Archive
SCAD – Art Workshop
Jul 31st, 2012 | VF updates, programs, events | Comment
It’s been three weeks, six lessons and we’re on to a new start. This year I took part in an amazing course at SCAD Hong Kong. SCAD students met up with a group from Vision First and studied photography together. A month ago we celebrated the project showing our work to the larger communities of SCAD and Vision First. It was at that meeting that I overheard someone from Vision First say how much they would like to learn painting. One thing lead to another and today Vision First has an Art Workshop on twice week.
The Art Workshop aims at creating a community for people interested in art. It’s uniqueness is in creating a space that every participant brings his or her knowledge and ideas to the table. Unlike traditional ways of teaching it’s not only the teacher who is responsible for the content of the lesson. It’s a place to explore and learn together.
Yael Bronner Rubin is an South African- Israeli artist. She has her undergraduate degree in art and education and is currently studying for a M.F.A. at SCAD Hong Kong.
Views from the inside (and we celebrate 200 blogs!)
Jul 29th, 2012 | Personal Experiences | Comment
The problem with wanting to help out strangers in need is that you can’t be too introverted, nor too young. While the latter can’t really be helped, shyness can be overcome by having a friendly and warm community, something Vision First definitely has.
My name is Jun, and I am a student about to enter Grade 10 at CDNIS. Introduced to this organization by my school’s CAS coordinator, I was apprehensive while walking up the seemingly endless flights of stairs, worried that I would be intruding on the organization’s work by being an awkward, unhelpful wallflower. Needless to say, I was wrong – every single person I have met since coming here three weeks ago has been kind, friendly, funny and embracing of quiet teenagers (namely my friend, Hilda, and I). Before volunteering here, I never recognized the plight of refugees in Hong Kong – having focused mostly on helping locals living under the poverty line prior to working here, it came as a shock that so many people were stranded here without government support.
As an organization, VF serves to provide this very support to refugees in need, collecting donations, organizing summer programs, serving meals, supplying medical facilities and much more, but I believe it does much, much more. From what little I have seen, every member, worker and volunteer here makes up a huge family of sorts, and I am so glad to have been able to work here. The work this organization does is admirable and inspiring not just because it provides things for people in need, but because it facilitates a safe environment where people from all around the world are able to talk, socialize and learn from each other, something that many charities neglect to do and provide. Instead of just providing provisional services, it helps members build experience and friendships to make their long, difficult stays in Hong Kong enlightening and worthwhile ones, giving them emotional as well as financial support. Never have I seen an organization that is run by the same people it helps, and never would I have been able to fathom this type of system existing, however my time here has truly helped me rethink old ideas on how people in need should be helped. Too often are refugees overshadowed by other areas of concern for the government, and there are very little organizations that aim to help these people, however after watching Vision First’s operations and way of helping people, I have renewed faith that one day, everyone in Hong Kong will live equally without fear of unfair prosecution.
As a volunteer, I’ve done work from designing a birthday cake for VF’s 3rd birthday to finding contact details for restaurants and fairs to making advertisements for books – it’s been a fun and enriching experience, and the awkwardness has all but dissolved. I’ve met different people, made new friends, and perhaps most important of all, been able to communicate with others without clamming up or suddenly losing the ability to form coherent sentences. Vision First is not merely an organization that helps people, it is a home, both figuratively and literally speaking. My experience here is something that I’ll carry to school as well as to life, and I’d like to wholeheartedly thank VF for providing me with this opportunity. – Jun 🙂
To me, summer consisted of sleeping in, hanging out, enjoying cold drinks in the afternoon. I didn’t think of anything more than to just enjoy the days off, and seldom even thought of the people who were struggling. This year, however, I decided to do something more worthwhile. The reason why we live the way we do is greatly impacted by the situation we were born in. I was lucky to be born a Hong Kong citizen, where the government provides protection for us. However, many are not as lucky as I was, and instead come from countries where their leaders do little or nothing to care for them. Refugees deserve help, from everyone who is able to do so. I wanted to do something to make a difference, no matter how slight, and just provide my efforts in helping a cause I believed in. Everyone is capable of caring for and helping others. My name is Hilda and I am a grade 9 student at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong. Today is the fourth week I have been volunteering at Vision First, a local nonprofit organization that provides aid and support for refugees. I hope what I have done, no matter how minor or insignificant in the grand scheme of things, will be able to contribute to helping refugees better conditions than they are in right now. Everyone has the power to change something; with combined efforts even minor aid can really become something grand. I am extremely grateful to have been able to work here and help refugees in need. – Hilda
Labeled without cause
Jul 22nd, 2012 | Advocacy | Comment
We often read comments describing asylum-seekers and refugees as pitiful individuals who need our help to make a decent living. Sadly this polarizes opinions about who is responsible to look after those seeking international protection or whether harsh policies are justified to safeguard prosperity. While this discussion is important, it pivots disturbingly on the distinction between ‘genuine’ political refugees and ‘abusive’ economic migrants, the latter supposedly exploiting the asylum process for personal gains. However, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan wisely said, “Let us remember that a bogus asylum-seeker is not equivalent to a criminal, and that an unsuccessful asylum application is not equivalent to a bogus one.”
