DisOrientated - A Weblog by Philip Sen - Just Outside My Mum's...

February 06, 2004

Just Outside My Mum's...

At least 18 Chinese workers died on Friday in the most unlikely of places - the picture postcard location of Morecambe Bay near England's Lake District.

The tragedy exposes the practise of exporting Chinese labour abroad, where countless people are ruthlessly exploited by gangs ignorant of the most basic safety procedures.

My mother in fact recently bought a house in the area, within eyeshot of the scene of the accident, and provided the following details.

The labourers were working as 'cocklers', handpicking tiny shellfish (cockles) from the Morecambe Bay mudflats. A team of workers was caught in the estuary, and with no means of escape were drowned as the tide rose.

So far 16 survivors have been found, but bodies of 16 young men and two women, all thought to be Chinese, have been recovered. There is virtually no chance of finding anyone else alive. The survivors were suffering from hypothermia due to the cold water, although the weather was mild.

The alarm was raised at 5am Beijing time on Friday (9pm GMT 5th February), and emergency services including helicopters, rigid inflatables, quad bikes and, inshore hovercraft were scrambled. The hovercraft were needed due to the nature of the sands, where the draught is too shallow for ordinary lifeboats.

Local people have been warning since the cocklers arrived that this was a tragedy waiting to happen, as the sands are extremely treacherous. There are signs all along the coast advising of the danger of quicksands, deep gullies and fast flowing incoming tides. There have been incidents in the past of people dying while caught in the mud.

These people were not only working in these areas but working in the dark.

One local was quoted on radio as saying that the young Chinese (or possibly their families) owe money to the gangs and are brought over to England to do this work.

A local fisherman claimed that an individual can earn between GBP 750 (11,000 RMB) and GBP 1,000 (15,000 RMB) per day, although this money was not going to the cocklers themselves but to the gang masters.

The cocklers are still operating here, writes my mother, and all around the bay - total numbers are unknown, but she regularly sees 16-seat minibuses going down the coast.

All the occupants are Chinese, including the drivers. It has been widely reported that they are illegal immigrants, but if that was the case then in theory they would be easy enough to pick up. About 40 and a labour master were arrested last summer at the town of Morecambe itself for this reason.

My parents had previously spoken to a fisheries spokesman from the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as they were concerned about what they saw as the pillage of a local natural resource. He advised them that the cockles have what is known as a 'mast' season every four years, when there are huge numbers, and 2003/4 is such a year. If mature cockles are not harvested they will die.

These cockles appear to all be exported to Spain, in Spanish refrigerated container lorries (upto 20 tonne payload), so none of the harvest is going into the local economy. Cockling in the area had always been a 'cottage industry', with a few families making a summer living from it, but this last summer they felt intimidated by the foreign workers, and the local fish processor reported a significant drop in the number of cockles for processing.

The pillage of cockle beds in other parts of Europe has led to the dramatic rise in price. The only people to gain are the gang masters; the losers are the young people who have died, their families back home, the local economy
and ecology.

The tragedy raises several questions. How did these Chinese workers end up in Europe? What is their obligation to the gangs that appear to control them? And why did the local authorities not act to dissuade the gangs, who at best were clearly interfering in the local economy and at worst, as has been proved, endangering the lives of the people they engage?

The Guardian newspaper reports here, with further analysis here.

Posted by Sendover at February 6, 2004 11:39 PM | TrackBack

Comments

penis enlargement

Posted by: penis enlargement at January 12, 2005 11:57 AM

penis enlargement

Posted by: penis enlargement at January 13, 2005 06:39 PM

Your blog is great! If you are interested in playing online slots, we have something for everyone! Play free slots or play slots for real big money jackpots. backgammon board, backgammon boards, free backgammon download, backgammon rules, backgammon board game, backgammon download, free backgammon online, free backgammon game, backgammon tournament, backgammon tournaments, backgammon instruction, backgammon instructions, rules of backgammon, backgammon strategy, backgammon software, free online backgammon, backgammon site, backgammon sites, live backgammon, backgammon game, backgammon games, tournament backgammon, bakgammon, backgammo, backgamon, back gammon, bacgammon, bacgamon, bakgamon, blackgammon, backgammon online, blackgammon online, bakgammon online, backgamon online, online backgammon, online blackgammon, online bakgammon, online backgamon, backgammon free, free backgammon, internet backgammon

Posted by: backgammon at February 9, 2005 07:52 PM

Hey

I agree with what you're saying. Thanks for sharing the info with us.

Posted by: webcam at March 3, 2005 07:46 PM

Hey

I agree with what you're saying. Thanks for sharing the info with us.

Posted by: webcam at March 4, 2005 05:43 AM

Posted by: mortgage loan at March 5, 2005 06:56 PM

Posted by: payday advance loan at March 5, 2005 08:00 PM

The ProSolution Pill system is guaranteed to increase your penis size by 1-3 inches. Utilizing doctor recommended ingredients and paired with a bonus membership to an online techniques website, this is the most successful system on the market.

Posted by: pro solution pills at March 6, 2005 06:00 AM

The ProSolution Pill system is guaranteed to increase your penis size by 1-3 inches. Utilizing doctor recommended ingredients and paired. WITH a bonus membership to an online techniques website, this is the most successful system on the market.The repercussions of possessing a small penis are damaging and far-reaching. Luckily, this condition is treatable. In the beginning, ProSolution saw a need. Many men everywhere suffer from feelings of inadequacy resulting from their penis.

Posted by: penis enlargement at March 7, 2005 08:12 PM