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. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? 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. We left our families to make a better life. Misery appears to be what he is used to. It is really unfair. 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). Languages. Is climate change killing Australian wine? The son, Lin Zhifan, was also poorly educated - quitting school before he was 16 so that he could work in a factory. ", The scars of Morecambe's cockling disaster, North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, 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. And there are numerous licensed gangmasters who violate the rules and exploit the loopholes." 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. Chen's mother wails when she sees me and falls to her knees to beg for help. Mr Gradwell claimed other similar disasters could still occur because people are willing to exploit the poorest in society for their own ends. I had a warm and happy family even though we weren't rich. The Chinese workers were unfamiliar with local geography, language, and custom. Then she went upstairs and swallowed a bottle of rat poison. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . Her brother and his wife were the only couple to die on the Lancashire sands, leaving their son an orphan. [12], The 2006 film Ghosts, directed by Nick Broomfield, is a dramatisation of the events leading up to the disaster. As they stare into the camera, I notice the painfully inappropriate English slogan emblazoned on her T-shirt. Li Hua was the only worker to be rescued on the night of 5 February, 2004. Oneupmanship does not come much more literal. 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 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. 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.". Read about our approach to external linking. Police said they were part of a money-laundering gang that made 4m and had assets in the UK, Thailand and Norway. The interview over, I ask if I can take some pictures of the mother, grandmother and son. I was on my own and then a helicopter came.". (modern), The dangers of Morecambe Bay, where 23 Chinese cocklers lost their lives in 2004, include fast-rising tides and quicksands. He died in Lancashire, so his mother killed herself in Fujian. This abandoned limestone quarry now provides visitors with multiple, breathtaking viewpoints. The doctor says it won't be long. "I have no plan. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. Even in grief there is competition. 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 creditors have also suffered, she says. For its part, the GLA accepts exploitation exists in other industries and insists it could be more of an "effective deterrent" with extra resources. "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. They were cut off by the incoming tide in the bay around 9:30 p.m. The only decorations on the walls are some Christian posters and a portrait of her dead husband, Lin Guoguang. The horrors imprinted on my mind, says Li Hua. As we drive away, I notice the propaganda slogan daubed on the walls of her house in big red characters: "Serve Economic Development. "Is that near Morecambe?" 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. Her only income - 300 yuan (20 a month) - comes from mixing concrete on building sites for other people's new houses. This crude architectural hierarchy marks Zhou Xiaomei out as a failure. 2023 BBC. The other quietly grasps my hand and implores me to help. He earned a lot in his first year and wrote to say that he was happy in Britain. Morecambe Bay. Song Xinyao is a smart 17-year-old who dreamed of going to university. The young woman shrugs as she ushers her son into the bedroom next door. Fifteen other labourers from the same group managed to return safely to shore.[2]. Xu Liying knows just how hard life can be without any support from society, the state or charity. The Chinese cockle pickers died in 2004 when they were caught in the rising tide at Bolton-le-Sands near Morecambe, Lancashire. Her house-cleaning job brings in just 600 yuan (40) a month. And on his first day . I wish you and my son health and safety. Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, Lin Liang Ren was jailed for 14 years in 2006, Research led by Durham University last year, 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. Twenty-one bodies were recovered within hours, a woman's skull was washed up six years on and one man has never been found. Read about our approach to external linking. The man and his wife survive on handouts from their three other sons. His father went overseas to earn enough for his tuition. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Siblings Cai Zhixiang and Cai Huiling were orphaned by the Morecambe tragedy. 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. Almost a decade after the disaster, Mr Hua said he still has panic attacks. Lawyers in London are pressing a claim for money from Britain's criminal compensation fund, but if a payment comes at all it could take years. I am terrified that one typhoon could bring the walls crashing down on top of us." The cockle permit scheme, under which holders have to complete a safety course and learn about intertidal fishing, was introduced in December 2003, just eight weeks before the disaster. "But we did not make any dent into these wider criminal gangs who traffic people around the world," he said. The 2004 Morecambe Bay disaster saw a group of Chinese cockle pickers drowned by rising tides as they worked gathering shellfish for criminal gangmasters. Because of a lack of resources its budget was cut by 17% between 2011 and 2014 the GLA's ability to investigate and prosecute employers is limited. She is wearing a white dress and her husband Wu Hongkang is in a western suit. Only 21 bodies were recovered. "Sometimes I think if he hadn't died I would live a better life.". Inset: bodies being removed after the disaster. "It was very harrowing. 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. Healthcare, which is more market-driven than in most capitalist countries, is a heavy burden. Registered in England No. The absence of a social welfare net in China drives people overseas and then leaves their families exposed when something goes wrong. "We are really poor. Mon Nov 15 2004 - 00:00. In October 2013, it stopped monitoring some industries including forestry or apprenticeships and contract cleaning in the food industry when it should be expanding to include sectors with the worst working conditions. The events of that night left indelible memories for everyone involved - from the sole Chinese survivor and witness - to the lifeboat crew who found themselves confronted by a "sea of bodies". When 23 Chinese cockle pickers died at Morecambe Bay in 2004, the gangmaster was caught and convicted, bodies were repatriated, the disaster tidied away. Morecambe Bay cockling disaster survivor Li Hua said he thought he "might just as well wait to die" before the emergency helicopter's thermal imaging camera spotted he was alive