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February Roundup

Mar 1st, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard refugee rights. Since day one, we have been organising diversified programmes with our community partners to improve the well-being and prospect of our members who are asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong.

Activities Happened in Our Centre

It is Lunar New Year this February. We wish everyone happiness, prosperity and success in the Year of Ox.

Cover Photo

This month we had a number of activities organised in our centre.

On 1 February, we were thrilled to have HandsOn Hong Kong visiting us and delivering Lunar New Year care packages to refugee families. Thank you very much for your continued support!

HandsOnHK

On 8 February, we were honoured to have Ms. Heather Li holding a breastfeeding consultation session for refugee mothers. Thank you for the useful information and we have learned a lot from you.

Heather Li

On 24 February, we were delighted to have volunteers from Grassroots Future teaching our members crochet and craft. Thank you for bringing us these interesting and educational activities. We all had a fun afternoon.

Grassroots

On 28 February, we were thankful to a group of Hong Kong alumni from The Bishop Strachan School at Toronto, Canada for doing a charity walk for our centre. Your care and support mean a lot to us.

Charity Walk

This month we also hosted students from The University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University. We enjoyed having intellectual discussion with all these bright minded young people. We look forward to collaborating with you soon.

Uni

Donations Keep Going

This month we received donations of wide-ranging items, which include but not limited to daily necessities and personal protective equipment such as surgical masks and hand sanitisers.

We would like to take this opportunity expressing our heartfelt gratitude to all Donors for their kind-hearted and generous support. As always, we promise to deliver all donations we received to our members who are in need.

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Please stay tuned to our official website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the updates. You are also welcome to contact us by visiting our office or sending us an email at info@refugeeunion.org should you have any enquiry.

My family needs your help

Feb 24th, 2021 | Advocacy, Personal Experiences, Refugee Community, RU updates, programs, events, Welfare | Comment

“When the choice of escaping to Hong Kong came along, it seemed like a dream” recalls Sharon. But several years later she is bitterly disappointed. The mother fled her country due to unspeakable violence suffered by one of her children. A professional, but also a widow, the authorities failed to protect her from powerful abusers determined to shut her mouth – one way or another.

Over the past years Sharon learned that asylum protection in Hong Kong is granted to less than 1% of claimants, the few who meet unrealistically high standards of proof. But the ways of the world are complex and its wicked currents sweep away many unable to document their plunge.

With an inhumane pincer movement, HK government oppresses refugees with insufficient welfare as well as stiff jail terms with the stated goal of “avoiding a magnet effect” as if slapping every student in class will prevent scoundrels from joining! Frankly that turns refugees into beggars. We don’t have enough money for rent and food. We are provide no clothes, shoes, hygiene products (shaving cream, sanitary pads and diapers for example), glasses, household items and phones. We are given one roll of toilet paper a month…

We need your help not because we are unfit to make a living or lazy, but because we sought asylum in #hongkong and are condemned to live in poverty with one hand tied behind our back.

We have been unable to open a society’s bank account, so donations are channeled through “Drink For Justice”, a registered charity that disburses financial aid to refugee families.

You donation will make a tangible difference in our life. You are welcome to visit our centre to learn more and perhaps sponsor a refugee family to learn what is needed and how money is spent.

Please WhatsApp 98287176 and share with your friends. Thank you

Click here for PDF file

January Roundup

Jan 31st, 2021 | Advocacy | Comment

Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with the vision to safeguard the rights and protection of the asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong. Since day one, we have been working closely with our partners in the community and organising diversified programmes to improve the well-being of our members.

Cover Photo

New Activities Mark the Beginning of a New Year

At the beginning of 2021, this month we are thrilled to have a series of new activities happening at our centre.

We are grateful to Tegan and Grassroots Future for organising an online yoga class for our lady members, helping us to relax our body and refresh our mind.

Yoga Class

We are also thankful to HandsOn Hong Kong for preparing New Year Care Packages, which contain utilities and personal protective equipment, for our members.

Hands On Hong Kong

Donations Keep Going

We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all our Donors for lending us a helping hand. This month we received donations of wide-ranging items, which include but not limited to necessities, furniture and personal protective equipment such as surgical masks and hand sanitisers.

Donation

As always, we promise to deliver all donations we received to our members who are in need. Thank you very much for all your generous support!

Please stay tuned to our official website and social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the updates, and feel free to contact us by visiting our office or sending us an email at info@refugeeunion.org should you have any enquiry.

We, asylum-seekers and refugees in Hong Kong, are officially called “claimants” according to the Immigration Department’s Unified Screening Mechanism (USM) implemented to assess asylum claims in the city. All asylum-seekers are banned from working under Section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance.

However, substantiated claimants (i.e. recognized refugees) may apply for a temporary six-month work permit issued upon the discretion of the Immigration Department. This applies to very few refugees as only 272 cases were substantiated (i.e. recognized) by the Immigration Department among 24,447 USM claims determined between 2009 and September 2021. The mathematical success rate is: 1.11%

The Government provides us with insufficient assistance, namely: $1500 rent, $1200 food coupons, $300 utilities and $200 transportation – for a total of HK$ 3,200 per month. There has been no increase since January 2014. The Government claims it is sufficient to prevent refugees from working. We call this a big lie because there is no provision for clothes, shoes, haircuts, SIM cards, shaving cream, lady products, baby products, cleaning products or toilet paper – items reasonably considered essential.

