Innocent Mutanga only had a few books, some money and clothes when he fled from Zimbabwe to Hong Kong in 2013 to escape political persecution. He had chosen this destination mainly for its visa-free entry, and as he described it, it was “Jackie Chan’s place.”
Hong Kong was not an entirely foreign land to the Zimbabwean, who had watched many films set in the city before seeking refuge there. Upon arriving at the airport, however, Mutanga had no clear idea where to go next. The only place that came to mind was the historic police station in Yau Ma Tei, which he often saw in films about the local police force.
Mutanga had intended to tell immigration officials that he would be staying in a hotel in the Kowloon neighbourhood. Instead, an officer asked if he was heading to Chungking Mansions. This was the first time he had heard of the building complex in Tsim Sha Tsui – an ethnic enclave brimming with shops, restaurants, and cheap accommodation – where he ultimately spent his early days as an asylum-seeker.
After running out of money, Mutanga experienced a brief period of homelessness. At one point, he found himself sleeping in the kitchen of a guesthouse. He also helped paint another guesthouse in exchange for a roof over his head.
Determined to find a way to stay in the city, the then-22-year-old spent hours each day researching Hong Kong’s refugee system. After perusing pages of documents provided by the Security Bureau to the Legislative Council, he discovered a pathway that few asylum-seekers had pursued: applying to become a tertiary student.
“[Hong Kong] seems like my place. You have to constantly be moving and adapting, and adaptation is my strength,” Mutanga said in an interview with HKFP in September.
Hong Kong allows refugees and asylum-seekers to pursue higher education in the city. To apply to tertiary institutions as a non-local applicant, they must obtain either a letter of no objection from the Immigration Department or a student visa or entry permit from the department.
Between 2014 and 2020, a total of 49 letters of no objection were granted to asylum-seekers or refugees, according to an access to information request dated November 2020.
It took Mutanga nearly two and a half years to gather all the necessary documents, including his results from the local university entrance examination. In July 2019, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Earlier that year, Mutanga founded his own NGO – Africa Center Hong Kong – with the goal of “rebranding blackness” in Asia, fostering exchanges between different ethnic groups and promoting self-love within the African community.
Mutanga, now in his early 30s, told HKFP that one of the centre’s core values is dignity. He cited his past experiences with other NGOs, where he felt compelled to “play the victim.” Some organisations would distribute meals to refugees while inviting the public to watch them eat, which he found demeaning.
“They would look at us with all these pity faces… and when they were talking to us, they were very, very condescending,” Mutanga recalled.
To build a sense of dignity among refugees, Mutanga said his NGO focuses on educating the children of refugees about what he calls “learned helplessness.” He believes they should not see themselves as victims but rather learn to “look forward to life” and become “masters of their own destiny.”
Mutanga is now working at an investment bank and is eager to showcase the various career paths available for younger generations. The centre has organised talks featuring professionals such as nurses, firefighters, doctors, and pilots. Young refugees are also encouraged to take part in leadership programmes to further explore their potential.
Beyond these talks, Mutanga said the NGO does not shy away from difficult conversations about racism. Young refugees and ethnic minority children are encouraged to share and discuss their experiences in schools and public spaces, while the organisers provide guidance on how to respond to those situations.
In their efforts to “rebrand blackness,” the Africa Center founder and his team have been seeking to “bring African solutions to local issues.” Mutanga said Hong Kong needs more initiatives to “build community” to effectively address issues such as mental well-being, homelessness, and elderly care amid an aging population.
The key was to make people “feel seen,” he said.
“In Africa, community-building is what we know,” the Zimbabwean said.
Mutanga, who was granted permanent residency in Hong Kong last month, was listed on the 2024 Zubin Foundation Diversity List. The list released in June is a directory of people from ethnic minority communities who demonstrated talent and commitment to serve on government advisory and statutory bodies.
As a potential adviser for the government, Mutanga said the authorities have been too focused on integration of ethnic minority groups rather than empowerment. The danger of such an approach is that it could create “second-class citizens,” he said.
While encouraging ethnic minority groups to learn Cantonese was “not a bad thing,” this measure does not appear effective in addressing the problems of stagnant wages and high student drop-out rate in the ethnic minority community, Mutanga said.
Hong Kong Unison, an NGO that focuses on the equal rights and integration of ethnic minorities in the city, released a study in June that found the dropout rate for Nepalese students in Hong Kong was 7.1 per cent, compared with 0.4 per cent for the overall student population in the city.
The disparity was “alarming,” the NGO said at the time.
Mutanga said he would like to see more government resources allocated to empowerment, such as by identifying and cultivating the strengths of ethnic minority youth.
“You don’t integrate first. You empower first and then you integrate. Then you create equal citizens,” he said.
