• 11/11/2024

Safe but solitary: The man who helped Hong Kong’s asylum-seekers connect with each other and the community

Hong Kong Free Press

Hemyar Saad interview

Hemyar Saad knew no-one in Hong Kong – nor did he speak English or Cantonese – when his family fled unrest in the Middle East and took him to the city in 2014.

Hemyar Saad, who came to Hong Kong when his family fled unrest in the Middle East in 2014, talked to HKFP about his decade-long commitment to building community for asylum seekers in the city. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Hemyar Saad, who came to Hong Kong when his family fled unrest in the Middle East in 2014, talked to HKFP about his decade-long commitment to building community for asylum seekers in the city. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

“The first priority for me was to be safe,” said Saad, now 25, who has worked as a business analyst. “The second thing… I wanted to resume my life. I wanted to adapt to a new society.”

Saad is among the handful of successful applicants who have had their claims for “non-refoulement” – the right not to be deported to a home country because of the threat of persecution – substantiated by authorities. He has recently relocated to Canada but declined to specify the country he left in 2014.

See also: Hong Kong asylum seekers face bureaucratic maze and deportation under tightened policy

Hong Kong does not grant asylum-seekers refugee status, but many displaced by conflicts and threats to their safety in the country they were born in see the city as a stepping stone to relocation elsewhere, partly because it is easy to get a visa to visit.

The relocation process, however, can take more than a decade. Saad waited nearly 10 years, but said he had heard many stories of people spending 15 to 20 years in the city as asylum- seekers.

A man looks at the city view of Hong Kong on the observation deck in International Commerce Centre. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
A man looks at the city view of Hong Kong on the observation deck in International Commerce Centre. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

The prospects of eventual success are slim – only 1.2 per cent of some 23,600 applicants have had their non-refoulement claims substantiated since a screening mechanism was introduced in 2014, according to official figures.

Official data showed about 15,200 non-refoulement claimants remained in Hong Kong as of December, with some awaiting the results of appeals to an independent appeal board or a court. Among them, about 8,700 were held in the city’s two immigration detention facilities.

Asylum-seekers struggle to secure access to employment and education, with most living off a monthly government allowance of around HK$3,300. They are not normally allowed to work regardless of the outcome of their non-refoulement claim, but the Director of Immigration can approve employment on a discretionary basis. Data in 2020 showed about 200 approvals.

Saad said such problems need long-term attention. But everyday life for asylum-seekers can be improved if they are connected to others in a similar situation.

People cross the street in Central, Hong Kong, on February 13, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
People cross the street in Central, Hong Kong, on February 13, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

“As a new arrival, you are not connected to the community… to the people who may help, who may give you a direction,” he said. Over the past decade, Saad dedicated himself to building such a link.

“I would help the new arrivals not to face what I had,” he said.

Before departing for Canada, Saad met HKFP to talk about his efforts to connect asylum-seekers with their predecessors and with other ethnic minority communities in the city.

Language

Saad was able to enrol in a public school when he arrived aged 15.

Currently, asylum-seekers aged under 18 – whether they fled to Hong Kong with their parents or were born locally – are entitled to attend government school. Those over 18 must pay for education, which most cannot afford.

Hemyar Saad speaks with HKFP near the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, a spot where he first had a glimpse of the city view of Hong Kong. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Hemyar Saad speaks with HKFP near the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, a spot where he first had a glimpse of the city view of Hong Kong. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

But coming from an Arabic-speaking background, Saad was unable to speak the city’s mainstream languages and his school enrolled him in a six-month intensive English course. Thanks to this and his own hard work, he could communicate in simple English afterwards.

But the first year was still tough: “I didn’t know anybody… and even if I got to know someone, I couldn’t communicate because my English wasn’t good.”

The language barrier poses a great challenge to asylum-seekers, Saad said, cutting them off from useful information and resources.

“[When] an asylum-seeker or refugee comes here, he doesn’t know how to communicate. Or he doesn’t know [where] to go or who can bridge a way to, for example, the immigration [department] and the church.”

That was his experience of early days in Hong Kong, which has a relatively small Arab community.

