The death of 39 Vietnamese people-the reality of dangerous migrant-November 25, 17:40

One month after the discovery of 39 Vietnamese bodies in a truck container near London, England. Why did so many Vietnamese have to die in a distant England? As I proceeded with the interview, I was able to see the reality of dangerous migrant work and the darkness of Vietnamese society with remarkable economic growth.
(Director of Hanoi branch road)

All victims are Vietnamese

On the 23rd of last month, the news that 39 bodies were found in a truck container near London, UK, spread quickly around the world with a big shock.

Who are 39 people from and where are they from? At first, the British police said that the victims told the Chinese and the information was complicated, but in Vietnam far away, there were many people complaining that `` My family was involved in the case '' It was.

As a result of the British police confirming their identity based on information received from the Vietnamese government, it was found that all 39 were Vietnamese and were men and women between the ages of 15 and 44.

“I ’m sorry, mom” Last Message

Some victims sent messages from their mobile phones to their parents who lived in their hometown just before their death. Fam Ti Cha Mi (26) is one of them.

Mi-san, “Sorry, mom. My travel is unsuccessful. Dad, mom, I really love you. I ca n’t breathe and die.”

After this message, Mi-san lost contact.

Go to England for family

Why did you aim for England? We headed to Hatin province in central Vietnam to visit her parents' home.

It is only Tabata that spreads from the nearest airport to the car window to the parents' home. It is a completely different view from the capital city of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City where high-rise buildings are lined up.

My father, Fam Van Ting (55), responded to the interview.

According to his father, Ting, Mi had just returned to his home after working for three years at a Japanese bento factory.

However, because his brother had an accident with a car he had just purchased and his house was left with a lot of debt, he decided to work abroad again to reduce his parents' burden as much as possible.

Ms. Mi said that a manicurist job was found in the United Kingdom, and that the commission to brokers that mediate the travel, several million yen in the Japanese yen.

Even after he left Vietnam, he called me every day and told him where he was, and told him to go to England via China and France.

Ting was against Ms. Mi from the UK from the beginning. However, Mi said that he had not listened to his parents' persuasion, saying, “I have to go for my family”. Ting regrets that he should have stopped more strongly.

Mr. Ting “I was a daughter of my family. The whole family is shocked. I do n’t know how to express my feelings.”

Migrant workers who support the country's economy

"for the family"

I've been in Vietnam for less than half a year, but I've heard these words over and over. Many people in Vietnam are traveling abroad to work hard to help their parents, wives and children who live in their homes to live better lives.

The Vietnamese government has been actively sending workers to Japan, South Korea, Europe and other countries since the late 1990s, and remittances from these workers have supported a strong Vietnamese economy.

By the way, nearly 120,000 Vietnamese have been sent overseas as laborers until October, and the most destination is Japan, accounting for more than half of the total.

Those who go to work abroad are particularly concentrated in Central Vietnam such as Nghe An province, Ha Ting province, and Quang Binh province. The region has no major industries other than agriculture and fisheries and is left behind from economic development.

Looking at the average monthly income per person, for example, in Hatin Province, it is less than 13,000 yen in Japanese yen. Less than half of big cities like Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.

In this incident, 35 of the 39 victims were from such poor Chubu.

As many people go abroad, the problem now is the existence of people who travel abroad on illegal routes. Britain, where the incident occurred, was one of those travel destinations.

In the Vietnamese community in the UK, there are brokers who introduce so-called dark work to grow cannabis, and it has been pointed out that they are mediating illegal travel to Vietnamese who want more profitable work. Some people who travel abroad on illegal routes have been reported to be fooled by malicious brokers and involved in incidents.

Dangerous illegal migrant work

Illegal travel sometimes with life threatening. I was able to hear from a man who once immigrated to England and was growing cannabis.

About 10 years ago, this man from central Vietnam moved to England. Originally I worked at a home appliance manufacturer factory in Japan or Korea in the Czech Republic on a regular route, but because my income was unstable, I asked for a better-profitable job and brokered a local Vietnamese broker. First, I entered Germany.

In Germany I was working on selling cigarettes without having the necessary visas, but I was caught by the police many times and there was a fear of leaving the country, so I decided to go to England again with a Vietnamese broker It is called.

I was told in advance that my job in the UK was growing cannabis. However, in addition to repatriation to families who have a hard life in their hometowns, there are also repayments of debts made to come to work in the Czech Republic, so even if they knew it was illegal, they had to choose smuggling into Britain The The man, as instructed by the broker who asked for the arrangement, entered France by train from Germany and was taken to the woods near the harbor by another Vietnamese broker who met there.

There were several huts built, and it was like a base for 2,30 Vietnamese who plan to smuggle into the UK.

At midnight every night, I went to a truck with a British license plate that stopped near the port according to the broker's instructions.

However, trucks with UK numbers may go to different destinations, or may be found by the police at inspections, etc. Every time, they fled back to the base in the forest and dive into the truck again.

The man stayed at the site for two weeks and finally reached the UK on the twelfth track. However, some trucks are equipped with refrigerated containers, and it is said that there were people who died in the containers at that time.

In England, where men were smuggled, he was entrusted with the task of growing cannabis, as I had heard before. It is said that the reward for the month of successful cultivation was £ 3,000, and the Japanese yen was over 400,000 yen. Compared to Vietnam's average monthly income, this is an order of magnitude compensation.

However, sometimes robbery broke into the room, and he was also involved in troubles such as robbed of cultivated cannabis.

The man stayed in the UK for almost a year, but was finally arrested by the police and deported. Illegal employment in Germany and cannabis cultivation and robber damage in the UK. A man who had experienced a number of Shuraba, recalled that the most dangerous life was when he dive into the truck and aimed at Britain from France.

In the end, the man complained of this incident when the same Vietnamese brothers lost their lives.

Man: “A lot of Vietnamese are still aiming for Britain in the same way for their families, but I want you to know that they will endanger their lives. No one will ever lose their lives again. want you to do"

Perhaps because the incident was reported extensively all over the world, Vietnamese investigative authorities assumed that there was an organized human trafficking network behind the scenes and proceeded with the investigation, and illegal activities such as embarking on the detection of malicious brokers We are striving to strengthen the control of migrant routes.

Japan is not a problem

What impressed me most through this interview was “for my family” and the appearance of Vietnamese people who went debts and went abroad. On the other hand, because of the size of what I carried on my own, I also saw the danger of going forward even if I dyed my hands illegally.

Nowadays, people in Vietnam who are working in various places such as convenience stores and construction sites are getting closer. For that reason, I don't think this is a unique case that occurred in a distant foreign country.

In addition to developing a system and environment where people who come to Japan from overseas, including Vietnam, can work with peace of mind without risk, they are working with special thoughts. I also felt that we had to imagine.

Hanoi branch