Local fisherman Harold Benson is still traumatised by the events 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. All but two of the bodies have been found, identified and repatriated. "The Chinese workers were caught up in it," said local fisherman Gary Cheetham. 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. Some creditors keep adding interest, which has pushed the debt to 300,000 yuan (20,000). "I thought I might just as well wait to die. He earned a lot in his first year and wrote to say that he was happy in Britain. Now the creditors never stop bothering us." Li Hua was trafficked by 'snakeheads' from China via Moscow to the UK. Song Xinyao is a smart 17-year-old who dreamed of going to university. "I worry about their future," says the uncle. It is not just economic hardship that drives them, he says, but also tradition and a spirit of adventure. "We dealt with the people who were responsible for the deaths on the night. She refuses to accept that her son is dead. 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. Xu says her brother went overseas after his mother was diagnosed with cancer. And perhaps some fatty scraps of meat. This month he takes university entrance exams, but his mother says she cannot afford the application fee, let alone the costs of tuition if he gets a place. He believes the small gangmasters not following the rules may get caught, but the large ones are still out there. My uncle, auntie and grandfather help me. [19] This song was later covered by folk musician Christy Moore.[20]. The pair, who operated from houses in the West Midlands, had hidden 22,000 they had made and tried to spend it when they got out of prison. The man and his wife survive on handouts from their three other sons. Read about our approach to external linking. But she is dragged into poverty by debt and dependants. Ten years after the cockle pickers' tragedy, we are still focusing on the arrival of migrants, not their rights, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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. ", At the bottom, he tags on a brief message to their two sons. Read about our approach to external linking. Please, Main image: Morecambe Bay. I hope he is able to escape deep into the comic books he reads as his mother tells me of a disaster followed by a tragedy followed by years of hopelessness. The combination of rising flood waters and ferocious incoming tide meant the trapped cockle-pickers "didn't stand a chance", a sands expert said. 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 events of that . The widow's house is easy to spot in Shangjiang village. it says. He said: "The water covered the wheel and the vehicle couldn't move. Mick Gradwell, who has retired from Lancashire Police, said: "You're thrown into investigating international organised crime gangs, snakeheads, triads, international human trafficking. THE death of the cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay has added to its reputation for being a deadly area for the unwary. The uncle, who earns 1,500 yuan per month, has repaid 20,000 yuan, but still owes 150,000. "But we did not make any dent into these wider criminal gangs who traffic people around the world," he said. 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. Mandarin, Fuzhou dialect, English. In Britain, the Morecambe Bay disaster is history. 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. We have noticed that there is an issue with your subscription billing details. Their mother, Chen Aiqin, went to work in Britain because she thought it was her family's only chance to escape poverty. Only 21 bodies were recovered. Those who sent them to their deaths have not been punished as much as us." 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. Mr Gradwell claimed other similar disasters could still occur because people are willing to exploit the poorest in society for their own ends. I wish I could earn something now to ease their burden, but I can't leave my children alone. File photo: Lancashire Police. My husband is dead. [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. Unable to read the warning signs on the beach, the victims were trapped while picking cockles by fast-moving tides on the notoriously treacherous sands. If I had any money, I would pay them, because I know they have to work hard for their money too. She comes outside to see us off. There are some outlets just 10 minutes from here and I hear they pay OK, about three or four yuan [20-25p] an hour. It is a rough-hewn, empty house. He would rather start work early so that he can start making payments on the debt that he will inherit as soon as he comes of age - a responsibility that few children of his age have to bear. United Kingdom. A powerful statue sits on Scalestone Point, looking out over Morecambe Bay. He cooks noodles for the family, helps his mother with the piecework, and trims his dreams to fit the new reality. Siblings Cai Zhixiang and Cai Huiling were orphaned by the Morecambe tragedy. The gangmaster Lin Liangren has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Zhao Xiao Qing was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months for facilitation of illegal immigration and perverting the course of justice. In 2006, the average rural income in the province was 4,450 yuan (270 pounds) a year, one-third higher than the Chinese norm - but little more than 1% of most British salaries. It probably makes little difference. Mon Nov 15 2004 - 00:00. In fact, the snakeheads were paid off long before the accidents. Everyone was panicking, they got out of the vehicle and tried to swim. More than 1,000 days after the accident, they haven't paid back a single yuan of the original 80,000-yuan (5,300) loan. 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.". ", At last year's trial in Britain, the boy wrote to the judge. The media go wild, she says, about the inflow of migrants, but what they should be talking about is migrants' rights. "We are really poor. The headlines from China were full of disbelief. 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. ", Her sick brother-in-law says he feels like an extra burden. 