Question to Legco about asylum status
May 27th, 2020 | Government, Immigration, Legal, Rejection, Welfare | Comment
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.
Thank you, Shen Shu Yi Foundation!
May 22nd, 2020 | Education, Refugee Community, RU updates, programs, events | Comment
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
Workout tips from our hardest training member
Apr 17th, 2020 | Health, Media, Personal Experiences, Refugee Community | Comment
Press Release: Request for Increase in Assistance
Apr 7th, 2020 | Advocacy, Food, Government, Housing, Media, Refugee Community, Welfare | Comment
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.
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.
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:
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
