Even though Hong Kong is a small and crowded place with limited resources to take care of refugees and asylum seekers, they should not be mistreated in the city. They receive a minimal monthly assistance with which nobody could survive in this expensive city. They have been denied the right to work, to study and even to volunteer. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR). It is a city of China but stayed under British administration for hundred years (1897 - 1997) and handed over to China twenty years ago. Because of being a small city (2,754 km2) with a very high population density (7.393 million), Hong Kong government talk about their struggle to accommodate people coming into the city. Therefore, the city became a terrible place …show more content…
They are given a monthly assistance for accommodation, food and transportation allowance. For each month, they receive a food card containing 1,200hkd (not cash) to be used to shop food in a designated supermarket. It means refugees receive 40hkd (around 5.1 USD) for meal per day. They also receive a housing assistance of 1,500hkd together with 300hkd for water and electricity bill, but not in cash. The money is paid to the house owner or the agency directly as refugees in Hong Kong are not allowed to receive cash. They also get also get travel allowance of between 200hkd to 350hkd depending on the living address of the refugee. With all this put together, we can see that refugees and asylum seekers can get at most 3,350hkd (around 430 USD) per month from the government as assistance to live in one of the expensive city in the world. In Hong Kong, a subdivided flat of 100 - 150 square feet cost at least 3,500hkd. It's impossible to survive in Hong Kong with this minimal help from the government but, this is what refugees and asylum seekers have to manage and struggle with for all the years they will stay in Hong Kong. But if it cost too much to assist the refugees and asylum seekers as the processing time of the cases is too long, wouldn't it be better the government allow them to work (even if restricted to some fields of …show more content…
For as many years refugees can be stocked in Hong Kong, they can only be fed and sleep and do nothing else. One of my asylum seeker friends one day told me he felt like being a pet. He was an engineer back in his home country, but now in Hong Kong as a refugee, he can only eat, sleep and keep waiting for years. This way, thousands of refugees and asylum seekers are being wasted and left in destitute. It’s so heartbreaking to see years pass and as a human, we cannot be productive or at least contribute to the city we are living in even if it’s temporary. Volunteering is illegal in Hong Kong for the refugees and asylum seekers. The government thinks people will take paid employment and say they are volunteering. Everything is done in a way that people will be discouraged to seek asylum in Hong Kong. But the number of refugees and asylum seekers keep increasing, showing that the making refugees and asylum seekers suffer is not a good strategy as they keep coming to Hong
Under the traditional law, asylum was recognised as the right of the state to be conferred, in its discretion, and individual could only request for it and if granted enjoy it. Unfortunately, all the efforts to ensure right of asylum to every person fearing persecution have been forestalled by states. In the last few years U.S.A, Australia, Germany, France and other European countries to name a few, are increasingly putting into practice restrictive asylum policies in order to deter and to prevent asylum-seekers from seeking refuge in their territory.
The treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia is unacceptable and with mandatory detention it makes matters even worse. The treatment that families and children go through is a monstrosity. All of the reasons that have been listed is why ‘If I could change one thing about Australia’ it would be changing the way refugees are treated here and making them feel safe in Australia by connecting them to the
The Office of Refugee Resettlement has about 1.56 billion dollars to spend on people, and even at that large number, it is still exceeded over time (Phillips). It often takes months for a disabled veteran to see a doctor or receive the treatment that they need. When a refugee touches American soil, they are immediately looked over by a doctor and shortly after that they are given the treatment that those doctors decide are necessary. For example, Syrian refugees are given homes, hot meals, money, and they are also being treated for things like illness, broken bones, open wounds, and even depression. An article regarding the resettlement process states, “Once they’re here, the federal government has an entire office dedicated to resettling them, making sure they get medical assistance and some spending money which is around $1000.
