Hong Kong's South Asian community feeling dismayed after a recent spate of crimes by economic migrants put a chill on the social climate, even for those with established roots in the community. Honey Tsang writes.

Fifteen days of torture at the hands of the Taliban was all Tariq Mehmood Raji could take. He ran away, determined to find peace and security, far from his home country, or die trying.

"I saw piles of chopped heads and limbs," the 35-year-old Pakistani said, recalling the horrors of his life 10 years ago. "Because I need a life, so I leave the country."

He recounted his story, while sitting in a restaurant in Yuen Long. His flight took him into Hong Kong where he trekked through forests and over mountains. Most of the time he was famished. He drank the water from muddy pits to survive. It came as a relief when he was arrested and taken to a police station. He recalled, he'd never felt so safe.

At a table nearby, to where he was telling his story to China Daily, when there was a momentary silence, some customers exchanged a racially derogatory slur.

The "refugee problem" has become a heated social issue, after a spate of crimes committed by refugee claimants in Yuen Long district.

Raji said things have changed, since he arrived here 10 years ago.

There is an air of borderline hostility, he said, not just toward refugee claimants but toward South Asians in general: Pakistanis, Indians and Nepalese.

Hong Kong, like many cities of Europe and the Americas, have been swept by a global tide of migrants, brought about by political upheavals. Some have shown humanitarian concern but others feel enmity toward refugees.

The blurred line

US presidential candidate Donald Trump fueled his election campaign on accusations that Mexican migrants were rapists and murderers. Criminal outrages committed by migrants in Europe set off a wave of right wing extremism by those opposed to migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

The burning question remains, who are legitimate refugees, and who are the opportunists, the "economic refugees". The Geneva Convention set a clear definition. Refugees are those who fear persecution in their homeland and are unable or unwilling to avail the protections of their country.

Yuen Long District Councilor Chow Wing-kan told China Daily that most South Asian offenders in Yuen Long are thought to be fraudulent refugee claimants, or "economic migrants".

Now, honest citizens from South Asia and legitimate refugee claimants can feel the coldness of their Chinese neighbors and even their fear. Even the small shop owners have seen their business falling off.

Video of two South Asian muggers attacking and robbing an owner who operated a vegetable stall in Yuen Long caused a local outrage in 2015, and the temperature of the community toward refugees rose sharply.

Kit Leung, 36, a Hong Kong resident living in Yuen Long for over 20 years, said he is afraid of being mugged. "Whenever I bump into them (South Asians), I tuck my phone into my pocket," he said.

Kabeer Hussain, a 36-year-old Pakistani, who is a Hong Kong permanent resident, said: "We are different from them (bogus asylum seekers). I see Hong Kong as our home. We respect the people of Hong Kong and don't wish to be judged by our skin color."

The crime outbreak has also brought increasing complaints to Yuen Long District Council from South Asian residents who feel branded and deeply wronged by the stigma, said Chow.

Those who suffer the most however, are the legitimate asylum seekers, who cannot easily be distinguished from the low life criminals who have come here to beat the system.

Economic migrants leave their homelands, to escape poverty, to look for better lives in more prosperous climes. They are not classified as refugees under the Geneva Convention.

The Office of the UN Commission for Human Rights, however has blurred the lines, declaring in its 2011 Handbook on Procedures: "Behind economic measures affecting a person's livelihood there may be racial, religious or political aims or intentions directed against a particular group."

Tough on frauds

Hong Kong's unified screening mechanism for asylum seekers, ratified by the Legislative Council in March 2014 commits the SAR to protect refugee claimants from deportation to countries where their lives may be in jeopardy. The screening may take months, or even longer, and it has become subjected to abuse.

In late 2015, the Immigration Department recorded a sharp jump in economic migrants from India who embraced non-refoulement provisions of the ordinance to claim their right to remain in Hong Kong. It is suspected that for many of these claims, agencies in India were conspiring with Hong Kong law firms, to rig the asylum system to open the door for migrants to work illegally in Hong Kong.

The UK is experiencing a similar issue. Conservative politician William Jefferson Hague has argued that the nation should be a safe haven for the genuine refugees, but never a soft touch for bogus claimants.

Hague contends that those who commit fraud based on spurious claims for asylum, should be required to leave the country on short notice.

The number of non-refoulement claimants in Hong Kong increased from 6,699 in 2014, up 67 percent to 11,201 by the end of March in 2016, the government reports.

"Most of us (asylum seekers) are good people, while just only a few are bad," said Raji, the former refugee, now chairman of the Hong Kong Society for Asylum-Seekers and Refugees.

To ensure genuine asylum seekers are not elbowed out, and to mitigate prejudice against ethnic minorities, respectful communication and understanding between asylum seekers and locals could help solve the problem, suggests Chairman of Health in Action Fan Ning, who established a health program for asylum seekers.

That will be of small help however, as long as a small minority of economic migrants are committing high-profile crimes.

In 2016, Yuen Long is the second most heavily burdened by ethnic minority crimes, among all Hong Kong districts, after Yau Tsim Mong.

Low-rent container houses in Yuen Long have proven a magnet for bogus claimants, and have turned into a breeding ground for the recent surge in the crimes committed by economic migrants. Yuen Long District Councilor Chow suggested that the crimes might be curbed by deploying more auxiliary police and installing extra surveillance cameras in key points.

For most no-fooling asylum seekers, only a few are eager to put down roots in Hong Kong, adds Fan. Most hope to be relocated to Europe or North America.

This is true for Raji. As he finished his meal, he said he had received some good news, after fleeing his homeland in terror, and waiting for 10 years. He has been approved for immigration to Canada.

"Could you imagine I can finally get on a plane after 10 years here," Raji suddenly seemed excited.

Contact the writer at honeytsang@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 05/24/2016 page8)