A VIGIL was held at Belfast City Hall last night for the 39 Chinese people found dead in the back of a lorry in Essex.
Led by Rebecca Ng from the Chinese Welfare Association, the small gathering said they hoped the tragedy will bring about a change in attitudes to immigration and an end to the perilous journeys undertaken by desperate people.
"Such tragedies are really sad," she said. "These could be a father, a brother, a son of a member of the Chinese community here, they are maybe someone we know or a friend of us.
"This has happened with the Chinese nation but it can happen with other people from different countries as well.
"They have their reasons. They take all this risk and risk their lives to come over here.
"So no matter what the reason, it must be a good reason, and they just look for a better life."
Immigration lawyer Sinead Marmion, who was one of the organisers of the event, said:
"We decided to organise this late last night because we are so outraged at what has gone on and so horrified at the events and the scale of the lives lost in such a horrific way," she said.
"We talk to people on a daily basis who have made horrendous journeys.
"We are silent a lot of the time too, for the protection of our own clients, but this really compelled us to come out and try to make other people aware of the scale of human trafficking and the nature of it all around us in our society."
The group held candles and paused for a few moments silence amid the early evening shoppers and office workers making their way home, before dispersing.
