Archive
November Roundup
Nov 29th, 2020 | 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.
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!
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.
October Roundup
Nov 18th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment
Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with a vision to safeguard the rights and protection of the asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong. Since our commencement of service, we have been working closely with our partners in the community and organising diversified programmes to improve members’ psychological and social well-being.
Blog Update
New articles for this month are now available:
Zhang, Sophia. ‘Crossing the red line.’ [Read here] (28-10-2020)
Chow, Vania. ‘When wasted time is the only certainty.’ [Read here] (18-10-2020)
Beck. ‘I will keep trying and never give up.’ [Read here] (11-10-2020)
We would like to send our acknowledgement to our writers for their great contributions.
Happenings in Our Centre
On 10 October, we were glad to have Sally coming to our centre and giving kids a drama class. Thank you for your time and efforts. We all enjoyed the class.
Community Engagement
On 4 October, we were honoured to host Project Spark HK at our centre. We appreciate their passion for providing quality education for children and look forward to the programmes they will be offering with our centre.
On 21 October, the sixth anniversary of our centre, we were delighted to host Maggie from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Claire from the Hong Kong Baptist University at our centre. We appreciate their efforts
Donations Keep Coming
We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to our donors for lending us a helping hand in times of the coronavirus pandemic. This month we received donations of different items, which include daily necessities and protective equipment for our members. Thank you very much for 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.
Live Like A Refugee Challenge
Nov 5th, 2020 | Advocacy, Refugee Community | Comment
September Roundup
Oct 10th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment
Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard protection claimants’ rights and to ameliorate their prospects. Since our commencement of services, we have been working closely with our partners in the community and organising diversified programmes to actualise members’ psychological and social well-being.
Profiles of Asylum
New articles are now available on our blog:
- “Anna’s choice” by Vania Chow 06-09-2020 (read here)
- “Burned out of their homes” by Vania Chow 13-09-2020 (read here)
- “Learning to let go” by Vania Chow 20-09-2020 (read here)
- “Frozen in place while time moves forward” by Pedro Cortes 27-09-2020 (read here)
Thank you to all contributors for their time and efforts.
Virtual Engagement
We, asylum seekers and refugees, are active learners. We cherish every chance to learn even in times of immobility. This month we would like to show our acknowledgement to volunteers for organising an online Cantonese course (a total of four sessions) for both adults and children. Thank you for your efforts.
Donations Keep Going
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our donors for lending us a helping hand in times of the coronavirus pandemic. This month we received donations of different items, which include daily necessities and protective equipment for our members. Thank you very much for our donors’ 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.
August Roundup
Sep 12th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment
Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard protection claimants’ rights and to ameliorate their prospects. Since our commencement of services, we have been working closely with our partners in the community and organising diversified programmes to actualise members’ psychological and social well-being.
Blog Updates and Coverage
This month we are honoured to have a guest contribution on our blog — a piece entitled “Profiles of Asylum: From the Ancient City of Mosul to Hong Kong” which recorded an asylum seeker’s experience taking refuge in Hong Kong, adjusting to tremendous uncertainties in a state of limbo.
We are also thrilled to be featured on Table of Two Cities’ blog — drawing from an everyday life example, Vania Chow in her piece “The Taste of Ice-Cream: Vignettes from Refugee Union” depicted the plight of asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong.
Virtual Engagements
In times of COVID-19 pandemic, we are all forced to put face-to-face interactions on hold. With technological advancement, however, social distancing is never a barrier to our solidarity.
This month we would like to send our acknowledgement to the Hong Kong Outstanding Tertiary Students’ Services Association (HKOTSSA) for bringing us the Film Screening Night in a virtual format. We had a nice evening with you all.
There will be more virtual engagements happening soon, please stay tuned for the updates.
Donations Keep Going
In a difficult time, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our donors for lending us a helping hand. This month we received donations of different items, which include daily necessities and protective equipment for our members. Thank you very much for our donors’ 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.
JULY ROUNDUP
Aug 5th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment
Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard protection claimants’ rights and to ameliorate their prospects. Since our commencement of services, we have been working closely with our partners in the community and organising diversified programmes to actualise members’ psychological and social well-being.
Our Featured Articles
This month we are thrilled to be featured in two articles. Sophia Zhang from Shatin College wrote about the stories of asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong based on her interviews with our members. Her article has been published on our blog. Ka Wang Kelvin Lam, our volunteer and a researcher of the Department of Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), highlighted the importance of the refugee community. He wrote about the ways asylum seekers and refugees here cope with hardship in times of COVID-19 pandemic by using our organisation as a case study. His article has been published with Routed Magazine and the blog of the University of Oxford’s Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS).
