I went myself when I was young. The workers were all illegal immigrants, mainly from the Fujian province of China, and have been described as being untrained and inexperienced. He would be reunited with his wife as soon as hed found somewhere of his own to live, he was told. I know it would influence them in a bad way. Mr Hua agreed to be interviewed and talk about the disaster almost 10 years on. "I thought I might just as well wait to die. The garden was designed and built by young volunteers from the Princes Trust and the fire service in Morecambe. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. "So it had a lasting effect on them," he added.
The Morecambe Bay cockle pickers: Market failure or - ResearchGate "They lent us money because they sympathised with our poverty. [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. Bo Li and Yan Li tried to spend the laundered money three weeks after being released from prison, The Li sisters were arrested after trying to spend 20 notes that had been taken out of circulation. She refuses. Sometimes, relatives help out so that her children do not starve. Most are of her wedding. "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.". Dependants Wife Su Zhenqin and two daughters aged 10 and 14 Debt 300,000 yuan (19,900) Monthly income 300 yuan (20). All the victims were the main breadwinners for their families. Ghosts is a 2006 drama film directed by Nick Broomfield, based on the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster. The walls are cracked.
Chinese 'wake' as cockle-pickers return - The Irish Times 894646. Mr Gradwell said while "significant sums" were pocketed by the gangmaster, the cockle pickers earned "a pittance". And, of course, the debt from the dead woman's passage to Britain still hangs over them. Twenty-three of the group . "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. "The scenario of migrant workers being promised a better life by working for a gangmaster on farms in the UK but then finding they're paid far less then they've been promised less than the minimum wage isn't uncommon." She condemns the snakeheads for luring her brother and his sister overseas, she accuses the Chinese authorities of inhumanity because they would not let her see the bodies before they were cremated, and she is dismayed that Britain is treating the dead more as criminals than as victims. [12], The 2006 film Ghosts, directed by Nick Broomfield, is a dramatisation of the events leading up to the disaster. 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. Their father had died in an accident several years earlier, leaving the family deep in debt. I ask Chen how the family will manage. In any case, she says, her son no longer wants to go to school. [7] Ren, his girlfriend Zhao Xiao Qing and his cousin Lin Mu Yong were also convicted of breaking immigration laws. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. I was on my own and then a helicopter came.". The Morecambe disaster was recognised as a crime by a British court. "But we did not make any dent into these wider criminal gangs who traffic people around the world," he said. [3] The favoured area for cockle picking is close to the low tide line near the confluence of the Keer Channel and the Kent Channel, approximately 3.5 kilometres (2.2mi) north of Morecambe. "It still makes me sad whenever I come here. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Photograph: Jonathan Watts, Audio slideshow: Jonathan Watts visits the families of the cockle pickers who died at Morcambe Bay three years ago. But the family is subsisting rather than living. And perhaps some fatty scraps of meat. But he lost his life, and now Zhou has not only to look after their son and daughter, but also a sick brother-in-law. So why are the authorities unable to prevent this kind of situation arising? This crude architectural hierarchy marks Zhou Xiaomei out as a failure. I could earn 500 yuan in a month," he says. She shows me two photos of the father, Xu Yuhua, and mother, Liu Qinying, taken a week or so before the disaster. 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. 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 .
(PDF) The Morecambe bay cockle pickers: market failure or government Read about our approach to external linking. A unique sculpture calls the outside of this steakhouse home. Languages. On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry.
Morecambe Bay cockling disaster - Wikipedia 'Risk to life just as real' as Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy My son knew that he would never find a bride unless we had our own home, so he went to England to earn enough money to buy one.". Often mistaken as a commemorative statue, this sculpture has become a memorial of sorts, honoring the deaths of 23 Chinese cockle pickers who died in Morecambe Bay working for criminal . The death of her husband Dong Xinwu has left them with a debt of 240,000 yuan and no breadwinner to pay it back. He wants to quit school and start work so that he can begin repaying the debt. Those who sent them to their deaths have not been punished as much as us." On surrounding plots of land, meanwhile, neighbours are erecting huge new villas with the money sent back by family members overseas. Birds have nested in the roof. The dangers of Morecambe Bay, where 23 Chinese cocklers lost their lives in 2004, include fast-rising tides and quicksands. ", Dependants Wife Zhou Xiaomei and son Cao Xianyong 13, daughter Cao Meiyun 16 Debt 200,000 yuan (13,250) Monthly income 250 yuan (17).
Morecambe Bay cockling disaster's lasting impact - BBC News "I work on a construction site from time to time, mixing concrete," she says, her dialect so heavy that even the interpreter has difficulty understanding; her words need to be translated into standard Mandarin before they can be retranslated into English for me. 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." But 5,000 miles away in Fujian province, the tragedy has only deepened.