Families who have hosted Edward Snowden in Hong Kong suffer the consequences

Archive


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!

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Poor conditions in CIC detention - 26Apr2020

Press Release: Request for Increase in Assistance

Apr 7th, 2020 | Advocacy, Food, Government, Housing, Media, Refugee Community, Welfare | Comment

Refugee Union Press Release (Petition to SWD) - 7Apr2020

March Roundup

Mar 29th, 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 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.

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CALLING FOR AN URGENT INCREASE IN ASSISTANCE

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 permission to self-sustain, while the current COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated our predicament. To express our concerns, we continued a series of advocacy with the support of professionals, volunteers and our passionate members.

On March 5, we delivered a petition to Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive, on behalf of asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong to call for an urgent increase in the level of assistance to help us overcome huge challenges in such a difficult time. 

To raise public awareness, on March 24, we also launched a video clip in social media which has introduced our organisation and issues about asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong as follow:

https://www.facebook.com/refugeeunionhk/videos/215713693010840/

We would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Julie Ham of the Department of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and her Assistant Merina Sunuwar for their great efforts in producing this meaningful video.

DONATIONS 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.

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NEW PLATFORMS NOW AVAILABLE

To facilitate the sharing of information, we are now on Twitter (@RefugeeUnion) and Instagram (@refugeeunion). Feel free to subscribe us for the updates. We are also thankful to have a group of talented university students helping us to set up a crowdfunding page at the link below:

https://gogetfunding.com/refugees-in-hong-kong-need-your-help/?fbclid=IwAR0EyDzYwwZPzztqP2NROjdNtNoCspu_1X6wF1k9PNLolGMc_pxx8iK1MvI

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.

Social Welfare Dept reply to our petition for increase in assistance

Mar 21st, 2020 | Advocacy, Food, Government, Housing, Welfare | Comment

SWD reply to RU petition - 19Mar2020

February Roundup

Mar 4th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment

Refugee Union Hong Kong 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 organising diversified of programmes to actualise members’ psychological and social well-being.

Calling for an Urgent Increase in Assistance

Seeking refuge in Hong Kong, one of the world’s costliest cities, is never an easy task, while the current coronavirus outbreak has aggravated our hardship. To express members’ concerns, we submitted a petition to Social Welfare Department on February 27, requesting the government to increase the amount of assistance, up to the standard that asylum seekers can survive with dignity.

RU petition to SWD - 26Feb2020 (4)

Donations Keeps Going

While most of our activities have been suspended due to the epidemic, 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 them lending us a helping hand.

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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 Facebook page 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.

Request for an urgent increase in assistance

Feb 26th, 2020 | Advocacy, Food, Housing, Welfare | Comment

RU petition to SWD - 26Feb2020 (1)

 

RU petition to SWD - 26Feb2020 (4)

January Roundup

Feb 19th, 2020 | Advocacy | Comment

Happy New Year! We wish everyone the best of health in the year of the mouse. Refugee Union Hong Kong was founded in 2014 with visions to safeguard the rights of protection claimants and to ameliorate their living standards and prospects. Since our commencement of service, we have been working closely with different stakeholders in the community and have organised diversified programmes to actualise our members’ social and psychological well-being.

Donations

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following Donors: Madam Teresa for donating us toys, clothing; HSBC Team for donating us chairs in good quality; and other anonymous Donors for donating us useful home items. Thank you very much for your kind heart!

Events

On 20 January, we were invited to a Community Fair organised by the Discovery College. It was a nice chance to raise public awareness about refugee issues. Thank you very much for the invitation!

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For regular events, every Tuesday we welcome all members to join our Yoga class, a healthy sport to mitigate our stress and refresh our mind. On Saturday we have Dr. Terrence Shum from the Open University of Hong Kong teaches us Cantonese, through strengthening language proficiency to help us better fit-in to community. On the same day, we also have a tutorial session led by a group of committed students from the Canadian International School, teaching children homework and assisting them in doing revision.

Despite current epidemic situations, we, as usual, serve with our initial heart, sparing no pain to pursuing a better society with justice and fairness to everyone, regardless of who they are and where they belong to. Stay tuned to our official website and Facebook page for more information and updates, and feel free to contact us by visiting our office or sending us email at info@refugeeunion.org should you have any enquiry.