A refugee is someone who has been forced to leave their home country due to persecution, war or violence. Sometimes they are alone. Sometimes they have escaped with family members. A refugee is an ordinary person in an extraordinary situation.

A refugee’s basic human rights are under threat because of their race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion. If they remain in their home country, they may face unfair imprisonment, torture or death.

Nobody chooses to become a refugee. Most people seeking sanctuary abroad would go home if it was safe.

An asylum seeker is an individual who seeks protection but whose claims for official refugee status have not yet been assessed. This assessment is often delayed due to a lack of official documentation supporting the asylum seeker’s claim.

Provisions are made under both Hong Kong and international law for an individual to seek asylum even without a passport, visa or other official personal documents as stated in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Asylum seekers are individuals who are seeking protection but whose claims for official refugee status have not yet been assessed. This is often due to a lack of official documentation supporting the asylum seeker’s claim. Provisions are made under both Hong Kong and international law for individuals to seek asylum even without passports, visas or other official personal documents as stated in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Asylum seekers should not be confused with economic migrants. An economic migrant normally leaves a country voluntarily to seek a better life. Should he or she decide to return home, they would continue to receive the protection of his or her government. Refugees flee because of the threat of persecution and cannot return safely to their homes.

“Refugees are not illegal immigrants, they are not fortune hunters. They are protected people who have passed through the gate of official scrutiny. These people are for all intents and purposes – through no fault of their own – stranded in Hong Kong and have nowhere else to go. Allowing this (suffering) to happen amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment on the part of the Hong Kong government, in contravention of the Convention Against Torture.” Robert Whitehead

An economic migrant typically leaves a country voluntarily to seek a better life. Economic migrants who return to their home country will continue to receive the protection of their government.

Asylum seekers and refugees cannot return to their home countries because of the threat of violence or persecution.

It is important not to automatically presume an asylum seeker or refugee is an economic migrant. In fact very few are.

There are refugees in virtually every country. Daily we hear news reports about the plight of refugees around the world. Governments constantly debate their approach to refugees.

Hong Kong has long provided sanctuary to refugees. In 1278 the young Emperor Duānzōng(端宗) found refuge here from Mongol invaders. Many ordinary Hong Kong people have refugees in the family.

Refugees are ordinary people who come to Hong Kong out of desperation. They have been forced to abandon family, friends, work, and property to escape to safety. Many are driven here after suffering abuse, torture, rape, the murder of family and friends and other atrocities.

By chance or circumstance their escape route has led to Hong Kong. Most had little choice.

Yes. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries freedom from persecution“.

We are lucky that through an accident of birth we live in a place free from war, suppression and violence. We have a moral right to protect those who are less fortunate.

Hong Kong prides itself on being a fair and caring society that strives to provide equal opportunities and protect those who cannot take care of themselves.

But despite its huge wealth, Hong Kong’s safety net for the underprivileged and vulnerable has often been criticised as being too narrow. The plight of refugees stranded in the city is a clear example of this.

Like all underprivileged groups, refugees should have adequate support and the ability to live with dignity while awaiting determination of their claims.

You can help refugees by understanding why they have sought refuge in our city.

You can help by being more considerate and compassionate about their plight.

You can also support refugees by donating money, goods, time and skills, or by becoming involved in refugee activism and events.

Many people in Hong Kong perceive refugees as illiterate peasants because they seem poor. Many are penniless because they had to leave their home countries abruptly in an emergency with no chance to bring assets or cash.

In fact refugees are often educated middle-class people with skills, knowledge and experience valuable to a cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong.

Unfortunately refugees are prevented by law from working here. However many contribute to Hong Kong through unpaid volunteer and charity work.

Refugees don’t flee their home countries out of choice. They seldom choose their destination. They are in trouble and fear for their lives or their freedom.

Yes Hong Kong has problems, but we also have a well-deserved reputation for hospitality, charity and common decency.

People who selflessly extend a hand to a stranger often emerge better off from the encounter. We should care about refugees because they are people in need who live among us.

Many people in Hong Kong think that everyone in the world wants to live here and make money here. In fact Hong Kong is relatively unknown and far less attractive than, say, Canada.

Asylum seekers may keep seeking refuge in Hong Kong, but there is no reason to believe that there will be floods of people with the resources and motivation to come here through a back door.

The best way for Hong Kong to deal with asylum seekers is to adopt a Refugee Status Determination system that processes asylum claims fairly and expeditiously.

Refugee Status Determination protects those in genuine need. Claimants without merit can be returned to their countries of origin without delay to spread the message that Hong Kong has no welcome for opportunists trying to game the system.

It is important to recognize that any response must protect those in genuine need – there must be not be an automatic presumption that every asylum claimant is just an economic migrant.