Living at society’s margins and below the poverty line: Refugee Perspectives

Archive


HKFP – How to support HK’s refugees

Feb 28th, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

TATLER – How to Support the Charities Helping Hong Kong’s Most Vulnerable

Feb 28th, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

FEBRUARY ROUNDUP

Feb 28th, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

Dear Members, Donors, and Volunteers,

This month has been a challenging one to us and to other people in Hong Kong. The city is again put under lockdown following the fifth wave of outbreak of coronavirus disease. We are thankful to people like you who, despite all difficulties, still think about us and lend us a hand. This roundup presents you an update about our centre throughout the month.

About us

We are the Refugee Union. Our organisation was founded in 2014 and is the first refugee-led organisation in Hong Kong. Our centre is currently based in Sheung Wan. We share the vision to safeguard refugee rights and have been collaborating with our community partners to improve the status quo of asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong.

Urgent call for assistance

Activities at our centre were halted in view of the worsening and worrying pandemic situation. The lockdown does not hurt only local businesses but also us asylum seekers and refugees, putting us in a more vulnerable situation.

Government offices, churches, and many supporting organisations are now closed, meaning that we have nowhere to seek help. Prices go skyrocketing as people scramble for necessities under panic. For us asylum seekers and refugees, we can barely survive with very limited vital resources.

We sincerely seek your help to donate us the following items:

Cash donations are also welcome. We have a crowdfunding campaign here. Thank you to our friends at GIVE.Asia in Singapore for launching this crowdfunding campaign for us.

We would also like to thank media professionals at Hong Kong Free Press (read here) and South China Morning Post (read here) for featuring us and raising awareness about refugee issues during the pandemic.

Giving is a blessing

Asylum seekers in Hong Kong are prohibited from working and are solely reliant on a limited stipend of some HK$3,000 (US$385) and few necessities, to survive. Essentials such as baby’s items and toiletries are not (adequately) provided. Despite activities being halted, members are in need of necessities.

While we are calling for urgent assistance, this month we have received donations of wide-ranging items. We would like to take this chance 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 our members who are in need.

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 (Mon to Sat, 10:00-18:00). *Office hours may be adjusted, kindly contact us in advance.

Thank you for your support of our initiative. We are refugees helping refugees.

SCMP reports on our Food Drive

Feb 23rd, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

Lockdown Emergency Food Drive

Feb 21st, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

Dearest Donors, we need your help ????
 
We have received the sane HK$40 daily food allowance from the Hong Kong Government since January 2014, for which we are grateful. However, the electronic food cards may only be used at Park’n’Shop which is obviously more expensive than Kai Bo marts, 759 stores and the cheaper wet markets around town.
 
Prices at Park’n’Shop are skyrocketing … for example:
 
a. 8Kg of rice was $86 but it now $113
b. a box of pasta was $14 but is now $24
c. a can of sardines was $12 but is now 28
d. a bag of choisam was $12 but is now $24
e. three packs of milk were $45 but are now $59
f. a carrot was $4 but is now $9
g. a cucumber was $12 but is now $38
 
If possible, please help us buy some of the groceries listed below. These are essential items that are out of our reach. Your help will go a long way in feeding our families. Sadly we are beggars as we are not allowed to work. Our opportunities are limited since we have no money in our wallets and churches / NGOs are either struggling with resources or closed by Covid-19 infections. A partner’s monthly grocery donation was cancelled yesterday! ????

Here is a suggested donation of twelve items we need the most and suitable for all cultures and religions:

  1. Bag of Rice
  2. Box of Pasta / Noodles
  3. Bottle of Cooking oil
  4. Canned tuna / sardines
  5. Canned beans / soup
  6. Bag of instant noodles
  7. Box of UHT Milk
  8. Biscuits and crackers
  9. Fresh vegetables
  10. Fresh fruits
  11. Toilet paper / tissue
  12. Panadol Extra as refugees also get sick ????

You are most welcome to deliver to our centre anytime during opening hours:

Address: Unit E, 2/F., Lee Fung Building, 315-319 Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Time: 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, excluding public holidays
Contact: Mr Ibrahim
WhatsApp: 9828 7176

Delivery may be arranged in person, by courier, Deliveroo, SF Express, Gogo van or directly by the supermarket????

Frankly, cash donations are most flexible as we can then buy at local groceries the ethnic products that we eat at the cheapest prices – thank you for your understanding.

To support us with cash please visit our crowdfunding program here: https://bit.ly/3qYFq5u

The registered charity “Drink For Justice” will issue tax-deductible receipts for cash donations above $200.

Please share this post with friends and on social media as word of mouth is best to raise awareness for us ✅

Thank you from the heart for being there in our moment of need! ????

Leaving Hong Kong? Check this to-do list

Feb 17th, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

We are grateful to the website LIFESTYLE ASIA for suggesting donations to Refugee Union to those leaving Hong Kong.

Click this link to read the article: https://www.lifestyleasia.com/hk/whats-on/leaving-hong-kong-check-list/

Quote: “Regardless of whether you’re being treated to a relocation package, forking out for movers off your own back or just winging it with a couple of suitcases, you’re more than likely going to have accumulated quite a few things over your time here. Unless you’re particularly attached to your IKEA furniture, odds are that selling or donating is the best way to go. List your things up on faithfuls such as Facebook Marketplace, Carousel and Asia Expat, or considering donating to a charity like the Refugee Union who are always grateful to receive clothes, kitchen items and old electronics.”

