Morecambe survivor wants change

By Cindi John
BBC News Online community affairs reporter

Lin Guo escaped drowning in Morecambe Bay

A survivor of the Morecambe Bay tragedy is calling for a change in immigration rules to prevent the deaths of more foreign workers.

Lin Guo was among a group of Chinese cocklers who got caught by the tide in February.

So far 21 bodies have been found.

Mr Lin was speaking at a public meeting in London organised by a Chinese campaign group, Min Quan.

"If the government issued us with some sort of eligibility to work, we would be able to work legally and not do dangerous work," Mr Lin told BBC News Online.

Mr Lin, 31, said on the night of the tragedy he had been in a group of nine cocklers.

Suddenly, they realised the tide had come in and surrounded them.

Only six of them made it back to shore, Mr Lin said, the other three drowned.

"I was very cold, shaking and exhausted when I got back to shore," he said.

He was shocked when he found out how many had died, Mr Lin added.

'Despair'

Min Quan spokesman Jabez Lam said the deaths at Morecambe Bay were a result of "inhumane" immigration and asylum laws.

"These workers are being pushed by government polices to despair, taking any casual work offered to them," he said.

Min Quan also wants more sympathetic treatment for survivors of incidents like Morecambe Bay and Dover, when 58 Chinese nationals were found dead in the back of a lorry.

Mr Lam said a hostile approach by the authorities often scared survivors and made them less co-operative in helping to identify those responsible.

Min Quan's call was backed by civil rights lawyer Imran Khan.

"It is a sad fact that we have to have these cases to bring about change in our society," Mr Khan said.

The government should hold a full inquiry into the "institutional practices" which led to the deaths at Morecambe Bay and Dover, he added.