Currently there are 5800 claimants from South Asia and Africa who have declared they would face persecution were they returned to their country. Hong Kong Government screens these applications under the Convention against Torture and has recognized one single case since 2004 when screening started. On the other hand, UNHCR is presently considering about 800 asylum cases under the Refugee Convention, with a dismally low acceptance rate. Taken at face value, such low recognition rates suggest that most asylum-seekers are not genuine claimants. It is argued that if the majority of claimants are rejected, and many are working illegally, then these people are not escaping persecution, but entered under false pretenses to make a quick buck. This certainly is the impression we get talking to people who read less informed articles and view refugees’ motivations with suspicion. Claimants are portrayed as abusers even before their cases are assessed, further muddying the waters of stereotypes and intolerance.
Such widespread inclination to disapprove encourages Hong Kong Government to stick to tough polices, such as prohibiting employment, restricting education and, in our opinion, fast-tracking decision. This leads to asylum-seekers being barely tolerated by society and remaining confined in a state of precariousness. It is true Hong Kong Government provides them with minimal aid ($1200 rent assistance, emergency health care and monthly food rations), but it is hardly sufficient to meet basic needs. Hence money is desperately needed to buy clothes, shoes, calling cards, water and tissue. Asylum-seekers often have families back home who need their husbands and brothers to help financially. Also, the costs incurred for the journey can be extortionately high and need to be refunded if borrowed. For these reasons, some are understandably forced to work. We are told, ‘my wife calls me and speaks about the children. They need money and I need to work’. Unfortunately, to seek illegal employment is associated with having dishonest intentions. A common misconception is that if claimants work illegally, they are not afraid of arrest, consequently proving they were not refugees in the first place.
To challenge this culture of suspicion, asylum seekers must prove their genuineness not only with evidence, but also with their behaviour, despite the absence of a comprehensive safety net to protect from destitution. Further, most applicants do not have the knowledge to formulate an effective refugee claim. When interviewed by authorities they might candidly confess they came to work because ultimately, as bread-winners, they are responsible for their family. We should acknowledge that behind their suffering is a complex current of political, religious, social and economic adversity that propels them overseas. There are numerous cases in which economic deprivation is either inflicted or condoned by states unwilling to prevent it, which itself constitutes torture and inhuman treatment. However, asylum seekers often fail to distinguish economic hardship from its systemic causes. This certainly affects their claim, further lowering recognition rates.
Considering both refugees (149 recognized by UNHCR) and torture victims (1 recognized by HKSAR), is it possible that a global city like Hong Kong is home to only 150? Leaving politics and humanitarianism aside, what are the mathematical odds that with thousands of people seeking protection there are so few successes? We marvel at the mathematical improbability of Hong Kong Government recognizing one case in eight years of torture screening, while Western countries average 30% in refugee protection. Do low recognition rates truly confirm asylum-seekers beat a path to our door with fake stories, evidence and scars to cheat the system? In our opinion, what is probably lacking is political will. As long as refuge policies are founded on incomplete information and a primacy to shield wealth, we slip away from the spirit of asylum into the clutches of protectionism and nationalism. There is no image sadder than that of the rich man bolted down in his treasury, blind to the suffering of those knocking on the door seeking refuge.
