On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. As the GLA admits, the fines for exploitative employers have been too low to be a deterrent: if an employer makes an annual profit of 100,000 and pays a fine of 500 for breaking GLA rules, he may well carry on regardless. Twenty-three Chinese cockle pickers drowned in Lancashire's Morecambe Bay in February 2004. Mr Sheridan wants to see its remit extended into industries including social care and construction. Please, Main image: Morecambe Bay. The creditors haven't started to harass him yet because they know he is just a kid, but they will when he grows up. It is as though the Chinese tragedy became a triumph, a vindication of Britain's way of dealing with 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. ", The creditors have also suffered, she says. A week after she died, in 2004, I visited the family's home. [15], In 2009, Ed Pien's work Memento, commissioned by the Chinese Arts Centre, was developed in response to the plight of illegal immigrants, especially those who died at Morecambe Bay. An . The problem has got worse and the resources directed to it are totally inadequate.". "He told us the water was up to his neck and asked us to pray for him," says his wife. "They lent us money because they sympathised with our poverty. Zhao Xiao Qing was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months for facilitation of illegal immigration and perverting the course of justice. Today, it is one of the oldest structures in a community of new factories and villas. A decade ago 23 Chinese cockle pickers drowned when they were trapped by sweeping tides while working in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire. The court heard Freeman removed the money before police were able to catch up with him, and drove it to a house in Solihull where Bo Li's boyfriend, John Bowkett, 65, lived. 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. On the evening of February 5, 2004, 23 men and women lost their lives after . The workers were all illegal immigrants, mainly from the Fujian province of China, and have been described as being untrained and inexperienced. I was just lucky.". 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. "We cannot afford gas so I have to go up to the hill to get wood," she sobs. Even in grief there is competition. The 2004 Morecambe Bay disaster saw a group of Chinese cockle pickers drowned by rising tides as they worked gathering shellfish for criminal gangmasters. In October 2011, 17 cockle pickers of eastern European origin were saved at the River Ribble estuary in Lancashire, 30 miles from the scene of the disaster. And Lena Chen - a Chinese woman living in Britain - sends a small amount of money before each spring festival. In Fujian, a man is judged by the height of his home. "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. The death of 19 cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay has added to its reputation for being a deadly area for the unwary. Only 21 bodies were recovered. "It was very harrowing. ", Inside Out talks to Li Hua, the only cockle picker to be rescued alive from the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy 10 years ago. Effective regulations would benefit both migrant and local workers. BRITAIN: The bodies of some of the 23 Chinese cockle-pickers drowned at Morecambe Bay last February finally returned to their home villages last week. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. [9][1], At the subsequent hearing, British cocklers returning to shore on the same evening were reported to have attempted to warn the Chinese group by tapping their watches and trying to speak with them. And well beyond 2004 cockle pickers have had to be rescued. 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.". Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. Li was lifted by violent waves as he struggled to swim against the tide. [2] Twenty-one bodies, of men and women between the ages of 18 and 45, were recovered from the bay after the incident. All I can think of is the Chinese cockle-pickers, poor sods. The boy is lying on the bed, still flicking through a comic book. Sinking water, sinking water.". They were working and they died. 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. "It was very harrowing. ", There is little I can say to comfort her. Bo and Yan Li were jailed in 2009 for a scam linked to the deaths of the cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2004. "We once lived in the hills, but it was too remote, too far away from the nearest school, so we moved," he says in a thick local dialect. Then she went upstairs and swallowed a bottle of rat poison. If I am dead, I will never be able to repay them.". 