Open letter to HK people: Selfishness blocks HK from welcoming refugees

Nov 18th, 2015 | Crime, Immigration, Personal Experiences, Rejection, Welfare | Comment

I am an African refugee who has been stuck in Hong Kong for 10 years. I am saddened by the articles I read about crimes committed by refugees. I am sad for the reporters who write these reports without checking the background. What about welfare that pays half our living costs? What about jailing us for working without proper permits? Should we beg in the streets with our children?

Some refugees are helped by NGOs, churches and benefactors, but frankly most don’t get a single charitable cent. The opposite is happening in Europe and it should put pressure on Hong Kong Government. Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the UK are welcoming and supporting more refugees than ever before. Even Switzerland that was considered unwelcoming, is issuing more protection visas this year.

First of all, refugees are also human beings. Whatever situation we are escaping – and I won’t judge others – we are not talking about some animals, but people like you. Today we need international help, tomorrow it could be you. Readers should remember that refugees are not dangerous per se, but governments put refugees in dangerous situations.

Besides, it is not only refugees who act badly, but also local people. The French were saying that more Frenchmen are gangsters than refugees. Don’t say that because one refugees is a criminal than all refugees are criminal. The world news network is focusing on refugees. People cannot pretend that nothing is happening. Now is a good time to join our voices to raise awareness.

It’s disappointing that Hong Kong repeats the tired and empty excuse: “We are a very small place, we cannot take refugees”. That has been a pretext for 20 years of doing next to nothing to protect refugees in a city that has a negative growth rate and has hardly seen its population grow. What difference would welcoming 10, 20 or 100 refugees a year make to a population of 7 million?

The fact is Hong Kong has accepted 37 refugees out of about 20,000 asylum seekers since 1992 – that is less than 2 a year! The government is showing that they have the money to give us food, but they don’t want to give us protection and freedom. They don’t want to free our mind. If you give a man food, but you are not giving him a future, you are not helping, but destroying him. Until when are you going to feed him?

In Hong Kong there are human rights organization that know how refugees are abused. They should be saying something about the injustice. They should challenge the government to receive refugees. Greece asked for help. Italy asked for help. They admit they cannot handle the crisis. Can’t Hong Kong admit that they have a problem and ask for help? The little boy died and the world cried, but how many refugees are dying in Hong Kong of maltreatment and nobody is saying anything?

What makes a man a man is not food. What makes a man feel the freedom of being a human being on Earth is to express himself in many ways. They say that refugees are “coming to take”, but that is the fearful reaction of bigots who don’t want to think deeply. Nobody is coming to take aid from anyone.

The truth is that refugees can make the economic cake bigger, so that everyone can have more. Germany realizes that many citizens are becoming old and soon will not be productive. They understand that welcoming young and hardworking refugees will grow the economy and then increase taxes to make the country stronger. They are planning smartly for the future.

Hong Kong thinks that they are preserving the jobs of locals. They do not understand that refugees will generate more business, trade and employment for everyone. Hong Kong says “We are already big”, but other countries want to grow and prosper, they do not stop and say we are big enough. Maybe in 20 years they will understand that HK citizens don’t want to have babies, they just want to enjoy.

This is exactly what is happening in Japan that is suffering an old-age crisis. Japan is giving visa to Africans to come to work. There are more elders there than workers and they need to welcome others to help. The Japanese don’t want menial jobs, they want nice jobs, so they are making robots and accepting others for manpower and growth.

The truth is that there is a cultural selfishness in Hong Kong that blocks it from welcoming others. If they wanted to help, they could. If they wanted to change policies, they could. If they wanted to sign the Refugee Convention, they could. If they want to give us proper welfare, they could. We were homeless before we protested and got rental assistance. We were hungry before we protested and got food rations. We protested a rotten system and got food coupons. We were living in slums before we protested and got deposits and agency fees paid. Were these problems impossible to foresee and solutions hard to provide?

Hong Kong needs to help vulnerable people without focusing on economics, skin colour or country of origin. We should help human beings on Earth, not just those offering obvious economic benefits. This ought to be elementary for people to understand. The only way for others to recognize that you are strong is demonstrating it through action.

If Hong Kong people feel that they are so rich and strong, there is no need to be afraid to give the right to work to asylum seeker. I think this will make them stronger in the future. We need to look further than the now. Refugees will not take your jobs. Refugees will expand the economy, create employment, make a stronger generation and bring diversity and resilience to Hong Kong

Selfishness blocks Hong Kong from welcoming refugees

I left my country in Africa. I was working in China when great danger started and I could not return home. I became a refugee sur place. I came to Hong Kong in January 2014, when I entered with a two-week visa. I sought asylum when my permit expired. It was very hard.

I struggle for everything alone and without knowing the system. I went to NGOs to get help. I followed Vision First and they helped me a lot. It is important to assist others and I have always helped fellow refugees when I had the opportunity, knowing how lost we feel at the start of the asylum process.

It is very difficult for refugees to survive in Hong Kong because we cannot work. The assistance we receive in rent and food is far from enough. The rooms where we live are in very poor condition. The government is not doing its part to assist refugees who look for a safe place in this city.

I am one of the lucky ones and this is my story. Two months ago I left Hong Kong and returned a few days later, the second time in less than two years. At the Immigration counter I presented a Dependent Visa and was allowed one year stay with the right to work!

What a huge difference it makes! The first time I arrived, the future was very dark and I didn’t know what would happen. Now I am smiling with great joy and hope as Hong Kong welcomes me. Work, honest and legal work, is what all refugees need to survive and keep their mental sanity.

The difference is that a year ago I married my lovely Chinese wife and recently our application for a dependent visa was approved. The visa allowed me to change my status from “USM claimant” (= unwelcome) to “Dependent Visa” (=welcome). Honestly, I realize how lucky I was that my destiny was marked by remarkable events that changed the course of life.

On 13 March 2014, two months after I first arrived, I heard that refugees were fighting for their rights through a public demonstration at the Government House, in Central. I joined with great expectation as it was my first demonstration. I realized that refugees were not treated fairly during the processing time of our claims. I learnt that some refugees were waiting over 10 years for a decision by Immigration.

I was proud to march in the front line. I was not scared. I remember that a journalist asked me, “Why you are not scared? Why don’t you cover your face?” I answered, “Why should I be scared? These are my rights and I need to fight for them!” If things are wrong and must be changed, people must stand up and fight for the change they want. In life you cannot hide to be counted.

I have always felt very strongly about human rights. People are oppressed all over the world and also here in Hong Kong, where society does not allow some social groups to live with dignity – among these are my refugee brothers and sisters. For this reason I now promote and supported the Refugee Union, and encourage its members to be strong and united. Despite finally getting legal status, I can’t forget my experiences and hope that our struggle will be successful.

I wish to thank those people who supported and encouraged me from the beginning. I have always trusted my fate that life would work out well, but without my friends’ support it would not have been possible. Hong Kong people are wonderful people. We might disagree about the government and its policies, but many ordinary people I met treat me like a friend and some like family.

Finally I wish to thank my wonderful wife for her trust, love and support that changed my life. My two years in Hong Kong have been unique, from the depths of depression when I lost my future, to the love and joy with my new family. I look forward to landing on my feet and offering support to other refugees struggling on this journey. I love to help people and believe God helps those who help others.