Arguing, Learning, Waiting
Jul 15th, 2012 | Media, Personal Experiences | Comment
Professor Gordon Mathews in the New York Time
For the past five years, I’ve been teaching English to African and Pakistani men caught in the asylum-seeking process here. I began teaching the weekly class as a volunteer as part of my research for a book that has since been published. I continue because my students have become my friends. These Muslim and Christian men are in their 20s and 30s, well-educated, well-informed about world affairs and highly vocal. We don’t spend much time on the rules of the English language. Instead, the classes have become discussion sessions about social and global topics. I begin each class by asking a question. “Who is a better friend to Africa, the United States or China?” “What do you think of gay marriage?” “How do you know God is real?” My students then argue passionately with one another and with me for two hours. When class is over, they go back to being asylum seekers. It’s a tough life. Upon entering Hong Kong and declaring to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or to the Hong Kong government that they qualify as asylum seekers under the U.N. Convention Against Torture, they are sent to a detention center for several weeks. When they’re let free, they’re given a pittance of aid — around $270 a month. They are forbidden to work, although some find illegal jobs as dishwashers, delivery men or peddlers.
They wait for years for their cases to be decided. The authorities must determine whether they have been politically, ethnically or religiously persecuted. When their cases are rejected, as most are, they appeal, and wait for many more years. Some get deported back to their home countries. The lucky few who get refugee status are sent to safe countries, typically the United States or Canada. While some have a legitimate case, others might be caught in situations that the authorities won’t recognize — one might, for example, be fleeing a death threat from a business partner. Others come here in hopes of making a better living by gaming the system. The government can’t let economic refugees work legally; to do so would only invite thousands more from Karachi, Nairobi and other places. So it bars them from working and gives them barely enough to live on. They stay in the cheapest, dingiest spaces, and scrounge by on whatever illegal, menial jobs or charity they can find. I’ve heard many stories over the years. One man claimed that he had been kidnapped by a religious cult. He said that after he escaped, his mother gave him a vial of diamonds, whereupon he was kidnapped again and locked in a ship’s hold by several Australians. He said he woke up in Hong Kong with no diamonds and no passport. I told him he’d seen too many bad action movies.
Another student told me an impassioned story about his family being murdered, only to end it with a wry grin, saying, “I have to tell you that everything I told you in the last 20 minutes I made up.” There was another man who said he had fled his central African country because he and his family were supporting a rebel group. He said that when he called home from Hong Kong, the African authorities, who had tapped the family’s phone line, were able to confirm that the family was involved in supporting the rebels. The police there then stormed the house and shot his brother dead. I don’t really care whether an individual’s story is true or not: I’m just a teacher. But I do worry about these guys. They have almost no chance of gaining legal status as refugees and leaving Hong Kong to begin a new life. The best bet for most of my students is to try to marry a Hong Kong girl, which would enable them to reside here legally. Sometimes I offer tips to the clueless, who ask questions like: “I want to meet a girl, but how?” or “I am Muslim, can I go to a bar and drink only orange juice?” or “I met a girl but she doesn’t know I’m an asylum seeker. Can you lend me some money?” Sometimes I offer small financial help. Meanwhile, my students and I argue in class, then go our separate ways: I live my life, and they wait to live theirs.
More than just a service centre
Jul 8th, 2012 | Personal Experiences, Refugee Community, VF updates, programs, events | Comment
“Which part of Africa is it?” I asked. Addea replied, “You see how the people dress, the vegetation, the houses… it is the Southern part of Africa.” Even causally watching a movie at Vision First’s center is a great opportunity for members to share knowledge, expertise and culture. Here I enter a global village – a Georgian, an Iranian, two Somalis, a Togolese and a Liberian watching a South African movie with Bushmen as main characters. Standing next to them is a local Hong Konger – that is me, Kashu, a Master of Social Work student from the University of Hong Kong. A simple, peaceful, causal and relaxing movie time is a luxury for VF members, no matter whether they are here in Hong Kong, or back in their home country. In their home country they encountered conflicts, persecution, torture and blackmailing. In Hong Kong they experienced poverty, isolation, boredom and disorientation. Vision First provides a precious and cozy space for them to socialize and receive what they need, like clothing and food. For me, Vision First provides its members with far more than just tangible services and material goods. Members here can also serve as helpers – they help others while being assisted themselves. They help to bring food upstairs to the office, keep the office clean, and the shelter and office running, like assisting with maintenance. These tasks look simple, but enriched their HK staying with meaning. Members from different nations, coming together at the centre, have a chance to enhance their social network, leading to cultural exchange and knowledge sharing.
