Why are so many Vietnamese risking their lives with human traffickers to reach the UK?
- The deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a refrigerated truck found in Essex highlight the risks many are prepared to take to find work in Britain
- But they are just the tip of the iceberg; thousands of others work illegally in cannabis farms, nail bars and restaurants
“I quit school in the 7th grade. I was an average student and used to farm with my parents,” recalls Van, who has three younger siblings.
“I was going to do vocational training in 2017, but decided to save money to go overseas instead, thinking I could earn more money in the UK.”
To make the journey possible, his parents borrowed about US$10,000 from a bank. Little did they know what following his dream would entail.
After being smuggled across several countries, Van tried to cross the English Channel in the back of a lorry in September, but border agents caught him and threw him in a detention centre in northern France.
Van’s experience took place about a month before 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in Essex, east of London.