People who flee from countries which are oppressing them, escaping for their lives. Australia’s inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and the mandatory detention policy means that asylum seekers are locked in a detention centre until they are processed, which can take years. In recent events, Australia’s asylum seeker policies have been heavily criticised
Every refugee was once an asylum seeker, people seem to think that they are the same types of people where as an asylum seeker is someone who was forced to flee from his or her country – like refugees – and are trying to seek protection, but whose case for a refugee status has not yet been evaluated. Another difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee is if a refugee is seen or found by a person of the Australian Government, that government member cannot force them to go back to their country. But if an asylum seeker was caught a government member could send them back to their country, as they do not have the official paperwork to be an Australian
This analysis looks at refugees and the social justice issue of Australia’s discriminatory treatment of refugees traveling to Australia seeking asylum. Australia’s current treatment of Asylum seekers includes taking them from an already extremely stressful environment and detaining them in remote detention facilities where they have limited interaction with family and friends. In some instances, this includes children and young people. The University western Sydney (2016)
In Australia, refugees and asylum seekers are treated like the enemy in a war: the target of a highly resourced, military-led “deterrence” strategy complete with arbitrary detainment, detention camps, guards to terrorise them, forced deportations and the violent suppression of those who protest. Australia is failing to meet the standards required when regarding the treatment of asylum seekers. It is fact that asylum seekers make up less than 3% of Australia’s annual immigration yet the idea is being distorted to that of which they will overpopulate a country that prides itself on being a multicultural society. I want to shed light on the misconception that asylum seekers are not ‘legal’ when in actual fact it is a human right to seek freedom.
Families entering the refuge countries suffer from displacement and separation, grief and mental agony, gross violence in their countries of origin and are needy, helpless and vulnerable who need to be taken care of. Australia for example has ratified numerous
To. Mrs. Hopkins, Recently, I have read your controversial and callous article ‘If Britain is prepared to provide an all-inclusive resort service for asylum seekers, the least they can do is wear a bloody wristband.’ From a student with a family member who has experienced being a refugee, I know that the issues regarding asylum seekers and refugees are critical in the modern society. Therefore, I feel that your article, mostly oversimplified and prejudiced, could mislead lots of readers to have undesirable views on those people who are in need.
So, how should be the perfect refugee camp? _______ When for the first time in the human history, the population in the cities has overcome the rural populations [1], we still have thousands of people being forced to do the opposite journey: refugees from urban areas forced to leave everything they have, for a variety of reasons: war, climate, politics and resettle somewhere else: urban areas (Kamel Doräi 2010), rural environments and the "luckiest" ones: in refugee camps.
The more powerless and vulnerable the individual, the more significant their ethical claim. Since each person, paying little respect to one's lawful status or geographic area, has a transcendent dignity that must dependably be regarded, individuals progressing ought to appreciate the full scope of human rights, and others have an obligation to see that they are regarded, secured and satisfied. "Refugees and asylum seekers are humans, and should enjoy the whole range of human rights. Unless there are compelling reasons to believe that refugees or asylum seekers represent a serious danger to the common good, they should not be interned. Furthermore they should have access to work and thus the opportunity to fulfil their duty to contribute to the common good” (Australians Human Rights Commission, 2014).
Some countries are open and actively working to promote well-being through charity and acts to achieve justice. In opposition some countries are not willing to take on the responsibilities of letting displaced people into their borders. After seeing the lifestyle displaced people face each day the film encouraged me to do what I can to spread awareness about the unsteady world refugees face. I know that I would have a difficult time living like a displaced person and I cannot begin to image the fear, sadness, and struggles each day brings. Although, as an individual I do not feel I can achieve much impact, I do believe that sharing the messages presented in the film will bring greater understanding to others and from there a stronger force can be achieved.
Leaders and governments around the world have labelled refugees as being a burden on their country either directly or indirectly. These leaders only see them as people who are trying to get into their country to escape the civil war, but fail to see that the refugees are also risking their lives in the process. At present, there are approximately 54.5 million refugees that are displaced, the largest refugee crisis the world has ever seen and they have nowhere to go. The question of doing the right thing and taking them in has been squashed due to various reasons and it appears to be that each country has adopted the ‘each man for himself’ policy by stating that it is their duty to only look after its citizens and no one else.
Volunteering is not an exclusively novel activity throughout the human history. During world war one, just in British there were 90,000 volunteers worked at home and abroad providing vital aid of caring for sick and wounded soldiers as recorded by British Red Cross. During wartime, no matter in which society there were people that spontaneously engaged in helping others in need. Volunteering does not only exist during the time of emergency or crisis, in fact it is always an indispensable resource for providing social service and improving our community.
We must all work together to address it. We are all humans, refugees are just the same as us and the most important thing we share is our hope for peace and equality. It’s not their fault, stop blaming them for a decision you would have taken in the same situation. Imagine your brother or sister leaving his/her home for some issues and coming to live with you for somedays. That’s the same with immigrants, therefor, it’s time to show them our humanity, solidarity, and