I asked “Where do humans come from?” Stephen replied, “They come from bacteria!” I followed up with, “Then where’s did the first bacteria comes from?” and he replied, “From carbon dioxide.” I continued, “Then where’s the first carbon dioxide comes from? …” Vision First is not only a center providing tangible services and a support network, but also a library of knowledge. Here we have lessons almost everyday, most of them are not basic, but advanced courses. Most of our members are well-educated and I have been learning from them. The conversation above is the start of a discussion about the source of life and it soon shifted from biology to philosophy. It gave me a huge inspiration, namely, that social service should break through its traditional barrier. It is more than a mere give-take relationship – volunteers, workers and the organization itself can benefit from this large pool of talents, that initially came for assistance. Contrary to how other NGOs, or even the government perceives them, this group of asylum seekers and refugees is indeed a pool of talent. Considering humanity and morality, their loss is a great loss for both parties, both HK and refugees. It is regrettable how they must live in miserable, sub-divided rooms, with unaffordable rents, barred from employment, wasting their good talents and even labeled “fortune seekers.” As Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
Recently I have been planning a football training program for the Vision First Team. I can see their passion even when they play recreationally among themselves – they treat it like a competition and will not give up ball control until they score. Football is an international language and, may I say, more international than English. I am a person who does not easily share his feelings, nor have I deeply investigated their traumatic past, however, football has already allowed friendship to grow between me and these Somali players. Speaking of men, although most of refugees are male (female refugees are more vulnerable in physical and biological terms), I believe men are more stereotyped by society, which is cross-cultural. They are expected to be strong and not express their emotions, which could be interpreted as weakness or uselessness. Therefore, men are more likely to refrain from voicing their emotional and psychological needs, which diminishes their chances to get help. This observation motivated me to launch a “Male Support Group” for our members, to give them strength to move on during this forced, long and hard stay in Hong Kong.
I can develop and achieve things I never did before, thanks to Vision First’s working environment and its open attitude towards new ideas. For me, Vision First is more than just a services centre, it is a global village, an international hub, a library of knowledge and culture, and a perfect place to learn and to put into practice what you learn. Thank you very much – Kashu
UNHCR global recognition rate = 83%
Jun 27th, 2012 | Media, Refugee Community | Comment
Refugee status applications to UNHCR offices worldwide declined to 96,800 in 2010, after topping 114,000 in 2009. The decline roughly followed a global trend, with applications to government-run RSD systems also dropping in 2010. UNHCR accounted for around 11 percent of all RSD applications worldwide, down from 13 percent in 2009. But UNHCR continues to be one of the two largest RSD decision-makers.
The largest RSD decision-maker continues to be the government of South Africa, which received 180,637 asylum applicants. The United States had the next largest government RSD system with an estimated 54,300 applicants, far less than UNHCR.
The recognition rate in UNHCR RSD remained high at around 83 percent, compared to less than 35 percent for government-run RSD. UNHCR’s global recognition rate has remained consistently over 75 percent each year since 2005. Every UNHCR office that decided 1000 or more cases in 2010 posted a recognition rate of at least 57 percent. UNHCR offices reached decision in only 57,832 new applications, and faced a global RSD backlog of more than 116,000 cases at year’s end.
“The importance of these procedures cannot be overemphasized.
A wrong decision might cost the person’s life or liberty.”
UNHCR training manual
Happy Birthday Vision First!
Jun 26th, 2012 | VF updates, programs, events | Comment
Hundreds of hot dinners, countless educational classes and access to excellent medical and dental services, these are just a few of the vital services that help Vision First transform the lives of refugee in Hong Kong. For three years, volunteers at Vision First have been supporting and empowering refugees and today we joyfully celebrate our 3rd anniversary!
The Vision First Team wishes to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt … Thank you … to everyone who stood behind us!
With the support and passion of the community, we are able to provide many essential services, such as food, shelter and health- care, among many others. Thank you for providing the opportunity, resources and power to support our members. In the last three years, with your dedication and passion, Vision First has developed from a hopeful idea into a major contributor to the refugee community. Finally, we offer a very special Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who gave their time, expertise and LOVE – you are the fuel that flames our fire !!!
Danielle,
Centre Manager
Refugees in Hong Kong deserve better treatment
Jun 21st, 2012 | Media, Refugee Community | Comment
South China Morning Post – 21 June 2012
In her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo last Saturday, Aung San Suu Kyi imagined a world without refugees and said, “Ultimately our aim should be to create a world free from the displaced, the homeless and the hopeless, a world of which each and every corner is a true sanctuary where the inhabitants will have the freedom and the capacity to live in peace.” She said each and every one of us was capable of making a contribution towards such peace.