By the way, many of our members have been stuck in Hong Kong for more than a decade and cannot leave …

Anyway the article is absolutely correct: Got stuff to give away? Please WhatsApp 9828 7176 for gratitude ????

Emergency lockdown appeal

Feb 10th, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

This lockdown hurts refugees most because government offices are closed, charity services greatly reduced and even churches locked their doors. It is hard for us to collect the emergency support we need to make ends meet. When supermarket prices soar it is even harder to survive on $40 a day! https://refugeeunion.org/support/
 
You can HELP US directly by bringing groceries to our centre, organizing food drives with your friends and donating cash to our crowdfunding program: https://bit.ly/3qYFq5u
 
Can you help? Please WhatsApp 9828 7176

JANUARY ROUNDUP

Feb 1st, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

Dear Members, Donors, and Volunteers,

January marks the beginning of one year. We hope that the year of 2022 will bring you health, success, and happiness. This roundup presents you an update about our centre throughout the month.

About us

‘We are refugees helping refugees.’

We are the Refugee Union. Founded in 2014, we are the first refugee-led organisation in Hong Kong. Our centre is currently based in Sheung Wan. As a union of protection claimants, we share the vision to safeguard asylum and refugee rights. With this vision we have been collaborating with our community partners to improve the status quo of asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Hong Kong.

Activities at a glance

It is unfortunate that many activities in our centre had to be put on hold in light of the deteriorating pandemic situation in Hong Kong. Nonetheless, we are still thrilled to share with you a few activities we engaged or happened in our centre:

We would like to thank Eaton Hong Kong and all vendors in last month’s Christmas market. We are thankful to them for fundraising for us and raising awareness about refugee issues.

We are proud to be one of the beneficiaries at the Circle Back event jointly organised by Take Out plastic and No Thrillsss. It was a secondhand clothing swapping market held on 22 and 23 January. We are thankful for the items donated to our members.

We would also like to grasp this opportunity to thank professional photographer Karling at So Lightly for taking amazing photos of families, adults, and children. Thank you for raising awareness about refugee issues.

Giving is a blessing

Asylum seekers in Hong Kong are prohibited from working and are solely reliant on a limited stipend of some HK$3,000 (US$385) and few necessities, to survive. Essentials such as baby’s items and toiletries are not (adequately) provided. Despite activities being halted, members are in need of necessities.

This month we have received donations of wide-ranging items in our centre. We would like to take this chance 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 our members who are in need.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, we wish everyone health, prosperity, and peace in the year of the tiger. May we also invite you to consider donating some of your red packets received and share the blessing with people in need, such as asylum seekers and refugees.

We have a crowdfunding platform here.

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 (Mon to Sat, 10:00-18:00).

Thank you for your support of our initiative.

We are brothers and sisters

Jan 17th, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

We are brothers and sisters. Nobody wants to be labelled, sorted and dehumanized by a passport, but that is what happens today to refugees and migrants at borders. Refugee Union stands for justice in migration, asylum and all forms of border crossing.

Did you know that passports were only required for travelling after World War Two? Prior to the 1950’s it was sufficient to buy the passage on a ship or plane to travel anywhere in the world. The United States only started to require passports in 1952.

In 2022 a passport offers either extreme freedom or extreme hardship.

What do you enjoy?

Fundraise to Support Refugee Union in 2022

Jan 11th, 2022 | Advocacy | Comment

We believe that together we stand stronger!

Refugee Union is the first self-organized group in Hong Kong where refugees help refugees. We registered as a society in 2014 to connect with Hong Kong residents and the community at large. We operate from a small centre in Sheung Wan where members and supporters meet and collaborate. It is an essential collective effort where your contribution makes a difference.

Refugee Union gathers over a thousand members from 20 countries, including 200 children. Our services are greatly limited by the donations we receive. We mainly support families as they are the most vulnerable and in need of greater assistance. 

The monthly government welfare is: $1500 for rent, $1200 for food, $300 for utilities and $200 for transport to official appointments. These amounts are unchanged since 2014. No support is provided for clothes, shoes, home fittings, cooking, cleaning, medicines and phones. Imagine, how do you cook without a stove and pots? How do you raise babies without diapers? How do you find shelter with $1500 monthly?

We plead for your financial support to make ends meet.

We pay $11,000 a month to rent our busy centre which is essential to receive and distribute donations. It is practically impossible to live without money in a city where everything has a price tag. We struggle below the poverty line and are banned from working under threat of 15 to 22 months in prison. We have designed four tables to explain how we spend the money we are lucky enough to receive. See: https://bit.ly/38FjT9x 

Through the Refugee Union we have the opportunity to directly reach out for assistance. We would be most grateful if you could contribute to this fundraiser so that we can strengthen our shared effort to support refugees. We are thankful that many of you have donated before as it shows that Hongkongers understand our predicament and are willing to help refugees. 

We are most grateful for your support!

You are warmly welcome to visit our centre and learn directly about the predicament in which we live. As refugees can’t open bank accounts, so we appointed the registered charity “Drink For Justice” to receive and disburse these funds to us in full. This platform collects no fees either.

Kindly share this crowdfunding page with your friends and on social media as it is the best way create awareness and support our community effort. We believe that together we are stronger!

Click to donate now: https://go.sparkraise.com/fundraise-to-support-refugee-union-in-2022