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.". Her salary of 1,200 yuan (80) a month, from a Singaporean trading company, would normally ensure a modest but secure existence in Fujian. Chief executive Paul Broadbent said it was making progress to ensure "exploitation in all its forms was eradicated and people can work for a good honest wage and get paid that wage". The money had been stashed by Yan Li's boyfriend Philip Freeman, 64. They have done nothing wrong. A powerful statue sits on Scalestone Point, looking out over Morecambe Bay. "Dad's only wish is that you study harder and harder and never act too proud. "I have no plan. Thanks to satellites and modern communications, the bad luck bounced across the globe almost instantly. Her miserable red-brick cottage grovels at the feet of neighbouring multi-storeys - designed in a European style with Greek pillars and pediments. Is climate change killing Australian wine? The 23 deaths at Morecambe Bay highlighted the serious risks being taken by low-paid workers and the cavalier attitude of those supposedly responsible for them, but in Parliament efforts were already under way to tackle gangmasters. ", 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. THE death of the cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay has added to its reputation for being a deadly area for the unwary. Alan Sledmore, who guides people across the bay, said "The area is very . The RNLI searched the waters to find the cocklers. Almost a decade after the disaster, Mr Hua said he still has panic attacks. These workers had no knowledge of the sea and hadn't been given any safety equipment or guidance by their gangmaster. The British government has paid to send the bodies home, but it is reluctant to do more for fear of encouraging other illegal immigrants. Bowkett, from Welford Road in Shirley, was given a six-month community work order and issued with a four-month curfew which bans him from leaving his home between 20:00 and 06:00 GMT. "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. I don't know how we can go on. Our close friends and relatives understand that we cannot pay, but the others gossip about me.". (modern), The dangers of Morecambe Bay, where 23 Chinese cocklers lost their lives in 2004, include fast-rising tides and quicksands. Read about our approach to external linking. Mon Nov 15 2004 - 00:00. He knows the creditors will never stop coming after him. Mr Hua said: "It was pitch black and I was desperate. Mandarin, Fuzhou dialect, English. It is the complications that unsettle him. "Our thoughts really are of sadness for the families. 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. 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 . After they have paid the rent and utilities, there is barely enough for food. In fact, these . "We have no family home, no land. My children are suffering. "My plan is to work in Kentucky Fried Chicken or McDonald's. 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. So why are the authorities unable to prevent this kind of situation arising? "Well, actually, slavery is here and now in the UK and the research which I've done with colleagues suggests there may be upwards of 10,000 people at any one time in the UK in conditions which we would class as modern slavery.". Her only income - 300 yuan (20 a month) - comes from mixing concrete on building sites for other people's new houses. Cheetham says the Gangmasters Licensing Act, passed in 2004 after the tragedy, hasn't changed things much. The sculpture was actually imagined before the tragedy occurred in 2004. Mr Hua agreed to be interviewed and talk about the disaster almost 10 years on. 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. "People tend to think that slavery is something to do with faraway countries with poor human rights records," he said. [19] This song was later covered by folk musician Christy Moore.[20]. After he turns 18 next year, we won't be able to keep him in education." To put her two children through school, she has borrowed more money, taking her debt to more than 300,000 yuan (19,900) . (modern), A woman searching for cockles in Fujiyan. The Fujian style of mourning is somewhere between a lament and an undulating, almost melodic wail of misery. She refuses to accept that her son is dead. In 2004 23 cockle-pickers drowned after becoming trapped by rising tides in the Lancashire bay. Some creditors keep adding interest, which has pushed the debt to 300,000 yuan (20,000). "The situation is getting worse. Survived by Father Lin Guohua Debt 100,000 yuan (6,625) Income None. His father went overseas to earn enough for his tuition. Registered in England No. I am paralysed most of the time. And they were gone just like that. I was on my own and then a helicopter came.". [16][17], In 2010, artist Isaac Julien released his film Ten Thousand Waves about the disaster. But the family is subsisting rather than living. The family has had to move. [7] Four of the victims died after the truck they used to reach the cockling area became overwhelmed by water. 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. 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.". It was first described to me in February 2004 as one of China's most beautiful and deeply distressing forms of art. 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. In January 2005, just short of a year after her son's death, Shi decided to join him. He said he "kept waving" at the helicopter. There is usually less risk than for a loan for college or business.". 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. He went to Europe to make up for that: if he had succeeded, everyone would have benefited. He earned a lot in his first year and wrote to say that he was happy in Britain. Mr Hua said: "It was pitch black and I was desperate. 