The reality is that the world is far adrift from this vision. In 2010 alone, there were 42 million displaced people in the world and 15 million of those sought protection outside their own countries. Hong Kong has an estimated total of just 6,000 asylum seekers and refugees, or less than 0.1 per cent of the population, coming mostly from African and South Asian countries where there is severe political disruption and unrest. You might think then that the city’s contribution towards making this corner of the world “a true sanctuary” for the refugees we already have would be comparatively painless. But far from it.
In fact, refugees are very unwelcome guests and Hong Kong is definitely not a sanctuary. This is starkly illustrated by the case of four long-term refugees whose bona fide status has been well established by the UNHCR and who cannot be resettled elsewhere for various reasons. As a result of government policy not to accept refugees and also to make life difficult for those who are here, they face the prospect of living in the city for the rest of their lives as refugees, not residents. That means they have to sign a permit every few months to remain; have no right to work; live under the threat of deportation; are unable to travel freely to and from Hong Kong; have no right to education for them or their families; no right to health care or welfare; and are only provided with subsistence-level rent allowance and food allocation. This is a miserable and miserly existence.
Despite government concessions to allow easing of some restrictions, they have not been removed. Some might say it is better than being sent back to face persecution or torture in their home countries, but is this really refuge and protection, or just another form of punishment? It is a passive and grudging acceptance at best and downright hostility at worst. The government will argue that it also has the discretion to review particular cases and circumstances to ensure there is no undue hardship and ease suffering where it is proven. While this might seem like a reasonable safety mechanism, remember that it is at the sole discretion of the Director of Immigration who has a much more important stated policy of discouraging asylum seekers from coming to Hong Kong. Doesn’t this sound like a conflict of interest?
Hong Kong has built a very successful, civilised society in less than 70 years from what was largely a poor, marginalised and displaced group. Our heritage is a refugee population. Yet now we seem to lack compassion for other races. We should remember with gratitude our heritage and the help we received by showing compassion to asylum seekers and refugees. We have the chance to make a contribution, however small, to Suu Kyi’s vision and show we are a caring society, whatever government policy might be.
Tony Read is a pastor and justice advocate for The Vine Church in Wan Chai, which has been assisting asylum seekers and refugees for more than seven years
HK a ‘hard place’ for asylum seekers
Jun 20th, 2012 | Media, Refugee Community | Comment
South China Morning Post – Simpson Cheung writes, Jun 20, 2012
The recognition rate of asylum seekers in Hong Kong is unacceptably low compared to Western countries, a local aid group said ahead of World Refugee Day today. The local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it recognised about 10 per cent of asylum seekers as refugees last year, without giving an exact figure. There were 149 recognised refugees in Hong Kong, and a further 638 awaiting the results of their applications as of last month.
However, Cosmo Beatson, the co-ordinator of Vision First, a local volunteer organisation that provides humanitarian services to UNHCR asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong, said the recognition figure was closer to 3%, and his group had pushed the Hong Kong government to sign the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. It would accord refugees in the city rights similar to those of residents while they await resettlement or local integration.
According to the UNHCR, asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong have access to government-provided humanitarian assistance including basic accommodation, food, clothing and toiletries, as well as reimbursement of petty cash for travelling expenses. In addition, the UNHCR provides HK$300 a month to each. However, even recognised refugees in Hong Kong are not allowed to work and must rely on charity for many of their needs. Only refugee children under 18 can receive education, at the government’s discretion.
“The figure is about 3% and actually tells us that the system is not doing its job,” Beatson said. “The recognition rate is extremely low, to the point that it is almost a joke.” According to recent official figures, the recognition rates for refugees in Britain and Australia, where the ethnic mix of asylum seekers was similar to that of Hong Kong, were 35 per cent and 38.3 per cent. Asylum seekers in Hong Kong face a long screening process with the UNHCR or Immigration Department, which has only accepted one torture claimant since 2008. If accepted as refugees, they must resettle elsewhere, as the city has no legal obligation to grant them residency.
Beatson said that while it was true some applicants lied to authorities to buy time in Hong Kong for economic reasons, the system also screened out genuine applicants who faced torture or even death back in their home countries. Beatson suggested that Hong Kong follow the UK and most European countries and allow asylum seekers to work if their applications are pending for more than six months. A government spokesman said extending the refugee convention to the city could subject it to abuse, given Hong Kong’s developed economy and liberal visa regime.
