This March continues to be a very difficult month for us and for people in Hong Kong. Numbers of infection keep accelerating following the outbreak of the Omicron Variant virus locally. Many are suffering from the pain of disease and some have lost their loved ones. Despite the city being placed under lockdown, we stand firm and provide essential service for asylum seekers and refugees. This is a review of the activities that happened at our centre in the past month.
About us
We are the Refugee Union. Our organisation was founded in 2014 and is the first refugee-led organisation in Hong Kong. We have a centre based in Sheung Wan. We work with visions to safeguard refugee rights and to keep improving the status quo of asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong.
Emergency food drive
Asylum seekers and refugees have nowhere to seek help as government offices, churches, and supporting organisations are closed during the lockdown. Prices of necessities also go skyrocketing as people scramble for them in panic. Asylum seekers in Hong Kong are prohibited from working and are solely reliant on HK$40 per day to survive. The current pandemic has further worsened their situation.
We therefore have initiated an online fundraising campaign. We will allocate the resources we gathered to asylum seekers and refugees who are in need. Kindly show your support for our Emergency Food Drive.
Call for abolishing the food card system
We have also initiated an online petition calling for an abolishment of the food card system. Currently asylum seekers are restricted to purchase items at the ParknShop supermarket. For the past eight years the policy has not changed, nor has the card value increased with inflation. It is unreasonable to distrust asylum seekers from managing the small amount of cash to purchase items they need at the cheapest price they can find in the neighbourhood.
We respectfully request the Hong Kong government to review the food card system and stipend for asylum seekers. Kindly show your support for us by signing the petition.
Giving is a blessing
This month we have received donations of wide-ranging items. We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all generous donors for lending us a hand. Your support means a lot to us. As always, we promise to deliver all donations we received to asylum seekers and refugees who are in need.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank professional journalists at the South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Free Press for bringing our situation to public attention. Thanks also go to Canada in Hong Kong for recommending our organisation to the public.
Please stay tuned to our official website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the most updated information. You are also welcome to contact us by email at info@refugeeunion.org or by visiting our centre during office hours (Mondays to Saturdays, 10am-6pm).
We are refugees helping refugees. Thank you for your support of our initiative.