HONG KONG (AFP) ― Hong Kong may be one of Asia’s wealthiest banking and luxury hubs, but the picture is very different for hundreds of asylum seekers forced into slum-like conditions as they scrape a living in the city, say campaigners.
Those fleeing persecution and torture in their homelands are attracted to Hong Kong’s rule of law and visa-free entry for many nations, but can languish for years in a system mired in ambiguity. Many are forced to work illegally to make ends meet, rights groups say.
The Ping Che region of the territory near the border with mainland China is home to a sprawl of makeshift huts made of corrugated iron plates and brick that house more than 100 people seeking protection.
In one unit, a small communal toilet is shared between 10 residents and runs into an open sewer. Some of these flimsy shacks house up to a dozen people, in stark contrast to the multi-million dollar luxury apartments to be found elsewhere in the city.
One asylum seeker from Bangladesh who identified himself as Ali was smuggled into Hong Kong through mainland China four years ago.
“We are refugees, not beggars or criminals,” Ali told AFP, saying only that he left Bangladesh because of “some political problems, because of political pressure.”
Hundreds of refugees live in dozens of compounds “in different states of disrepair and illegality” across the city’s rural New Territories district, said Cosmo Beatson, director of VisionFirst, an organization providing support to asylum seekers.
“We find, visiting these compounds that it’s quite inhuman, often illegal and a situation that is just not right for Hong Kong,” he said.
Qualifying asylum seekers are given a rental allowance of HK$1,200 ($154) paid directly to their landlords. But the cheapest sub-divided rooms cost around HK$2,000, say campaigners, forcing them into the squalid conditions found at Ping Che where they can avoid paying rental deposits.
“You are forcing (asylum seekers into the underground working environment, where they have to interface with the underground economy,” said Beatson.
Like many of his counterparts, Ali has resorted to working illegally to make ends meet ― which carries high risks.
Two asylum seekers face 15 months in prison after they were arrested for working illegally at a junk yard in May. Even voluntary work is banned.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
