Viewpoints The Dover 58: A Memorial Service | The Dover 58: A Memorial Service |
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06 October 2000 Jack Tan The evening was wet and gloomy in London Chinatown, but a crowd still gathered to remember the 58 Chinese stowaways who died in a container lorry on their way to Britain. On 19 June 2000 customs officials opened the back of a lorry and were greeted with the sight of 58 dead bodies. These people from the Chinese province of Fujian had paid criminal gangs for safe passage to the UK. Instead, trapped inside an airtight cargo container, they slowly died of thirst and suffocation. 100 days on, members of the British Chinese Community gathered in London Chinatown to light candles, lay flowers, burn incense and to observe a service of remembrance. In front of funeral black and white panels that bore the names of the 58, speeches were given admonishing us to remember the tragedy and the issues. First to speak was Chaio Jiang from the Fujian Association. He expressed the Fujian community's "great anger" at those who were responsible for the tragedy. Chaio Jiang appealed to all countries to revise their immigration policies and to be more vigilant at borders. Next Jabez Lam of the Monitoring Group spoke on behalf of the families of the victims. It had been 100 days since the discovery of the bodies and yet the families have not been allowed to claim them for burial. Jabez claimed that families were still being kept in the dark about what was happening to their loved ones. He reminded us of the lives and talents lost, the youngest of whom was only 16 years old. He urged the Foreign Office to show consideration by consulting with the families of the victims. Li Zhen Gui, older brother of one of the victims, stepped up and appealed to the British and Chinese authorities to speed up the bureaucratic process. He needed to lay his brother to rest but still had no idea when his brother's body would be released. The Churches' Commission for Racial Justice was also present, represented by Rev Arlington Trotman. He asked, "What kind of justice is this?" that criminalizes the victims in a tragedy and refuses to allow families access. In emotive terms, Rev Trotman urged us to "revisit our immigration and asylum laws to prevent such a tragedy from occurring ever again". A press representative from the Refugee Council spoke next. Nareen Memon began by recounting the events of the morning when she first heard the news of the deaths. Her pager was going non-stop and as soon as she got to work she rang round to get the full story. Speaking to various news professionals, she started encountering a 'blame the victim' attitude. One media contact even said that this incident would serve as a "stark warning to others" - clearly a statement that chastises the 58 victims. 10 days after the incident she discovered a cartoon in the Daily Mail. It depicted the back of an open lorry with bodies in it and two people sitting up talking to each other. The caption beneath said "I hear that Mo has had to move out of Buckingham Palace for us". When Nareen called the Daily Mail to complain that the cartoon was insensitive and outrageous, she was told that it merely followed "the tradition of satire". In stark contrast a few days later, the attitude of the media was one of compassion and consideration when reporting the arson tragedy in an Australian boarding house. The dead there were talked about with dignity and with no use of phrases like "disposal of the bodies" (Radio 4's reference to the 58). Nareen urged us take action by phoning in and complaining if we come across any prejudiced reporting in the media. Finally members of the Civil Rights Caravan took the microphone. They spoke out against the hostile language being used against asylum-seekers in politics and the media. They claimed that racist immigration laws together with racialised political language created an atmosphere where physical attacks on asylum-seekers occurred. According to them, the right to asylum was in effect being dismantled and the very act of applying for asylum was being criminalised. By focussing on the politics of immigration, the government and the opposition were drawing us away from the real issue. For the Caravan spokesperson, the politicisation of immigration and asylum stops us asking the crucial and obvious question: "Why did 58 people have to die?" The Dover 58 have now been named. They are: 1. YANG Jiao Hua If you recognise any of these names and are a friend or relative who needs help or more information, please contact the Monitoring Group at 19 Whitcomb Street, London, WC2, 0207 839 6256. Links: Press complaints - http://www.pcc.org.uk |
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