Connections

Saad soon realised that while the city’s asylum-seekers were separated from each other, they might possess knowledge or resources that others needed.

“When I came here, I found out many [asylum-seeker] students had already been here for 10 years. Then there was an adult community which didn’t have any access to education.”

“I make the connection. I bring the young refugees and asylum-seekers who are already studying at schools, and they bring others together and we teach English.”

Hemyar Saad said asylum seekers come to Hong Kong for safety, but soon fall into solitude because of language barriers and a disconnect with their own ethnic communities. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Hemyar Saad said asylum seekers come to Hong Kong for safety, but soon fall into solitude because of language barriers and a disconnect with their own ethnic communities. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

At age 17, he and four others co-founded an NGO called Learning Together. At weekends, they volunteered to teach English to fellow asylum-seekers.

Many were adult women, who had less access to education in their home countries and mostly stayed at home while their husbands were out trying to make ends meet. His group also served young refugees by giving them IT classes.

The project gradually expanded to ethnic minority communities – including Nepali, Pakistani, and Indian groups – already living in Hong Kong.

Saad said the integration of asylum-seekers into existing ethnic minority communities could increase their chances of securing resettlement abroad or acquiring residency rights in the city.

A rally held by Hong Kong's ethnic minority communities against racism on July 1, 2018. File photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP.
A rally held by Hong Kong’s ethnic minority communities against racism on July 1, 2018. File photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP.

“Ethnic minorities likely come from the same places [as asylum-seekers]… let’s say you’ve been here for many years, and you get with working in Canada… So if you get a good relationship with [a refugee], you may have him to go to Canada for resettlement,” he said.

“Sometimes maybe a refugee can marry someone from the existing community… and get a Hong Kong ID,” he added.

Self-empowerment

The project has also had a transformative effect on Saad himself, opening up new opportunities and giving him a sense of satisfaction. One of the NGO’s co-founders introduced him to the city’s social justice community in 2018 after hearing about his interest in promoting racial equity. Saad then obtained a fellowship offered by the Resolve Foundation, an NGO advocating inclusiveness and diversity.

He also received financial support from Resolve to set up a programme that funded young asylum-seekers seeking higher education, allowing them in turn to serve and teach others in the community.

Hemyar Saad has recently relocated to Canada after almost 10 years living in Hong Kong, hoping to continue his social work on rectifying the system challenges faced by the city's asylum seekers community. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Hemyar Saad has recently relocated to Canada after almost 10 years living in Hong Kong, hoping to continue his social work on rectifying the system challenges faced by the city’s asylum seekers community. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Interviewed in early March, Saad was excited about his imminent departure for Canada and keen to continue his social work there.

“Through these 10 years, I lived a lot, and I believe it’s [rewarding],” he said. “I know how people in this community face difficulties in their lives, and it’s given me a sense of how I can support them in the future.”

“Because I tasted it, I know how it feels.”

Support HKFP  |  Policies & Ethics  |  Error/typo?  |  Contact Us  |  Newsletter  | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

TRUST PROJECT HKFP
SOPA HKFP
IPI HKFP

Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

contribute to hkfp methods

Original reporting on HKFP is backed by our monthly contributors.

Almost 1,000 HKFP Patrons made this coverage possible. Each contributes an average of HK$200/month to support our award-winning original reporting, keeping the city’s only independent English-language outlet free-to-access for all. Three reasons to join us:

  1. 🔎 Transparent & efficient: As a non-profit, we are externally audited each year, publishing our income/outgoings annually, as the city’s most transparent news outlet.
  2. 🔒 Accurate & accountable: Our reporting is governed by a strict Ethics Code. We are 100% independent, and not answerable to any tycoon, mainland owners or shareholders. Check out our latest Annual Report, and help support press freedom.
  3. 💰 It’s fast, secure & easy: We accept most payment methods – cancel anytime, and receive a free tote bag and pen if you contribute HK$150/month or more.

Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.

https://hongkongfp.com/2024/03/24/safe-but-solitary-the-man-who-helped-hong-kongs-asylum-seekers-connect-with-each-other-and-the-community/