"I'm sorry mom," January 13, 10:52

"I'm sorry mom. My trip failed. Dad, mom, I love you so much. I can't breathe and I'm about to die."

The last message from my daughter is still left on my family's smartphone.

I want to reduce the burden on my family as much as possible.

With this in mind, she aimed to work in a foreign land.

But that wish never came true.

(Hanoi bureau chief going down the road)

Familiar woman

She was a friendly woman.

Her name, Fam Ti Cha Mi (26 years old), grew up in a rural town with wide fields.

His father strongly opposed working abroad again, but said, "I have to go for my family."

Her family, who had an accident with a car that her brother had just purchased, had to bear a large amount of debt.

At that time, she had just returned to her hometown after working in Japan, but she decided to work abroad because she wanted to reduce the burden on her parents as much as possible.

He said he was going to England via China and France because he found a job as a nail technician in England.

However, in October, she sent a message to her mother's smartphone.

"Mom,

　I

'm sorry

my travel failed.

　Dad, mom, I love you from the bottom of my heart I

　can't breathe and

I'll

die."

On that day, 39 bodies were found in a truck container near London, England.

Men and women between the ages of 15 and 44, both Vietnamese.

She was one of them.

Ten teens were also included.

It is believed that he fell into hypoxia when he tried to stowaway while hiding in a container to work in the United Kingdom.

It was an incident that shocked the world.

I want to see my daughter

It's been about a year since then.

When I heard that a small memorial service was held for Mi, I visited her parents' house in Ha Tinh province in central Vietnam for the first time in about a year.

Her older brother's baby, born shortly after the incident, was able to walk toddlers.

However, Mi's father, Fam Van Ting, who stands looking at the child, said that the time had stopped since then and the days of sleeplessness continued.

In addition, it was a large amount of debt that struck Mr. Tin to catch up.

Mr. Mi borrowed nearly 2.5 million yen from a bank in Japanese yen as a commission to a broker who mediates travel to go to England.

However, Mr. Tin, who works in quarrying, earns about 20,000 yen a month.

Monthly income is only the repayment of interest.

"I'm already old, my household is tight and I don't know when I'll be able to pay off. But above all, I want to see my daughter again. I think of her every day. If I knew there was even a 1% risk of traveling. Never let my daughter go. "

The container that carried the "dream"

It is believed that many of the people who died in the container, like Mi, chose to stowaway in hopes of working in a foreign land.

However, the container remained sealed and was shipped from Belgium to a British port and then loaded onto a truck, which was very dangerous for stowaways.

However, even after this incident, there are many Vietnamese who pursue the "dream" of working abroad in an illegal way.

Why do they aim to work abroad at such a risk?

As I continued to interview in Vietnam, I was able to talk to a 21-year-old Vietnamese man who was stowaway and trying to work abroad.

The man was born in central Vietnam.

The area was also home to 35 of the 39 victims of the incident.

Central Vietnam has no major industries other than agriculture and fisheries, and many are left behind by economic development.

In a province in the Chubu region, the average monthly income per person is less than 13,000 yen in Japanese yen.

The reality is that it is less than half the size of big cities such as Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.

Against this background, men also planned to smuggle into Germany via Russia last year and work illegally, hoping to earn a high income.

However, as the infection of the new coronavirus spreads worldwide, the plan was temporarily abandoned.

Still, he says he wants to enter Canada and work illegally in April or May.

Illegal route is simple

Why not choose a regular route?

The man gave two reasons.

1 If

you aim to work overseas on a regular route that is

fast, cheap,

and accessible, it will take time and money to prepare a work visa, but if it is an illegal route, you should be able to reach your destination cheaply and in a short period of time. I will.

2 No need to learn language or specialized knowledge

And, the regular route requires a certain level of language ability and specialized knowledge about work, but as long as you enter the site by smuggling, you will find a job at a Vietnamese restaurant etc. The man explained that he would be.

When asked if stowaways could be life-threatening, as was the case last year, the man replied hesitantly.

"I don't really care because such incidents rarely happen. Illegal routes are simple and there are many opportunities."

A broker

On the other hand, behind the fact that many Vietnamese can stowaway, there is a broker who is dying.

Talking to the Pacific Links Foundation, an organization that works to prevent human trafficking, Vietnamese have been hunting for Europe through illegal routes over the past few decades. It seems that there is.

Therefore, a stowaway route has been completed, and the general route is to enter Russia and Eastern European countries, and then head for Western Europe such as Germany and France.

And among them, the United Kingdom has become the main destination for illegal employment.

European countries have also taken measures such as imposing regulations, but brokers are repeatedly evading regulations by different routes and methods using the already established network of Vietnamese.

According to the United Nations, the number of Vietnamese entering Europe in this way amounts to 18,000 a year.

Concerns about "after corona"

What this group is concerned about is "after the corona".

Nowadays, some people in Vietnam are losing their jobs due to the influence of the new coronavirus.

On the other hand, brokers have also been hit by the global restrictions on traffic.

If the traffic of people becomes as active as before due to the spread of vaccines, brokers will "solicit" Vietnamese young people who have lost their jobs due to the effects of the new coronavirus to Europe more than ever. I point out that there is a risk of doing so.

On top of that, in order to cut off the "temptation" to stowaway and illegal employment, in addition to continuing fundamental efforts such as basic education and enlightenment so as not to be fooled by sweet words, in addition to the Vietnamese government broker It is said that the crackdown needs to be strengthened.

"The death of a large number of Vietnamese in a container shocked the world, but I don't think there is any debate after the incident,'What should I do?'. The Vietnamese government too. We are working to crack down on brokers, but the reality is that the risk of stowaways and personal transactions will never go away unless we take a stricter stance. "

Don't let the same thing happen again

"I choose the same route as my daughter and hope that the sad consequences will not happen again."

Mr. Tin, who lost his daughter in the incident, appealed to me to squeeze out.

Even after the container incident, Vietnam continues to have young people trying to travel to Europe through illegal routes.

Many of them believe in the "success stories" of relatives and people in their hometown, such as "building a house with the remittance", and chase after the same "dream".

The only way to break this chain may be to gradually solve structural problems such as the delay in economic development behind it and the way society should take the disparities that accompany it.

I would like to continue to tackle these issues by continuing to cover Vietnam's "now."

Hanoi Bureau Chief

Michishita

Joined in 2009

Sendai Bureau, after working in the International Department,

incumbent from 2019