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SCMP Reporter

Despite the noise of the conversations going on among fellow diners in the fast-food shop in Mongkok, Lee kin-wah rattles on, hardly paying attention to what is being said around him.

 For the past two years the tall and forthright pastor has been preoccupied with a special needs group - new immigrants from China constantly increasing in number, albeit not necessarily to much of a welcome here.

  Mr Lee's work today is no longer confined to spreading the word of God. He spends his time working for the inter-denominational Mission to New Arrivals which he founded in late 1997. It has contributed to the boom in services for new immigrants - especially those arriving for family reunions - whose numbers increased after the Government expanded the daily quota from 105 to 150 in July, 1995.

 It has also put him in a position to understand what mainlanders need to be able to cope with life in Hong Kong and where the Government's policy falls down.

 Yet not even a man as close to the subject as Mr Lee expected the prospect of a mass influx that resulted from the Court of Final Appeal ruling in January, nor the lingering right of abode controversy.

 Rather than dampening his enthusiasm, the public outcry convinced him of both the urgency and value of his work.

 The widespread discontent also reinforces his belief that new immigrants have always been a neglected and misunderstood group. Public attitudes do not seem to have changed much over the years and the Government still lacks a policy catering specifically for low-income families. Neither are adequate resources being pumped in to help the newcomers integrate, he says.

 Often the migrants cannot speak Cantonese nor do they have marketable skills. A key goal of Mr Lee's group is to set up ties among churches, schools and social service organisations in various districts so referral services become possible for needy families or individuals. This has been achieved in 11 districts so far.

 'There needs to be a favourable environment for the new arrivals to integrate into our society,' said Mr Lee, who worked among working-class residents in squatter areas in the 1980s. 'But what we have seen so far is Hong Kong people have become more self-protective, opposed to outsiders. They discriminate against the new immigrants, vent their frustrations and anger on them, and attach labels to them.

 'Some people think new immigrants will add to the number of people applying for public housing and further lengthen the time it takes for such housing to be made available for each family, and that they are dependent on comprehensive social security assistance. But new immigrants only make up 10 per cent of the CSSA recipients. The Government should make public more relevant statistics and information so people can judge fairly what impact the new arrivals would have on our society.'  A man of faith, he has much confidence in the vast pool of resources that can be tapped from local churches. When he decided to act, he felt keenly about the weak social support available to new immigrants.

 Not just money poured in from churches around Hong Kong, but individual church members too responded to his call for volunteers to help new immigrant families, by either providing tuition for their children, making home visits or running parent support groups.

 In Yau Tsim Mong, the Mission for New Arrivals has arranged for volunteers from nearby churches to provide free tuition and other activities for new immigrant children attending several primary schools there. A hefty donation from a charitable fund will allow the group to move into a bigger, urban office from its present premises in an industrial building in Tai Wai later this year.

 Mr Lee talks of the growth of concerned groups for new immigrants in some districts. 'We want to create an atmosphere of harmony in the community,' he says. In co-operation with district government offices and welfare organisations, his group has staged carnivals to let more new immigrants feel at home and know more about their neighbourhood.

 Most migrants are spread across older districts such as Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong, Kowloon City, Shum Shui Po and Hong Kong Island East, but a common problem with them, social workers say, is often they don't know where to get help. They may also lead confined lives, keeping their problems to themselves.

 Over the past two years, both the Social Welfare Department and scores of voluntary welfare agencies have deployed outreach teams to track these people down to alert them to the services available in their area.

 A common and most direct method used is called 'block cleansing', with welfare workers knocking on the door of each household in buildings in the old areas to identify the newcomers. However, this has its limitations. It is both labour intensive and may be seen by some residents as intrusive.

 A networking system between various social service organisations can allow for better awareness of problems faced by struggling families or individuals. Now with 12 staff including two professionally trained social workers, Mr Lee's group also provides basic supplies for the families.

 Inside the former British Military Hospital is a warehouse stocked with a wide assortment of donated goods - from toys to furniture and household appliances including rice cookers. They occupy two rooms put aside in the spacious headquarters and warehouse of Crossroads International, a local charity that redistributes relief goods to the needy mainly in Hong Kong and China.

 The Government has recently approved the grant of an 8,000-square-metre site at the former airport site in Kai Tak for Crossroads International and part of that space will be reserved for the Mission to New Arrivals warehouse that serves specifically cash-strapped new immigrant families.

  'There was an elderly man who had been separated from his wife for almost 30 years and living in a public housing flat for single person,' said Mr Lee. 'Most of the things in his flat were picked up from the street. When his wife arrived in Hong Kong, we provided almost all basic utensils and furniture for them. By doing so, we helped restore the man's dignity by helping him have a real home. Many new immigrant families do not have proper homes. Their living space is so limited that they have to sleep on the floor.'  A shortage of money is a problem faced by many families. A contributing factor is their strong desire to maintain their dignity by not seeking government assistance. 'They think they will be looked down upon should they be surviving on government handouts,' said Mr Lee. 'They don't want their children to lose face in front of their schoolmates, and so they'd rather stay poor.'  Many, though, should be able to climb out of the poverty trap if they are given help in finding jobs or child care support. Recently Mr Lee's group published a handbook, Bonded Together By Blood, listing the names and addresses of organisations providing services for new arrivals, together with stories of newcomers who have overcome initial hurdles to settling down here.

 Many social workers believe helping the new arrivals settle down here is not an insurmountable task. Senior project officer of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Christine Lee Wing-han, says: 'Often what they need are bridging services like Cantonese classes or information on ways of getting accreditation for their mainland qualifications.'  Mr Lee believes existing services for new immigrants may not be urgently needed for a long period of time. 'What we are doing is like emergency relief work. We have developed our services rather quickly because the need for help is huge. But in five to 10 years time, the situation may be changed. With continual economic development in China, there may be more Hong Kong people going to live in China than mainlanders joining their families here.'  And when that happens, Mr Lee will be ready to move on to a bigger, even more challenging role. But again, it will be one he feels a strong sense of mission for. 'I will take up a global mission,' he says firmly. 'One that has to do with an international concern.' 



The pastor with a mission