in the sea, The victims, aged between 18 and 45, were working to send money back to their families, Jurors in the manslaughter trial were taken out on the sands in a hovercraft, Mick Gradwell, who led the police investigation, claimed other similar disasters could occur. "They kept on and on at her. In sharp contrast, the dead man's mother is almost silent. Congleton MP Ann Winterton stunned an audience at a dinner when . On 5 February, Chinese cockle pickers were at work in the dark but facing the incoming tide. All the victims were the main breadwinners for their families. In January 2005, just short of a year after her son's death, Shi decided to join him. He knows the creditors will never stop coming after him. "My family are all healthy and we are happy. These workers had no knowledge of the sea and hadn't been given any safety equipment or guidance by their gangmaster. But 5,000 miles away in Fujian province, on the south-eastern coast of China, lives are still being sucked into the sands. Cheetham says the Gangmasters Licensing Act, passed in 2004 after the tragedy, hasn't changed things much. At a confiscation hearing in 2011, Bo, 46, and Yan, 43, were ordered to pay back about 1m which they had made. But I have a few hundred thousand yuan worth of debts. An . Chen says she has sold her wedding jewellery and persuaded the creditors to stop charging 10% interest. Although this was a made-in-China and consummated-in-Britain tragedy, no one wants to take responsibility for the consequences. The Fujian style of mourning is somewhere between a lament and an undulating, almost melodic wail of misery. The focus of the family's concern is on the youngest member. Now we are on our own. Her salary of 1,200 yuan (80) a month, from a Singaporean trading company, would normally ensure a modest but secure existence in Fujian. I am paralysed most of the time. On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. "I was on my own And then a helicopter came," he said. Mr Gradwell claimed other similar disasters could still occur because people are willing to exploit the poorest in society for their own ends. Read about our approach to external linking. Their father had died in an accident several years earlier, leaving the family deep in debt. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. See. Others are furious and threaten to beat me. Their uncle was too shocked by the size of the burden suddenly thrust upon him to grieve at the loss of his sister. 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. Each time one of the children catches a cold, the family must pay a few hundred yuan for medicine. 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. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. Xu appears to be a reasoning, reasonable woman. Country. We must go on. And they were gone just like that. The GLA has had some success in dismantling crime rings in Cambridgeshire, Derby and Norfolk, yet the scale of the problem seems beyond its reach. Inside this station, the 1945 film "Brief Encounter" is played on a loop daily. "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. 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. 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. Mr Hua said: "I could not believe I was being rescued and I was alive again.". 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 2004 Morecambe Bay disaster saw a group of Chinese cockle pickers drowned by rising tides as they worked gathering shellfish for criminal gangmasters. The sculpture was actually imagined before the tragedy occurred in 2004. But they drive her to distraction. But she is dragged into poverty by debt and dependants. 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 . The dangers of Morecambe Bay, where 23 Chinese cocklers lost their lives in 2004, include fast-rising tides and quicksands. She breaks down again. I thank him and the Minister for allowing me to speak briefly on this important matter. But they are not stupid. 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. If the creditors saw you they would assume you gave me money and demand I repay them. 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. "I don't know how I will be able to pay for him if he succeeds. But because the victims were all illegal migrants, their dependants have received no compensation, meagre charity, and endured such appalling harassment from debt collectors that several have been driven from their homes and at least one woman has killed herself. 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Five of them depend on Yu's father's factory salary of 750 yuan. The pair, who operated from houses in the West Midlands, had hidden 22,000 they . Gangmaster-controlled work is worth 1.34bn to the UK economy, but only 950 labour providers are licensed under the act. 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 Fujian, a man is judged by the height of his home. They realise we have problems," says Chen. Is climate change killing Australian wine? The events of that night left indelible memories for everyone involved - from the sole Chinese survivor and witness - to the lifeboat crew who found themselves confronted by a "sea of bodies". He went to Europe to make up for that: if he had succeeded, everyone would have benefited. A NORTH West Tory MP remained defiant today over an offensive joke about the Chinese cockle pickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay. I can't sleep with worry." 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. Even so, small expenses quickly mount up. Yet many of the underlying causes, and especially the role of gangmasters, remain unresolved. My uncle, auntie and grandfather help me. Morecambe's RNLI crew worked for 22 hours during the search and rescue operation. He said he "kept waving" at the helicopter. It is as if they have fallen into a crevasse between justice and charity, from which there is no way out. "It was very harrowing. The 17-year-old's schoolwork is suffering. The only contribution we made to the families is that because we did recover the people we gave them some closure - rather than people being lost at sea.". That anger grew as it became clear how desperate the victims' lives had been. The last time a foreigner came to see me, they came knocking immediately after and caused trouble. Su Zhenqin has seen her life go backwards since the Morecambe deaths on the night of February 5 2004. The combination of rising flood waters and ferocious incoming tide meant the trapped cockle-pickers "didn't stand a chance", a sands expert said. In March 2006, Ren was jailed for 14 years at Preston Crown Court. "There's the same number of unlicensed gangmasters as there is licensed, in the food-processing industry, for instance. Sinking water, sinking water.". The creator, artist Anthony Padgett stated that the sculpture was designed to inspire walkers venturing along 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. Find Cockle Pickers Work At Morecambe Bay stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. One solitary figure stands at the edge of the sea, the sole survivor . He said he "kept waving" at the helicopter.