Illegal immigration to the UK: 10 confused Vietnamese people, 5 others lost their lives

Arriving in a forest in the city of Calais in northern France, a group of 10 Vietnamese people were still confused about where they were going, only knowing that they owed money and needed to run away.

BBC reporters had the opportunity to talk to this group of people.

Through conversation, we learned that these people come from many different provinces such as Hanoi, Quang Binh, Ha Tinh…

According to a man in the group, they had borrowed money from thugs back home and now needed to flee. He said he owed “billions of dong”.

To escape, people in the group paid about 150 million VND to brokers, who he said were Western and spoke English.

These people took him and everyone from Vietnam to China, Mongolia, Russia and finally to Europe. He said that sometimes the group just kept going and didn’t know where they were because they didn’t see anyone else.

The group has now been on the move for nearly two months. Transportation included buses and vans and at times they had to walk through many forests.

This man said his group had mobile phones but no SIM, so they could not access the Internet or make calls. Occasionally, the brokers will lend them their phones to quickly contact their families in Vietnam.

After learning more, the BBC learned that this group was following the direction of Kurdish traffickers. These people promised to take them across the English Channel and find them jobs in England.

Now, they are completely dependent on the promises of brokers.

According to Colonel Mathilde Potel, who coordinates police operations on the northern French coast, the number of migrants waiting near the Mache coast has increased sharply – partly due to a sudden increase in the flow of people. from Vietnam.

Meanwhile, two other groups of migrants are also trying to cross the sea in the dark, from a beach in France.

It all started when a scream rang out in the night.

A French policeman spotted a crowd moving on sand dunes overlooking the English Channel, near the town of Wimereux, northern France.

Just a few seconds later, the whole beach seemed to be in chaos.

More than a dozen policemen ran to the beach, hoping to stop two groups of illegal migrants who had just appeared under the moonlight.

We saw a group of young men pulling an inflatable boat into the sea.

Next to them were several women struggling to find a way to get on the boat, then burst into tears when they realized that they would be arrested by the police.

As two immigrant groups gathered at the water’s edge, violence suddenly erupted.

Several men threw flares at the police.

The clash took place with loud explosions. White smoke covered the entire beach.

The crowd crowded around the inflatable boat and tried to shield it from the police.

At least two men ran around the group, waving sticks or large metal bars, apparently to threaten police.

Less than two minutes later, the boat reached shallow water. People started climbing onto the boat.

“What else can I do?” said a policeman.

“We are not allowed [theo họ] into the sea. And as you see, they have sticks. There were even children in the crowd. So we have to be very careful.”

Police later arrested a suspected human trafficker.

A few others returned to shore because they couldn’t find a place on the boat.

On the boat, there were early signs of chaos. We could hear shouting and pushing.

A child wearing a pink coat sits on the shoulders of a person standing in the middle of the boat. Apparently too many people were trying to get on this boat.

Some others were trying to cling to the edge of the boat.

Normally, the maximum number of people trying to squeeze onto such a boat is about 60 people.

However, because there are two groups of migrants here, the number has now exceeded 100.

I want to go to England and see my family,” said an Iraqi man standing with two women, desperate to return to shore, giving up hope of getting on the boat.

Slowly, the boat drifted out to sea, and for a moment it looked like it was stranded on a sand dune.

Police and those who couldn’t get on the boat began to turn back toward the sand dunes and nearby parking lots.

In the distance, dawn gradually broke out, the clouds in the east gradually dyed pink.

At this time, no one on shore knew how bad the situation on the boat had become.

Occasionally, we heard screaming.

A few life jackets floated on the water, but there was no way to know whether these people were dead or floating.

About half an hour passed, and several lifeboats were dispatched from a large French rescue ship that happened to be patrolling across the beach.

It seems that the rescue team is trying to convince the traffickers, and the overloaded boat, to abandon their journey and return to the coast.

Moments later, a few people appeared to be being transferred from the inflatable boat to the lifeboats.

An hour later, French police revealed that five people had died.

They died as we stood at a distance watching the boat being pushed into the shallow water.

Two people drowned, three people were apparently trampled to death.

Among them was a seven-year-old child.

The news quickly spread among other migrants.

They failed to make the crossing last night and are returning to camps around Calais and a few other places.

Some said the deaths made them hesitant, but many others said they would continue to persevere across the sea to enter Britain.

Many people dismissed suggestions that they would be stopped by the British government’s plan to deport those who crossed the sea to Rwanda.

“Nothing can stop me,” a Sudanese student said resolutely as he waited for his turn to charge his phone in the city of Calais.

“I have tried to go to England 15 times. I won’t give up now. This is my last chance,” said Idris, a 24-year-old man from Afghanistan.

The violent scenes we witnessed are no longer strange to the French police.

They have warned for weeks that they are facing increasingly fierce attacks from smuggling gangs and migrants, who often carry rocks to throw at police forces.

“Just last week, 10 police officers were injured and 7 police vehicles were damaged. Violence has clearly escalated and police forces often clash with large groups of people. We need more equipment and manpower. Courage alone is not enough,” said Colonel Mathilde Potel.