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. "It is his debt now. It is an impossible burden for a landless farmer who is too old to find work in a factory. As Yu Lihong starts to recall her mother-in-law's suicide, warm rain thunders down outside the barred, blue-tinted windows of the apartment at the top of the dark staircase, a walk of nine storeys every time the family has to go out to buy some noodles. One solitary figure stands at the edge of the sea, the sole survivor . "Maybe when the children are older, they can work and pay off our debts. The uncle, Chen Minyi, said he could not afford to keep them both, so the son stays with another aunt. Each time one of the children catches a cold, the family must pay a few hundred yuan for medicine. He cooks noodles for the family, helps his mother with the piecework, and trims his dreams to fit the new reality. On 5 February, Chinese cockle pickers were at work in the dark but facing the incoming tide. Visitors may notice something strange walking through this quaint German town. When 23 Chinese cockle pickers died at Morecambe Bay in 2004, the gangmaster was caught and convicted, bodies were repatriated, the disaster tidied away. She makes 500 yuan (33) a month doing piecework - hammering the soles of shoes into place on her kitchen table. Select from premium Cockle Pickers Work At Morecambe Bay of the highest quality. An industry source has informed me of numerous cases of gangmaster abuse over the past decade, from the hospitality industry to food processing and agriculture, saying that little has been done to change the situation. "The Chinese workers were caught up in it," said local fisherman Gary Cheetham. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, Yellen warns US could run out of cash in a month, King Charles to wear golden robes for Coronation, HSBC says 1 bank buyout boosted profit by $1.5bn, More than 100 police hurt in French May Day protests. All the victims were the main breadwinners for their families. It is a rough-hewn, empty house. We left our families to make a better life. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He said: "The water covered the wheel and the vehicle couldn't move. 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. They have had to move. "It was pitch black and I was desperate," he said. "Look at this house. "But we did not make any dent into these wider criminal gangs who traffic people around the world," he said. [8] A further two cocklers were believed to have been with those drowned, with remains of one being found in 2010. 2023 BBC. 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. The gang Li called them snakeheads demanded an initial cash payment (the equivalent back then of 10,000) and it was explained to him that he. The Morecambe disaster was recognised as a crime by a British court. 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 . 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. Tide kills 18 cockle pickers. Activists are concerned about the impact of funding cuts on working conditions. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. "They kept on and on at her. Lin Guohua is at the bottom of the heap. Li Hua was the only worker to be rescued on the night of 5 February, 2004. 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. "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. Since 2006, 201 licences have been revoked, but this is "the tip of an iceberg", he says. It was freezing cold but I didn't feel it. It is less than she would earn at a factory, but at least she can stay at home and keep an eye on her son and his grandparents. In 2013, only seven gangmasters were convicted for operating without a licence. The young woman shrugs as she ushers her son into the bedroom next door. I wish you and my son health and safety. Education - supposedly free - costs more than 2,000 yuan (132) a year. Both Freeman and Bowkett were ordered by the judge to each pay 10,000 costs. We are so poor. Michael Guy, lifeboat operations manager was on duty that night. The authorities in Beijing have washed their hands of the matter. All but two of the bodies have been found, identified and repatriated. "If someone goes abroad, everybody in the neighbourhood lends them money because they believe they will be repaid in three or four years," Chen says. It is not just economic hardship that drives them, he says, but also tradition and a spirit of adventure. The garden was designed and built by young volunteers from the Princes Trust and the fire service in Morecambe. "We dealt with the people who were responsible for the deaths on the night. 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. In any case, she says, her son no longer wants to go to school. "She has lost her mind. Siblings Cai Zhixiang and Cai Huiling were orphaned by the Morecambe tragedy. I know it would influence them in a bad way. I thank him and the Minister for allowing me to speak briefly on this important matter. Their father had died in an accident several years earlier, leaving the family deep in debt. ", As we leave, our driver, Lin Wanxiong, explains how Fujianese people have been travelling overseas to make their fortunes for many generations. Mr Guy said: "At that stage they effectively came into a sea of bodies. BBC News. "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. Dependant Son Xu Bin, 17 Debt More than 200,000 yuan (13,250) Monthly income 1,200 yuan (80). "I have no idea how we will get out of this situation," she says. We left our families to make a better life. The remit of the GLA, Prof Craig said, should be extended to include industries including "construction, hospitality and leisure and social care".