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. They need to be repaid. ", We sneak back into her home so that she can show me the life she left behind. Congleton MP Ann Winterton stunned an audience at a dinner when . The workers were all illegal immigrants, mainly from the Fujian province of China, and have been described as being untrained and inexperienced. ", 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. Even in grief there is competition. They became trapped by rising tides and were swept out to sea. "Our thoughts really are of sadness for the families. "I have no idea how we will get out of this situation," she says. Sinking water, sinking water.". "I have no plan. On 5 February, Chinese cockle pickers were at work in the dark but facing the incoming tide. Returning three years later, I find that he seems to have coped as well as can be imagined in the circumstances. They cook a little extra and bring some for us. The Chinese cockle pickers died in 2004 when they were caught in the rising tide at Bolton-le-Sands near Morecambe, Lancashire. introduced after the 2004 tragedy has led to a reduction in the number of illegal cockle pickers in the Bay. "My plan is to work in Kentucky Fried Chicken or McDonald's. In any case, she says, her son no longer wants to go to school. Yet, 10 years on, campaigners say workers are still being dangerously exploited in the UK. That anger grew as it became clear how desperate the victims' lives had been. They were staying at a hotel in Chippenham in Wiltshire and staff found 22,000 hid in a locker during routine checks. And they were gone just like that. 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. All rights reserved. The families' huge debts are now owed to relatives, friends and neighbours. 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. The other quietly grasps my hand and implores me to help. 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. Mr Guy said: "At that stage they effectively came into a sea of bodies. ", 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. A unique sculpture calls the outside of this steakhouse home. Is climate change killing Australian wine? The cockles to be collected are best found at low tide on sand flats at Warton Sands, near Hest Bank. They were cut off by the incoming tide in the bay around 9:30 p.m. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. ", She shows me a letter she received from her husband before he died. 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. "Dad's only wish is that you study harder and harder and never act too proud. "The brother is 16 and he doesn't study hard. "I don't know how I will be able to pay for him if he succeeds. [3] Fourteen other members of the group are reported to have made it safely to the shore, making 15 survivors in total. He must be able to hear everything anyway, if not this time, then on countless previous occasions. A memorial garden for the victims of the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy has been unveiled. "They kept on and on at her. On 5 February, Chinese cockle pickers were at work in the dark but facing the incoming tide. 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". One grandmother is still crying as I prepare to leave. Li said: "I wanted to get justice for those who died. He wants to quit school and start work so that he can begin repaying the debt. 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. The detective who led the investigation into the tragedy said the deaths had "lived with him" ever since. ", Dependants Wife Yu Lihong, daughter Guo Yuwei 16, son Guo Minghui 9, Debt 300,000 yuan (20,000) Income 750 yuan (50) per month. These workers had no knowledge of the sea and hadn't been given any safety equipment or guidance by their gangmaster. All were working illegally, picking cockles for hours on end to send money back to their families. When 23 Chinese cockle pickers died at Morecambe Bay in 2004, the gangmaster was caught and convicted, bodies were repatriated, the disaster tidied away. ", Dependants Wife Zhou Xiaomei and son Cao Xianyong 13, daughter Cao Meiyun 16 Debt 200,000 yuan (13,250) Monthly income 250 yuan (17). Lin Liang Ren was jailed for 14 years in 2006 after being found guilty of manslaughter and helping the cockle pickers break immigration laws. 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 . Languages. 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 Today marks 15 years since 23 people died in the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster. Xu appears to be a reasoning, reasonable woman. Although this was a made-in-China and consummated-in-Britain tragedy, no one wants to take responsibility for the consequences. Twenty-three Chinese cockle pickers drowned in Lancashire's Morecambe Bay in February 2004. Ten years ago this week, 23 men and women lost their lives searching for cockles in Morecambe Bay. I could earn 500 yuan in a month," he says. The Praying Shell artwork, carved in limestone, sits above the site where 23 Chinese cockle pickers working for. It wasn't the creditors this time. Li was lifted by violent waves as he struggled to swim against the tide. 2004 mass drowning in Morecambe Bay, England, "Skull found in Morecambe Bay 'belongs to cockle-picker', "Cockle pickers were swimming the wrong direction", "Man Convicted in Shellfish Pickers' Deaths", "Cockler deaths jury shown film of survivor's rescue", "Victims of the sands and the snakeheads", Cocklers tragedy highlights need for high safety standards, "Exhibition: 'Memento', Ed Pien, 24 April - 4 July 2009", BBC report, Cockler gangmaster gets 14 years, The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Morecambe_Bay_cockling_disaster&oldid=1151986537, February 2004 events in the United Kingdom, Illegal immigration to the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 13:17. "I am sorry I couldn't invite you to my place. They have had to move. "I'm scared to go there," says the daughter, Cai Huiling. ITV received a Bafta for its coverage of the seven-month trial, which ended in march last year. The eldest son has done his best to honour that final wish, but it is becoming more difficult. Outside, there are building materials for some home improvements that have been shelved indefinitely. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? "Wait a moment," I interrupt. I wish you and my son health and safety. All she does all day is collect rubbish for recycling so we can get a little extra money," explains Chen. Mr Hua agreed to be interviewed and talk about the disaster almost 10 years on. The death of her husband Dong Xinwu has left them with a debt of 240,000 yuan and no breadwinner to pay it back. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. Dependants Son Cai Zhixiang, 16, daughter Cai Huiling, 13 Debt 150,000 yuan (9,940) Monthly income 2,000 yuan (132). But the family is subsisting rather than living. [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).