Hanoi - Amid harrowing tales of missing Vietnamese, who are
considered potential victims in the tragic UK lorry deaths,
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered an
investigation into the trafficking of overseas Vietnamese, state
media said late Saturday.
"[You] must investigate and find out cases of Vietnamese citizens
being brought illegally to foreign countries and strictly handle the
violations," Phuc said in a statement, as quoted by local newspaper
VnExpress.
Phuc also called on the Vietnamese embassy in the UK to work with
British police and help identify the victims.
The Vietnamese embassy has also set up a hotline for concerned
Vietnamese nationals who are seeking assistance, according to the
Vietnamese government's official media page.
Many Vietnamese families are now concerned about the fate of their
missing children. According to local media reports, as many as 13
families in central Vietnam have now reported their children missing
since October 23.
After British police discovered 39 bodies in a lorry in Essex last
week, police statements initially suggested all migrants were Chinese
nationals. It now seems likely the majority are Vietnamese.
On October 25, a rights activist revealed text messages from
26-year-old Pham Thi Tra My sent to her mother in Vietnam saying she
was "dying because I can't breathe."
Hundreds of Vietnamese nationals are trafficked to Britain each year,
according to the charity Ecpat.