People smugglers exploit development gaps: China Daily editorial

Six days after the bodies of 39 migrants were found in a truck container in Essex, Britain, it is still a mystery how they were cheated into taking on such a tragic and fatal journey.

While our sympathy goes to the relatives of these dead migrants and we share their grief for the loss of their loved ones, we call for the world's attention to unbalanced development. It is deprivation caused by underdevelopment that drives poverty-stricken people to risk their lives in their pursuit of a new life elsewhere.

China has made great efforts in the past several decades to realize its goal of lifting all people out of poverty by the end of 2020, mobilizing people from all walks of life in a bid to make it unnecessary for any Chinese to risk their lives in pursuit of a better life in such a way.

China has set an example for the rest of the world in its poverty alleviation efforts. The more endeavors all countries make in improving the life of the impoverished, the fewer people will likely take the risk of putting themselves in the hands of people smugglers.

But balanced development is relative. There will always be those who are not satisfied with their current life, which leaves opportunities for snakeheads or people smugglers to swindle some people into paying for the promise of a better future.

To prevent a similar tragedy from happening again, there must be concerted efforts to curb people smuggling. Not only should those countries from which the migrants begin their journeys crack down on the underground networks of human traffickers, but European countries that are the destination should do so too.

As Interpol says, people smuggling syndicates are run like businesses, with extensive and complex networks. By providing fake identification documents, organizing transport and bypassing official border controls, criminals can make huge profits by promising to actualize the dreams of the desperate or naive.

In general, those who pay a smuggler in order to gain illegal entry into a country do so voluntarily, and the relationship ends on arrival, unlike those who are trafficked, nonetheless they may well be subject to fraud, force or other coercion.

An investigation into the Essex truck tragedy is underway. Hopefully, the investigation will find out how the underground network of human smuggling works and what kind of deficiencies in border control have facilitated the criminals' illegal activities. Which will hopefully help more countries put an end to the inhuman business.