“I’m sorry, mother. My journey has failed. I’m dying, I can’t breathe.”
Imagine receiving that text message from your beautiful 26-year-old daughter, not knowing where she is, only that she is being trafficked from Vietnam to England.
Pham Thi Tra My, the young woman, was one of 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a lorry container in Essex, England, on 23 October 2019. Known as the “Essex 39,” the group included 31 men and 8 women aged 15 to 44.
Historically, My’s parents and members of the other families left behind would have faced significant barriers to receiving reparations when their loved ones died as victims of human trafficking crimes. The grief of loss paints a heartbreaking picture for these families.
Hogan Lovells argued that reparations should be paid from the traffickers’ assets, and the courts all recognized that victims of human trafficking should have access to an effective remedy.
For Diep Vuong, President and Cofounder of Pacific Links Foundation, this case holds more than just the pursuit of justice; it aligns with the foundation’s overarching mission to protect vulnerable people from exploitation through prevention. “This type of strategic litigation can play a role in preventing trafficking. It is a path for ensuring justice is served and that the traffickers will have to pay.”