Stop Indefinite Detention
We are aware of the indefinite detention happening in the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre (CIC). Without a reasonable justification, such an act sharply differs from the general practice of the Immigration Department on arrest and detention, not to mention other issues (say, hygiene and delayed medical treatments) the detainees are suffering from. Among them, some are asylum seekers and refugees. They are currently in a hunger strike going against CIC’s indefinite detention. All lives matter. With the CIC Detainees Right Concern Group, we the Refugee Union always stand with the detainees and condemn all inhuman treatments.
Donations Keep Going
The coronavirus disease continues to surge Hong Kong and across the globe. In this difficult time, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our donors for lending us a helping hand. This month we received donations of different items, which include daily necessities and protective equipment for our members. Thank you very much for our donors’ 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.
June Roundup
Jul 10th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment
Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard protection claimants’ rights and to ameliorate their prospects. Since our commencement of services, we have been working closely with our partners in the community and organising diversified programmes to actualise members’ psychological and social well-being.
Welcoming our summer interns
This month we are honoured to host Mr. Lo Kai Chung, Assistant Lecturer from the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Mr. Lo recommended two students to serve as summer interns in our office and develop programs for our members. We look forward to collaborating with them soon.
We are also thrilled to host Sunshine Action’s interns who come from different universities and colleges in the United States, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong with the aim to support the underserved groups in times of COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you team for their great efforts!
Crowdfunding account launches
Good news! Our crowdfunding account is now available. May we take this opportunity to send our special acknowledgement to members of 180 Degrees Consulting at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) for developing this useful platform for us.
Donations keep going
COVID-19 continues to surge the globe. In this difficult time, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our donors for lending us a helping hand. This month we received a wide-range of items, which include daily necessities and protective equipment for our members. Thank you very much for their generous support!
All lives matter. Today, and as always, we stand with all who struggle against racism, prejudice, and inequality. There is no place for them in the world. 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.
May Roundup
May 26th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment
Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard protection claimants’ rights and ameliorate their prospects. Since our commencement of services, we have been working closely with our partners in the community and organising diversified programmes to actualise members’ psychological and social well-being.
Struggling for Survival
Taking refuge in Hong Kong, one of the world’s costliest cities, is never easy for us. We, asylum seekers and refugees, are capable and eager to contribute but prohibited to work and can solely rely on a monthly stipend of about HK$3,000 (US$387), which is supposed to cover every aspect (accommodation, food, transport, and utilities) of our lives, to barely survive. Worse still, the stipend has not increased since 2014.
Now with the coronavirus pandemic, our lives are becoming more difficult. Prices of daily necessities keep increasing while our stipend does not. People are masking up while we cannot afford the protective equipment. Some donors and sponsors lost their jobs; churches and supporting organisations are closed so we can hardly seek help from the community. A few months ago, we petitioned the government for an urgent increase in stipend but regrettably did not get any positive response.
Donations Keep Going
In a desperate situation, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our donors for lending us a helping hand. This month we received a wide-range of items, including digital products (such as calculators and laptops) for students, toys for kids, and other utilities and protective equipment for our members who are asylum seekers and refugees. Thank you very much for your generous support.
Despite having a hard time, we, the Refugee Union, as usual, serve with our initial heart and spare no pain to pursue a better society for everyone, regardless of who they are and where they come from. 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.
April Roundup
Apr 26th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment
Refugee Union was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard protection claimants’ rights and ameliorate their prospects. Since our commencement of service, we have been working closely with our partners in community and have been organising diversified of programmes to actualise members’ psychological and social well-being.
Strike for Survival in the Covid-19 Pandemic
Seeking asylum in Hong Kong, one of the world’s costliest cities, is never an easy task for asylum seekers and refugees with limited financial assistance but without a permission to self-sustain, while the current covid-19 pandemic has aggravated our predicament.
To express our concerns, this month we continued to deliver petitions to the Social Welfare Department, on behalf of asylum seekers and refugees to call for an urgent increase in the level of assistance to help us overcome the challenges in a difficult time.
On April 11, we are delighted to have a live chat with the Table of Two Cities, through an online platform to let the public know more about our current situations at the time of social distancing.
Donation Keeps Going
While most of our activities have been suspended due to the pandemic, donations keep going to cater for members’ substantial needs. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Donors for sending us a wide range of items, including health care products and other utilities. We are grateful to have all of you lending us a helping hand when we are in need.
Despite in a difficult time, we serve with our initial heart as usual, sparing no pain to pursuing a better society with justice and fairness to everyone, regardless of who they are and where they are from. Stay tuned to our official website and social media pages for the updates, and feel free to contact us by visiting our office or sending us email at info@refugeeunion.org should you have any enquiry.
Poor hygiene conditions in Immigration detention
Apr 26th, 2020 | Advocacy, Detention, Immigration, Media | Comment
