Holed up alone in a suburban British house thousands of miles from home, cannabis farmer Cuong Nguyen spent months carefully nurturing his plants, one of thousands of Vietnamese migrants working in the UK’s multi-billion dollar weed industry.
“All I ever wanted was to make money… whether it was legal or illegal,” Cuong, who is now back in Vietnam, tells AFP. The story of the self-professed hustler and low-level crook offers a unique insight into the routes taken by some Vietnamese migrants. Arriving in a new country and speaking no English, his options were limited, so Cuong again turned to the migrant network for help. He ended up in Bristol and worked for a man running several cannabis farms in suburban homes.“I got up early, ate rice and prepared feed for my plants… put them under lights for two hours and watered them,” recalls Cuong, his mundane routine punctuated by fear of arrest.
He had earned nearly $19,000 — a small fortune compared to salaries back home — but accuses his boss of cheating him out of thousands more.Most migrants from Vietnam come from poor central provinces. Many shoot for the UK, sending cash home which is spent on new the cars, motorbikes and home renovations.Smugglers charge up to $40,000 for travel documents and a plane ticket, usually to eastern Europe where the overland trip to the UK begins.