I am a refugee and I came to Hong Kong four years ago to save my life. After experiencing persecution and serious threats because of my professional work, I was forced to escape abroad. Some of my colleagues were killed.

I did not expect to suffer welfare problems when I reached the rich city of Hong Kong. We refugees are not allowed to work and depend on government assistance for all our needs. My inspiration for this cartoon is that I want to advocate for refugees and explain the life we suffer.

I believe that the public funding does not reach the needy, both residents and foreigners. My humble experience tells me that the SWD does not know how to manage refugees and fails to respond to our complaints all the time. I want to create public awareness about this treatment. My first target audience is everybody who cares about justice in Hong Kong. My second audience is tax-payers who should request accountability from their government.

Hong Kong is a market place. It is a great Asian city that became wealthy, has security and prosperity and offers great opportunities to residents and foreigners with visas. The government is rich because they receive many taxes, duties from stock market and payments from tourism and foreign investment. But society is kept in the dark. People don’t open their eyes because of a culture that prioritizes who you are, what is your job and how much money you earn.

Now is a time when Hong Kong people are talking about their future and democracy. But before you talk about democracy you need to talk about human rights and values because everyone is equal and deserves respect. I think there are predator people who are taking advantage of the sleepiness of society and the bad management of the government. I believe there are predators taking advantage of refugees too.

There is a lot of aid flowing into the government, but very little reaches refugees. Take refugee food allowances for example: refugees receive only 40% of the value! We should collect 1200$ in food, but I calculated my collections are worth 680$ maximum, or 400$ minimum, depending on which shops I compare prices. I complained for months to those responsible, but is anyone listening?