Support to Asylum Seekers Suffering Emotional Depression

KC shares his experience and and gives some advice to future HK immigrants to the UK

KC with his back to the camera, said that he had experienced emotional lows and was able to get out of trouble by constantly communicating with people. Lin Ni/The Epoch Times

After implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, some Hong Kong people who were not eligible for the BNO passports went to the UK to seek asylum. KC (pseudonym), who had worked in the social welfare sector, and was physically fit, was one of them. But he became emotionally unstable during the waiting period for his asylum application. His application has been dragging on for about a year now. He hopes eventually he will be granted the rights to work in the UK, and through such work he can then help more Hong Kong people in need.

In an interview with The Epoch Times, KC admitted that since the Umbrella Movement in 2014, he began to pay more attention to current affairs. In the anti-extradition movement in 2019, he moved from just one ordinary participant into a front-line role. At the later stage of the movement, he was arrested by the police at the scene of a protest.

Simple Ways to Reduce Emotional Instability

He was granted bail after arrest. He later decided to take the option of “refuse to be bailed” and went to the UK to apply for asylum when the pandemic in the UK and Hong Kong eased slightly. However, applying for asylum is not an easy move. Although basic living rights is temporarily guaranteed, if the application fails, the worst scenario is he will be deported to Hong Kong where he will be sentenced to serve some time in jail. It was all such emotional distress that at times he wanted to cut off all his connection with Hong Kong for a while.