香港法院拒絕給予難民工作權
Hong Kong's top court on Tuesday denied the city's refugees--some of who live in slum-like conditions--the right to work. disappointing activists who say the decision is likely to force more refugees into deeper poverty.
香港最高法院週二拒絕給予香港難民工作權。這一決定令活動人士感到失望，他們表示，此決定可能導致更多難民變得更加貧困；香港的一些難民生活在類似貧民窟的環境中。The financial capital's treatment of refugees has come under fierce criticism in recent years. Until a court ruling last year, Hong Kong refused to handle many asylum requests, effectively outsourcing them to the local office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which helped refugees find homes elsewhere. The city doesn't allow recognized refugees to permanently settle inside its borders, instead requiring them to seek homes overseas.
近年來，香港對待難民的方式受到猛烈抨擊。在去年法院作出相關判決之前，香港一直拒絕受理許多避難申請，實際上相當於把這些申請推給了駐香港的聯合國難民事務高級專員辦事處(U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees)。該辦事處幫助難民在其他地方尋找避難地。香港不允許被確定身份的難民在其境內永久定居，而是要求他們到境外尋找避難地。That process of resettlement can take a decade or more, and in the meantime, many refugees and asylum-seekers live in squalid shacks dotting the city's periphery. Hong Kong technically allows refugees to work, but they must first seek approval from the immigration department, which rarely grants it, lawyers say. If they work without permission, they risk jail time.
這一重新安置過程可能耗時10年或更長時間。與此同時，許多難民和尋求避難的人都住在分散於香港周邊的簡陋棚屋中。律師說，從技術上講，香港允許難民工作，但他們必須首先獲得入境事務處的批准，但後者准許難民工作的情況十分罕見。如果難民在沒有獲准的情況下工作，他們可能被監禁。
On Tuesday, Cosmo Beatson of refugee-advocacy group Vision First lambasted the court's decision, calling it 'massively disappointing.' Other developed nations, he notes, such as the U.S., grant refugees the right to work.
週二，難民權益維護組織Vision First的Cosmo Beatson嚴厲批評了法院的決定，稱該決定非常令人失望。他說，美國等其他發達國家都給予難民工作權。'The right to work is a fundamental right,' he said. 'The fact that we've had refugees who've been recognized 10 years ago and still can't work is absolutely outrageous.'
他說，工作權是基本的權利。香港有10年前就被確認身份的難民，但仍無法工作。這樣的情況讓人震驚。Advocates say allowing refugees to work would have a limited impact on society, given that there are currently only around 100 recognized claimants in the city.
維權人士說，鑑於目前香港只有大約100名被確認身份的難民提出工作申請，允許難民工作對社會的影響有限。In its ruling, Hong Kong's court unanimously dismissed the appeal of four applicants identified in the judgment by their initials. The applicants hail from Burundi, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and all resided in Hong Kong for around a decade without the ability to work.
香港法院一致裁定駁回四名申請人的上訴。這四人的名字在判決中以首字母的方式出現。這些申請人來自布隆迪、斯里蘭卡和巴基斯坦，且都是在沒有工作權的情況下在香港居住了大約10年。According to Daly & Associates, the law firm representing them, three of the four applicants are suffering from major depression or schizophrenia because of both the terrors they have suffered in the past and as a consequence of their uncertain status in Hong Kong.
代表這些申請人的律師事務所Daly & Associates說，四名申請人中有三人都出現嚴重的抑鬱和精神分裂，誘因包括他們過去受到的恐嚇以及他們在香港不確定的地位。'This is not a case about 'immigrants' taking 'our jobs,'' said the firm's Mark Daly. 'It is a case about basic human dignity.'
該律所的戴利(Mark Daly)說：這無關於移民搶走我們工作機會的問題，這是關於人的基本尊嚴的問題。Though three of the applicants can now work, Mr. Daly notes, they were given temporary permission, which expires this year, only after filing their latest appeal with the court.
戴利指出，雖然四名申請人中有三人目前可以工作，但他們只是在提出最新上訴後才獲得了臨時許可，而臨時許可將在今年到期。A spokesman for city's security bureau, meanwhile, said that it welcomed the court's judgment, adding that the government had 'been acting and will continue to act in accordance with the law in a fair and reasonable manner.'
與此同時，香港保安局發言人說，對法院判決表示歡迎，並補充說，政府一直在行動，並將繼續根據法律採取公平合理的行動。