What about the big expenses everyone pays in Hong Kong? Rent and rental deposits for example. The cheapest, windowless, 10 m², rundown, subdivided room costs $4000. Two refugees can share a room but they only receive $3000 for rent. The Refugee Union helps us with its limited resources. It is the only group that hands out cash to refugees. Now you can help us directly by donating cash to “Drink For Justice” – a registered charity that pass 100% of your donations to us.

Please click this link to donate: https://bit.ly/3qYFq5u

This Press Release states the government position: “The Government implemented the Unified Screening Mechanism (USM) in March 2014 to screen non-refoulement claims on all applicable grounds in one go. The United Nations’ Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol have never applied to Hong Kong, and hence illegal immigrants seeking non-refoulement in Hong Kong will not be treated as “asylum seekers” or “refugees”. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government maintains a firm policy of not granting asylum and not determining or recognising refugee status of any person. Regardless of the outcome of their torture/non-refoulement claims, claimants are not permitted to remain legally in Hong Kong. If their claims are rejected, the Immigration Department (ImmD) will accordingly remove them to their countries of origin.” (20 May 2020)

Immigration data was collected from: https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/facts/enforcement.html

December Roundup

Dec 25th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment

Cover Photo

Many Hands Make Light Work

To start with, this month we are thrilled to announce that the Facebook page of our centre has reached 10,000 followers, meaning that more and more people would like to learn more about the challenges of seeking asylum in Hong Kong. Thank you all, your support means a lot to us.

This month we are also delighted to have Ms Sophia Zhang from ESF Sha Tin College organising jewellery and craft workshops for our members. These activities belong to the project ‘Refugee Connect’ initiated by Ms Zhang and in partnership with our centre, which aims to empower asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong. Please click here for more details about the project. We thank Ms Zhang for her great support of the local refugee community throughout the years.

New Year, New Hope, New Opportunities

It is December this month, in this festive season, we wish everyone of you a Merry Christmas. Projecting the coming year, we see new hope and opportunities at our centre.

First, may we send our warm welcome to photographer Ms Karling Hamill (@littlekarstar) for visiting our centre. Ms Hamill will be taking photos of our members for an upcoming programme at our centre. Stay tuned for more information.

Second, we are also looking forward to collaborating with the wonderful volunteers at Hands On Hong Kong in the coming programmes at our centre.

Donations Keep Going

Last but not least, we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to all our Donors for lending us a helping hand. This month we received donations of wide-ranging items, which include but not limited to necessities, personal protective equipment and digital devices. As usually, we promise to deliver all donations we received to our members who are in need. Thank you very much for all your generous support!

Project: Refugee Connect

Dec 22nd, 2020 | Refugee Community, RU updates, programs, events | Comment

Refugee Connect is a student project led by Sophia Zhang at ESF Sha Tin College. Our mission is to empower refugees and asylum seekers, particularly women. We aim to help them connect with families, society and most importantly, themselves. By law, refugees cannot work – therefore, they rely on the meagre government aid of $3200 a month to survive. This not only prevents them from accessing many essential resources in Hong Kong, but it also strips away an important aspect of their humanity – dignity.

To alleviate this, Refugee Connect launched Project Link by Link (in partnership with the Refugee Union), a jewellery and crafts workshop for refugee women to help channel their creativity and regain their dignity with something they made with their own two hands. After a series of workshops, the end products are the handmade accessories, crafted with love and laughter, displayed in the order form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdg6lVRFOyFtiNizrYZ-G4jHJOHpiKXXdqRCRy9tD4DJDk3Eg/viewform?usp=sf_link

By purchasing these handmade products, you are supporting these refugee women and making a positive change in their lives. All proceeds will be donated back to our refugee participants to help them buy mobile data cards and other essentials, something that they often do not have access to due to lack of disposable income. This will help them stay ‘connected’ with their families back in their home countries, as well as with Hong Kong society in general.

Please visit our website: https://www.refugeeconnecthk.com

You can also donate to our cause here: https://gogetfunding.com/refugee-connect/

Thank you for your support!

Changes to Hong Kong immigration law could re-victimise those fleeing torture and persecution

Dec 16th, 2020 | Advocacy, Immigration, Media | Comment

SCMP - Changes to Immigration ordinance - 16Dec2020

November Roundup

Nov 29th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment

Fundraising Platform Launches

This month we are thrilled to announce that we have launched our fundraising platform on SimplyGiving. It also marked the beginning of our #beahero fundraising campaign. The fund raised will be spent on supporting the daily operation of our centre and serving our members. Don’t be a bystander, let us be a hero!

Happenings in Our Centre

On 13 November, we were glad to have Harmon, Holly and Leslie from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) teaching children Cantonese at our centre. Thank you for helping our kids to integrate into Hong Kong, where they were actually born.

On 15 November, we were delighted to have Sophia from ESF Sha Tin College organising a jewellery class for ladies at our centre. Thank you so much for your time and efforts.

On 17 November, we were honoured to have an opportunity learning how to make soap with Soap Cycling. We are most thankful to your teaching.

Donations Keep Coming

We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to all Donors for lending us a helping hand in times of the coronavirus pandemic. This month we received donations of wide-ranging items, which include daily necessities and personal protective equipment. We will be delivering all of them to our members who are in need. Thank you very much for your generous support!