Tragedy of the cockle pickers centrepiece of cultural festival

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

NEWCASTLE, England (AFP) — "Show me somewhere I can shelter. Give me tools to make a living, lead me in the right direction," pleads the disorientated and dishevelled visitor to a strange city.

What fate has in store for this Chinese migrant and his fellows, would prove to be only exploitation and slavery. And death.

"This is my journey. I will walk the long walk," says the migrant who has left his home and family far behind in Fujian province to risk everything as a cockle picker in a far-flung corner of northern England.

The area of England has been home to a thriving Chinese community for well over a century, but in a 21st century globalised economy characterised by mass migration the price of seeking out a new existence can be brutally high.

Four...