He already had four mouths to feed. The Morecambe Bay cockle pickers tragedy: a survivor's story I have a serious disease. ", The creditors have also suffered, she says. The Praying Shell artwork, carved in limestone, sits above the site where 23 Chinese cockle pickers working for. Mick Gradwell, the detective who led the investigation into the tragedy, said criminals were funnelling 1m per day to China by exploiting workers all around England. But it is near the creditors so they used to come knocking all the time. 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.". Bo and Yan Li were jailed in 2009 for a scam linked to the deaths of the cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2004. And with that, he slips back into the background. "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.". Tide kills 18 cockle pickers. Xu appears to be a reasoning, reasonable woman. The windows are broken. It was the only way they could pay for the treatment. Photograph: Jonathan Watts, Audio slideshow: Jonathan Watts visits the families of the cockle pickers who died at Morcambe Bay three years ago. 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. [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. At the moment, it is impossible. 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. At a rough wooden table inside, she shows me the family photo album. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. Padgett said this about the sculpture, Its symbolism is intended to parallel humanitys openness to a larger dimension and the way cockle shells open as the tide comes in.. [7] Four of the victims died after the truck they used to reach the cockling area became overwhelmed by water. Running time. "Tens of thousands of illegal Chinese workers were living in the country," he said. Li Hua was the only worker to be rescued on the night of 5 February, 2004. Are UK Asian gangs secretly exploiting cockle pickers? "I don't know how I will be able to pay for him if he succeeds. The gangmaster Lin Liangren has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. I thought I might just as well wait to die. "They put me in prison for a year. 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. Cockle Bay - YouTube "Three years ago, we were poor but our lives were tranquil. Alan Sledmore, who guides people across the bay, said "The area is very . 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. 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 Devil's beach," one newspaper cried. During the subsequent investigation and trial, it emerged that the labourers were inexperienced, spoke little or no English and were unfamiliar with the area. The lessons of Morecambe Bay have not been learned He said: "The water covered the wheel and the vehicle couldn't move. 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. "There's the same number of unlicensed gangmasters as there is licensed, in the food-processing industry, for instance. It is really unfair. 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. Dependants Son Cai Zhixiang, 16, daughter Cai Huiling, 13 Debt 150,000 yuan (9,940) Monthly income 2,000 yuan (132). Both Freeman and Bowkett were ordered by the judge to each pay 10,000 costs. THE death of the cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay has added to its reputation for being a deadly area for the unwary. "But we did not make any dent into these wider criminal gangs who traffic people around the world," he said. "I can barely pay the fees for his high-school education. A month or two after arriving, he was dead - the youngest of the Morecambe victims. "That was taken just days before he set off to Europe," she says, breaking into tears. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. These workers had no knowledge of the sea and hadn't been given any safety equipment or guidance by their gangmaster. 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. "It was very harrowing. When the creditors come knocking - at least once a month for the past three years - he begs for more time. It was the eight-year-old who found the body. Even so, small expenses quickly mount up. The detective who led the investigation into the tragedy said the deaths had "lived with him" ever since. The uncle, who earns 1,500 yuan per month, has repaid 20,000 yuan, but still owes 150,000. He added: "What's changed since Morecambe Bay? And, of course, the debt from the dead woman's passage to Britain still hangs over them. We are so poor. 82 Cockle Pickers Work At Morecambe Bay Premium High Res Photos "Is that near Morecambe?" The families I meet in Fujian are all after pity - it is their last hope - but they are not equally able to press their case for sympathy, charity and compensation. And tradition says the wife and children inherit the debt of the father. The sculpture was actually imagined before the tragedy occurred in 2004. The creditors have taken over the dead couple's house, using it as a storeroom for their goods. At a confiscation hearing in 2011, Bo, 46, and Yan, 43, were ordered to pay back about 1m which they had made. Their father had died in an accident several years earlier, leaving the family deep in debt. Abstract. Offer subject to change without notice. 152 Morecambe Cockle Pickers Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images The young woman shrugs as she ushers her son into the bedroom next door. ", There is little I can say to comfort her. It was freezing cold but I didn't feel it. I can't afford to go to hospital for the surgery I need so I just sit at home waiting to die. It took a year to reach Morecambe. 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." Memories of the, UKmigrants no different to Brits abroad, says home office minister, Don't claim we didn't act on gangmasters after Morecambe Bay, Cameron to push for cap on European migrants in UK negotiations with EU, Seasonal migrant workers scheme closes to help British into work, Newfigures reveal dramatic increase in hate crimes against Polish people, UKmust end dependency on low-wage foreign labour, says Ed Miliband, Home Office 'did not predict huge surge in immigration visas for entrepreneurs', EdMiliband promises to close loophole allowing exploitation of foreign workers, Romanians and Bulgarians in the UK react to immigration furore. She was always crying. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. The Child-Eating Bunyip Haunts Australias Wetlands. "I stayed in my husband's home for a while. Morecambe Bay cockling disaster, 2004 - BBC Archive "I thought I might just as well wait to die. ", She shows me a letter she received from her husband before he died. She has not broken any laws, but the death of her husband in Morecambe has made her a fugitive from the family's creditors. Since 2006, 201 licences have been revoked, but this is "the tip of an iceberg", he says. I ask Chen how the family will manage. "The situation is getting worse. Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (David Morris) on securing this timely debate. ", At last year's trial in Britain, the boy wrote to the judge. That afternoon, she ate with her grandson during his lunch break. An unusual artwork dedicated to a unique man that entertained people visiting Cambridge while raising money for charity. 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. To earn money, I have to endure the depths of bitterness. Nick Broomfield, who made the 2006 film Ghosts about the tragedy, set up the Morecambe Victims Fund with the Guardian journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai last August aimed at raising 500,000 for the victims' families. "There is no precedent All we can do is wait.". But now she is furious at those who have left her alone with such a burden. And well beyond 2004 cockle pickers have had to be rescued. His mother, Shi Aizhu, took that call. The report also called for the scope of the GLA to be widened. The boy is lying on the bed, still flicking through a comic book. Michael Guy, lifeboat operations manager was on duty that night. If I am dead, I will never be able to repay them.". 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. Guo Binlong's brick-making business failed in China, so he went to Britain. The authorities in Beijing have washed their hands of the matter. Mr Gradwell said while "significant sums" were pocketed by the gangmaster, the cockle pickers earned "a pittance". "We have no family home, no land. "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. Morecambe Bay Disaster (Aftermath) - Hansard - UK Parliament Read about our approach to external linking. They did not do anything illegal once they got to the UK. The son, Lin Zhifan, was also poorly educated - quitting school before he was 16 so that he could work in a factory. 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. That last conversation with her son crushed much of her will to live; the hounding by the creditors finished her off. Her salary of 1,200 yuan (80) a month, from a Singaporean trading company, would normally ensure a modest but secure existence in Fujian. They were cut off by the incoming tide in the bay around 9:30 p.m. My husband is dead. Yet many of the underlying causes, and especially the role of gangmasters, remain unresolved. Read about our approach to external linking. Almost a decade after the disaster, Mr Hua said he still has panic attacks. "I adopted him as my son, but I am worried about his future," sobs his aunt. The doctor says it won't be long. On the evening of 5 February 2004, at least 21 Chinese illegal immigrants were drowned by an incoming tide at Morecambe Bay in North West England, while harvesting cockles off the Lancashire coast. I am terrified that one typhoon could bring the walls crashing down on top of us." 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. Chen says she has sold her wedding jewellery and persuaded the creditors to stop charging 10% interest. On the evening of February 5, 2004, 23 men and women lost their lives after . 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On the lonely cockle banks of Morecambe Bay In Fujian and Zeeland they mourn their next of kin Gang masters with snake tattoos call money loans back in Broked hearted parents watch their children stow away To the lonely cockle banks of Morecambe Bay The tide is the very Devil and The Devil has its day On the lonely cockle banks of Morecambe Bay Oneupmanship does not come much more literal. Ghosts is a 2006 drama film directed by Nick Broomfield, based on the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster. The events of that . It is a short, scrawled tale of misery: "Wife. It seems workers have little confidence in reporting abuse to the GLA: "They don't seem to do much with the intelligence," a source told me. Inside this station, the 1945 film "Brief Encounter" is played on a loop daily. "Sometimes I think if he hadn't died I would live a better life.". Some creditors keep adding interest, which has pushed the debt to 300,000 yuan (20,000). The main thing is to be able to look down on your neighbours. "I am sorry I couldn't invite you to my place. 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. Congleton MP Ann Winterton stunned an audience at a dinner when . Birds have nested in the roof. He knows the creditors will never stop coming after him. The families' huge debts are now owed to relatives, friends and neighbours. "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. She now lives at her uncle and aunt's home in the hills. Mr Hua said: "I could not believe I was being rescued and I was alive again.". ", She shows me round her home. But 5,000 miles away in Fujian province . "My family are all healthy and we are happy. There is usually less risk than for a loan for college or business.". Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? When he died it was such a loss. It is not just economic hardship that drives them, he says, but also tradition and a spirit of adventure. But we quickly ran out of things to eat so I had to start working again. It is not that I don't want to pay. But, unlike his father, he refused to accept that poverty was his lot in life. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. "I was on my own And then a helicopter came," he said. Slavery 'worse' 10 years after Morecambe Bay tragedy - BBC News We must go on. Lin Liang Ren was jailed for 14 years in 2006 after being found guilty of manslaughter and helping the cockle pickers break immigration laws. Isaac Julien: 'What Freedom Is to Me' at Tate Britain review 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. "The brother is 16 and he doesn't study hard. I was just lucky.". All she does all day is collect rubbish for recycling so we can get a little extra money," explains Chen. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). [2] Twenty-one bodies, of men and women between the ages of 18 and 45, were recovered from the bay after the incident. In the background of both is a British beach. "Some are polite. I had a warm and happy family even though we weren't rich. Police said they were part of a money-laundering gang that made 4m and had assets in the UK, Thailand and Norway. And perhaps some fatty scraps of meat. 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. 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. All I can think of is the Chinese cockle-pickers, poor sods. Memories of the tragedy may have faded in the public mind. Dependants Wife Su Zhenqin and two daughters aged 10 and 14 Debt 300,000 yuan (19,900) Monthly income 300 yuan (20).