All of us at Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation are deeply saddened to learn of this latest tragic incident, in which 39 people have been found dead in a truck making its way into the UK.
Evidently the 39 people were either being smuggled or trafficked to the UK, and died because of a lack of oxygen in the truck.
There are unconfirmed reports that some of these people may have been Vietnamese. Regardless of their nationality, this is a devastating waste of life and our hearts go out to all of the family members of the deceased.
This incident, which is not unique, must spark change at an international level. There must be more action to prevent human trafficking, and all countries must put sufficient resources into this issue.
It is not enough to write reports and hold conferences to talk about human trafficking; action is needed so that vulnerable people have much greater protection, and those profiting from the trade in human lives are prosecuted.
We await further news and encourage all to avoid speculation about the details of the incident until UK police release clear information.
