Keep running, never stop: Make his way from the refugee camp

(Photo from BarBlut Eugene Sein)

“You cannot get tertiary education.”

Growing up in a refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border, BarBlut Eugene Sein is very familiar with that frustrating sentence. An official said it when he was 15: he cannot go to university because people on the border have never been recognized as refugees by the Thail government. So he should give up any hope of doing so. However, those demoralizing hardly affected Sein. “I can shut it down in certain way”, he said, “It was something I did.”

For Hong Kong domestic helpers: No law to protect their religious faith

Indonesian domestic helpers are practicing Quran in Wan Chai Mosque on Sunday. (Photo by Benita Zhang)

Hiding praying from her employers for two years, Danipah can finally pray in the house without keeping secret. As a Muslim, she couldn’t practice her religion in Hong Kong so much as she did in her own country, otherwise she would have been fired.

Danipah, 32, has been working as an Indonesian domestic helper in Hong Kong for six years. She dared not to perform prayers within the first two years, because it’s in the contract that she cannot pray in her employer’s house. “It’s hard, it’s so hard,” Danipah said, “If I ask my mom, I don’t think she would allow me to do this.”

Hong Kong: While some struggle for food, some waste a lot

Zeng Zhaowang is begging for money outside Sham Shui Po railway station, Hong Kong. (Photo by Benita Zhang)

He stands with one leg and leans his body on the crutch. By doing this, he can empty his hands to hold a cup, asking for money from people passing by.

From 11a.m. to 12:30p.m., more than 12 hours a day, he is doing this from day to day. Standing for long hours makes his hands tremble uncontrollably and eyes almost begin to close.

Hong Kong police: Appear powerful, feel powerless

(Photo by Benita Zhang)

Umbrella Movement, like an emotional scar, deeply remains among the people in Hong Kong. The 79 days of the occupy have caused serious harm to the society and left an indelible hurt in people’s heart. Even though a year has passed, depression still persists in this city, not only among the protesters, but also among those appear strong and powerful during the entire process – the Hong Kong police.

On Sept. 28, 2014, when facing people who had gathered at the government complex demanding greater citizen input in elections than Beijing would allow, the Hong Kong police decided to use volleys of tear gas to disperse demonstrators, which irritated people and inspired thousands more to go to the streets and occupy the main streets in Hong Kong. The campaign became known as the Umbrella Revolution or Umbrella Movement as people used umbrellas to fend off police’s pepper spray as well as tear gas.