20 NEWS Talking points
THEWEEK2November 2019
Trappedinsidealorry,strugglingforair,a
desperateyoungwomansentafinalmessage
tohermother,6, 000 milesaway:“Sosorry
Mum,myjourneyabroadhasnotsucceeded.
Mum,Iloveyousomuch.Iamdyingbecause
Icannotbreathe.I’msosorry.”PhamThiTra
My–whohadleftherhomeinVietnamat
thebeginningofOctober–isbelievedtohave
been oneofthe 3 9menandwomenfound
deadinasealedcontainerlastweek,shortly
afterithadbeenshippedfromtheportof
ZeebruggeinBelgiumtoPurfleet,inEssex.
Theidentitiesofthedeadhavenotbeen
confirmed.Butitseemsthatseveralofthem
camefromVietnam’sHàTinhprovince,a
desperatelypoorcoastalareathatwas
devastatedin2 01 6,whenachemicalspill
poisonedupto 125 milesofcoastline,
destroyingthelivelihoodsofcountlessfamilies
involvedinfishingandtheseafoodtrade.
“BorisJohnsondescribedwhathappenedas
unimaginableandheartbreaking,”saidTheTimes.Yetshocking
asitwas,it was“notwithoutprecedent”.In 2000 ,58Chinese
migrantswere found dead inthe back ofalorryin Dover.They
hadasphyxiatedafterthedriver,apeople-smugglerfrom
Rotterdam, closedtheonlyairvent,toreducetheriskof
detection.Fouryearslater,23 Chinesecocklepickersdrowned
in MorecombeBay.They had been transported illegallyinto
BritainviaLiverpool,andwerepaidapittancetotoillong
hoursin perilousconditionsfor
gangmasters.Thisweek,Maurice
Robinson,the25-year-oldhaulier
fromNorthernIreland who picked
up the container atPurfleet docks,
wascharged with39 counts of
manslaughter.Hewasaccusedof being
justonememberof aglobalring ofpeopletraffickers.
WhatcouldpossessayoungwomanfromVietnamtoleaveher
homeandfamily,tomakethelongand dangeroustriptotheUK?
According toexpertsinpeopletrafficking,it was probablythe
prospectofajob inoneof Britain’sproliferatingnailbars,said
AmeliaGentlemanin TheGuardian.Tra My,who was26, is
believedtohavepaidsmugglers£30,000–ahugesum,ina
country where theaveragesalaryis$ 40 aweek.But thetraffickers
tellpeople they’llearn£2,000 amonthin Britain,enough to
support entirefamilies athome.On arrival,however, theyfind
thatBritain’sstreetsarenotpavedwithgoldand, often, that they
are trapped indebt-bondage,workingfor next tonothingfor
yearstorepaytheirtraffickers.Vietnamese
womentendtoendupinnailbars,boysand
menareoftenmadetoworkoncannabis
farms.Bothsexesriskbeingforcedinto
prostitution.TheresaMayintroducedthe
ModernSlaveryActtocombattheproblem,
butanti-slaverycharitiessaytherehasbeen
disappointinglylittlefundingallocatedto
implementit.Norisenoughbeingdoneto
stopthegangsfromtransportingmigrants
acrosstheChannel,saidTheDailyTelegraph.
AtZeebrugge,whereupto 7 ,0 00 containers
areprocessedaday,guardshavesnifferdogs
andheat-testingequipment,butonlyatiny
fractionofthelorriesarechecked–andsealed
refrigeratedcontainersarenotopened.Asfor
Purfleet,localssaysecurityissolax,theysee
migrantswalkingoutofthedocksallthetime.Buttighte ningbordersecurityisn’tgoingto
saveanylives,saidSabrinaHuckonLabour
List.Sincethebeginningoftime,peoplehave
migratedlongdistancesinsearchofabetterlifeforthemselves
andtheirlovedones. Makingourbordersevenharderwon’tstop
them:itwilljustforcethem ontoyet moreperilousroutes,and
intothe hands ofeven moreruthlesspeople. Tosavelives, what
we need aresofter borders.Globalfreemovementexists forthe
rich. Wemust extenditto theworkingclasses bygivingthem
achancetoenterthecountrysafely and legally.Thelow-paid
alsomakeavital contribution totheeconomy,said IanBirrell
in theInewspaper.Just asmuch as
weneed bankersand scientists,we
need carers,cleaners,drivers and
socialworkers.Evennow,“millions
ofapplesarerottingin fields”because
oflabourshortages.Ofcourse, wecould createmorelegalroutesintoBritain,said
MaryDejevskyinTheIndependent; but unless weactuallyopen
ourborders –and thereisno publicdemand forthat –therewill
stillbeplentyof peopleforwhom illegalentry istheonlyresort.
To deterthem,theGovernmentmustgetorganised,and actalot
tougher.Of the1,000orso peoplewho are estimated tohave
crossed theChannel insmallboatsthisyear, only around6%
have beensentback. You might thinkthatisthe humane
response. “But why, asawould-be migrant,wouldyouthink
therisksintrying toreachtheUKaretoo high, when theodds
on ever havingtoleavearesolow?”Ifwe wantto stop the
traffickers,we have tomakeitcleartothem,andtothepeople
they prey on, that Britain is notasofttouch.The lorry deaths: victims of aglobal trafficking ring“Migrantsbecometrappedindebt-
bondage, working for next to
nothing to repay their traffickers”Sandi Toksvig(pictured) and
the late humoristAlan Coren
spent many hours together in
hotel rooms when they were
opposing captains onCall My
Bluffin the 1990s. They often
sat in front of the TV eating
burgers, and on one occasion,
according to Toksvig’s new
memoir, she even tidied his
room for him. “Dear God,
Alan,” she said, “we’re almost
like an old married couple, only
we don’t have sex.” Corenpaused, then replied, “No,
Sandi, we’reexactlylike an old
married couple.”Theresa Mayhad aterrible
relationship with her chancellor
Philip Hammond,according to
Anthony Seldon’s new book
about her premiership. In
particular, the PM–who was
not strong on economics –
was driven mad by the way
Hammond would explain the
economic realities to her.
“Theresa, that’s not how it
works,” he would tell her in
their meetings. On the other
hand, she did much the same
to Boris Johnson,who often
irritated her by failing to grasp
the detail. In Cabinet, ministers
would wince as she deployed
her favourite put-down: “No,
Boris, it’s not that simple.”Robert De Niro’s fans were
taken aback when he cropped
up earlier this year in an ad for
Warburtons bagels, playing a
New York ganster who flies
over to confront the bakery’s
owner. But the actor doesn’t
see what the problem is.
“Look, they asked me to do it
and Imet the guy, Warburton,
and Ithought it was funny,”
he told GQ. “I saw [Sylvester]
Stallonedo it, andIthought at
least he hasasense of humour
about it and about himself...
ShouldIthinkIshould never
have done that? I’m too good
for that or something? And I
said, ‘F**k it, I’ll do it.’ Why
not? Don’t hold it against me.”Pick of the week’sGossipPhamThiTraMy:oneofthe 39 victims