On the evening of 5 February 2004 twenty one Chinese illegal immigrants were drowned by the tide in Morecambe Bay while harvesting cockles, They were earning a reputed £1 per hour. Their call for help, they didn’t even speak English, was “sinking water” but it was too late to save them. The slave gang master was jailed for his involvement. There is a poignant statue, Praying Shell, located near Red Bank Farm farther north on Morecambe Bay.
You probably remember this tragedy, twenty years ago. I was reminded of it by a radio programme whilst driving up to the area today. As I look out across Morecambe Bay, with the tide well in, I feel shivers down my spine. This is the famous view with the Lakeland hills in the background but today is all cold water and mist, not a place to take lightly. There have been other deaths out there.
I wonder how many more immigrants, trafficked and enslaved here by criminal gangs, are earning £1 an hour in some illegal trades. There is talk on the street of carwashes and nail parlours.
I remember being in a dingy Indian Restaurant in Preston when Immigration Officials raided it. They were looking for a ‘Mr. Patel’ (one of thousands no doubt). “He doesn’t work here anymore” was the blank answer they received. Another time, in an even dingier café in Bradford, I attempted to find the toilets only to walk into a room with maybe a dozen ‘Mr Patels’ sleeping on the floor. It must still be happening, but now probably Afghanistanis, Serbians or Albanians,
The world is a cruel place at the moment. We may have to make room for disposed Ukrainians and Palestinians. The former were welcomed with open arms in a gesture of good will, but I can’t see that happening with the latter. Our, or more correctly our ‘make it up as you go along’ government’s, only answer to the oncoming floodgates of persecuted immigrants, once known as refugees, is to send them to Ruanda denying their human rights. Not only is the world cruel but the so called rich countries are in for an onslaught of deprived humanity. We regrettably have not got to grips with the problem or any idea of the solution.
All this was going through my mind whilst gazing across the bay from a seat not far from the Sunday diners in the Midland Hotel, a world away from the cockle pickers.
I had just pedalled in from Lancaster on my usual route on the cycleways. The promenade was busier than usual, I realised it was the start of half term. I had to be very wary of loose children and dogs and was glad to escape into the peace of the canal towpath. It was a grey day all round.
On a lighter note as I was cycling up a suburban side street in Hest Bank a passing motorist stopped to ask me “which house is Tyson Fury’s?” Of course I had no idea. Fury. the heavyweight boxing champion, lives with his wife and seven children in Morecambe and is apparently regularly seen around town. It must be annoying to have fans turning up outside your house for a selfie and an autograph. And who would want to annoy Tyson?
Well said. That was a terrible tragedy born of ruthless exploitation of the desperately poor, yet we have a government hellbent on dehumanising immigrants for political point scoring. Desperate divide-and-conquer tactics from self-serving careerists with no humanity and no answers.
You, me and how many others think this way?
I presume this wasn’t today BC? I was watching the Morecambe webcams around lunchtime, the tide was in and it was beautifully sunny with blue sky – made me wish I’d made the effort to have a drive over there but I had things to do.
Twas Sunday. Must look up that webcam.
Sunday was a bit yuck weather-wise, I went to a private garden the other side of Leigh and it rained all the way there. You can find the Morecambe webcams here –
https://morecambebid.com/more-cam/
They are live so handy for checking the weather before you cycle over there. As I type this – 12.25pm – it’s cloudy and grey and the tide is in.
Thanks for the Link, Eunice.
I remember it very well, and what stayed with me is the people who think one person’s life is worth less than another. I don’t think we have progressed.
I think we have become worse.
A thoughtful post. Is it really 20 years ago? I remember watching the news that night where the map they used showed the Solway as tge Bay. Only the north where there be dragons.
There’s too many tragedies in this world where some lives aren’t valued or some more than others. I sympathise with Ukraine, but the suffering of Palestinians is way, way off the scale and as you say, they won’t receive the same sympathy and welcome as the refugees from Ukraine
Thanks for your content.
Of course flying immigrants off to Rwanda has nothing to do with solving the problem – 47000 people arrived in small boats last year and there are only 300 spaces in Rwanda, so we’d need to find another 150 Rwandas… every year!
It has everything to do with pandering to the most right wing, racist elements of his own party, to be seen to be as nasty as possible, in a vain attempt to get re-elected. What a sad state of affairs.
The world is sad at the moment. Hoping things will change after the election but I feel things have gotten out of hand.
We all know the figures don’t add up.
I too remember that incident very well – a nightmare. Can’t believe it’s twenty years ago.
Another twenty years of our lives have gone, and I don’t like what I see nowadays.
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