On the 24th, it was not only the rubber boat that was killed that was smuggled into the English Channel. The Times said on the 25th that at least more than 600 illegal immigrants, including children and infants, on the 24th, took 25 similar smuggling boats and ventured across the English Channel.
The 23-year-old Afghan man was one of the illegal immigrants who smuggled that day. Fortunately, he managed to land in England. However, without the French side of the rescue, the end may still be a tragedy.
Reporter: When you heard that someone had drowned just a few hours after you set off, what did you think?
Afghan stowaways: This is life, and when we get on the boat, we don't think we'll be able to get to The UK one hundred percent. We think that we have a 90% or 80% chance of dying.
The Afghan migrant was undoubtedly lucky. However, even in the face of great death threats, many people are still desperate to take risks.
On the 25th, just one day after the tragedy, a large number of immigrants in Calais said they had "no choice."
Chadian illegal immigrant Abdul: We will always try, even if there is always a disaster, we have no choice.
Emanuel, an illegal immigrant in Libya: It's heart-wrenching and heartbreaking to hear a friend or colleague die in the sea, but we can't stop anyway, we have to get there.
On the 25th, in a temporary tent in Calais, a 17-year-old chadian illegal immigrant said that he had also tried to go to the United Kingdom on the 24th, but the weather was too bad.
Chadian illegal immigrant Samir: We (on the 24th) were all launched, the wind was particularly strong, we were ready to leave, but suddenly the (rubber boat's) engine broke down, and we couldn't do anything about it.
In the conversation, Samir was not at all glad that he had escaped the disaster.
Samir: Tomorrow if it's cool, I'll be leaving. Even if it is postponed to the day after tomorrow, I still have to go, because that is why I am here.
Why do illegal immigrants desperately want to smuggle themselves out of their homes?
In order to smuggle, these illegal immigrants do not hesitate to sell their property and put their lives in the hands of snakeheads, why do these people desperately want to flee their homes?
Most of these illegal immigrants come from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Continued fighting and instability in West Asia and North Africa have left large numbers of refugees without shelter.
Iraqi immigrant um Malak: I want to think about the future of my children, because in Iraq, there is no future for both adults and children.
Reporter: If you have money, will you still smuggle in?
Bira Mahmoud: Yes, if we have the money we will go again, in the summer. Because we can't live at home, we have no future, we have no money, we lose everything.
Why are these illegal immigrants travelling to the UK? There are several reasons for this: First, they believe it is easier to find work in the UK as asylum-seekers than in France. Secondly, there are people who have ties to Britain, who have either served in the British army in their home countries, or who speak English but not French, or who have relatives and friends who have lived in England.
Smuggling in the English Channel is more organized
According to British statistics, more than 25,000 people have been smuggled into the UK through the English Channel this year. According to people who work long along the British coastline, smuggling in the English Channel has recently taken on a new feature, which is to become more organised.
Dover is a port city in the south-east of the United Kingdom, bordering the English Channel. At present, the British border authorities have stepped up maritime patrols, sending motorboats to patrol the sea early in the morning, and using drones to monitor the situation at sea and look for small boats near the coast.
Matt Coker, a captain at a fishing company, is very familiar with the situation in the English Channel. Coker said smuggling is now significantly more organized than before.
Matt Coker, captain of the (British) fishing company: (Before) they would basically grab anything that could float up and cross the strait and make a desperate bet. But now that the equipment has been upgraded, the small boats they are sitting on are obviously specially built to transport people across the strait in one go.
As can be seen from smuggling ads for smuggling trips to Europe posted by smugglers on social media, some smugglers even claim to be able to help get British passports and ensure safety.
(Iraqi) Smugglers: We gathered people and sent them to Dunkirk, France, where they took a boat to England. Usually that kind of boat can only sit 5 people, but if we reinforce it with iron bars and install the engine, we can sit 15 to 20 people.
Matt Coker, captain of the (British) Fisheries Company: This dinghy is overloaded, the bottom is crushed, the water is in, and the quality of this small boat is very poor.
Dissatisfaction with the UK solution France cancels plans for this week's meeting
After the dumping of the smuggling boat, Britain and France expressed their intention to strengthen cooperation to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The British Home Secretary and the French Home Secretary originally planned to meet in Canada this Sunday, but the French side announced today (26th) that the meeting would be cancelled. The reason is reportedly that the French side is unhappy with the solution proposed by British Prime Minister Johnson. According to French media reports, johnson, in addition to proposing joint patrols and other measures, also wants France to accept all illegal immigrants who cross the English Channel.
In fact, the British and French governments have been at odds over this issue many times in recent years. The British side believed that France was inactive, and the French side pointed out that in order to prevent smuggling, France invested a lot of manpower and money, and the British did not provide funds to France as promised earlier.
The tragedy of smuggling into Europe occurs frequently, and the Western countries cannot escape the blame
Tragedies such as the capsizing of smuggling boats have been staged in recent years, with a large number of illegal immigrants buried at sea, while Britain and France are still blaming each other and throwing pots. In the final analysis, it is precisely because the United States and other Western countries have grossly interfered in the situation in West Asia and North Africa that the local economy has collapsed, chaos has continued, and people have been displaced. The United States and Western countries bear unshirkable responsibility for the occurrence of such disasters and tragedies.
Source: CCTV News Client