H
ong Kong parents
are constantly busy
with work and other
commitments – getting
their kids into the right school and
ensuring they’re enrolled in a myriad
of activities, chief among them. But
what about children whose parents
can’t work and pay school fees, even
if they desperately want to provide for
their family?
In Hong Kong, the children of
refugees and asylum seekers may
enrol in local schools, but since
their parents are forbidden to work,
education is a financial burden. And
whilst their claims are slowly dealt
with, refugees are forced to live in
limbo.
Facts and figures
It’s worth knowing a few facts and
definitions. A refugee is someone
outside of his or her country who
has a real and confirmed fear of
persecution due to race, religion,
nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political
opinion. They cannot return home
without risk to their human rights,
including torture or death. An asylum
seeker is someone who has left their
country and applied for recognition as
a refugee in another, but whose claim
has not been addressed yet.
After World War II, the United
Nations Refugee Agency was
established to assist Europeans
displaced by the conflict. The
1951 Refugee Convention (and its
1967 Protocol) has been widely
ratified by states around the world.
Although China is a signatory to
this Convention, Hong Kong is not
bound by it. As Hong Kong has no
domestic legislation to determine the
fate of asylum seekers, the United
Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible.
Unfortunately, due to the UNHCR’s
capacity constraints, asylum seekers
frequently have to wait years for their
status to be determined.
Julee Allen, manager of the
charity Christian Action Chungking
Mansions Service Centre (CA-
Hong Kong’s refugees and asylum seekers
face a daily financial and emotional struggle,
writes
Gillian Johnston.
limbo
Living in
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