The Distance Between Awareness and Understanding: AFR-SG on Refugees, Displacement, and Public Understanding in Singapore (World Refugee Day 2026)

Photo: Volunteers behind the inaugural Refugee Awareness Week in 2016

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Justin Park

For most people in Singapore, the issue of forced displacement seems distant . Singapore is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise refugees or asylum seekers under domestic law. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and its officials have consistently maintained that, as a small island state with "limited land" and a "high population density", Singapore is not in a position to receive people seeking refugee or asylum status. While

While Singapore supports the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through annual voluntary financial contributions and humanitarian efforts abroad, its official position has long been that refugee protection should be addressed through international humanitarian assistance and support mechanisms rather than through accepting refugees for local integration or long-term settlement in Singapore.

As a result, refugees occupy a curious place within public discourse in Singapore. They are frequently discussed in the context of international crises, humanitarian appeals, regional and global politics, yet rarely appear within the everyday social and political conversations that shape life on the island. For many residents, refugees and forced displacement issues remain through a feeling of geographic distance and social unawareness. 

When an issue rarely enters everyday conversation, understanding tends to be morphed by distance. For many people, refugees are encountered through news reports, international crises, or social media rather than through direct experience and empathy. As a result, conversations about displacement often begin with misconceptions largely due to ignorance, and can become problematic when there are strong opinions that could skew public perception. 

It is within this gap between visibility and understanding that Advocates For Refugees - Singapore (AFR-SG) situates its work. Founded in 2015, AFR-SG is a volunteer-led organisation dedicated to refugee awareness, public education, research, advocacy, and community engagement in Singapore. Through educational programmes, public campaigns, regional partnerships, and community outreach, the organisation seeks to foster a deeper understanding of forced displacement and Singapore's role within broader humanitarian conversations. Its work has been recognised by national civic institutions, including the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), which inducted AFR-SG into Bagus Together (previously Groundup Central) in 2021, reflecting the organisation's longstanding contribution to Singapore's civic landscape. 

In speaking with founder Mathilda Ho, one recurring theme emerged: the challenge is not simply encouraging sympathy for refugees, but creating the conditions for more informed, nuanced, and sustained conversations about forced displacement itself. 

1. AFR-SG operates at the intersection of awareness, research, and advocacy. Could you share how the organisation was first conceived, and how its mission has evolved in response to changing regional and global refugee dynamics? 

Advocates For Refugees - Singapore (AFR-SG) began with a mission to raise awareness of forced migration, in particular, focusing on the communities displaced from and within Southeast Asia.

A decade ago, public understanding in Singapore was largely shaped by mainstream media coverage of the Syrian civil war and the movement of refugees across the Mediterranean into Europe. Forced displacement in the region, however, received comparatively less attention.

Photo: At the Parliamentary for former MP Louis Ng’s Adjournment Motion on Refugees, February 2025

Over time, the AFR team realised that awareness and advocacy are closely linked. We figured that our brand of advocacy must be practical and evidence-based. Rather than focusing immediately on driving policy change, our initial goal was to foster dialogue with government stakeholders. With the support of former Member of Parliament Louis Ng, a strong advocate for various social causes including refugee issues, we worked with his legislative assistants to help frame parliamentary questions during his term from 2016 to 2025.

While governments primarily serve their citizens, we believe that as global citizens, there is also a responsibility to support and advocate for forcibly displaced people in Southeast Asia.

2. What are the most pressing challenges faced by refugees and displaced populations in the Southeast Asia region today? 

Global forced displacement has risen sharply over the past decade, roughly doubling from about 65 million people in 2015 to more than 120 million by the end of 2024, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This reflects increasingly complex and systemic challenges affecting refugees and displaced populations worldwide.

In Southeast Asia, protection mechanisms for refugees remain limited and uneven. Without a legally binding regional asylum system, most countries do not formally recognize refugees under domestic law.

As a result, many refugees and asylum seekers live with uncertain or insecure legal status. This often affects their access to basic rights and services, including freedom of movement, healthcare, education, and lawful employment. In practice, access to these services frequently depends on humanitarian assistance and individual government policies rather than guaranteed legal entitlement.

Because of this legal and administrative uncertainty, refugees and asylum seekers can face significant vulnerability in their daily lives. Some may be at risk of detention under immigration laws, and many experience fear of arrest or exploitation. There have also been reported cases in different contexts of abuse of power or informal payments in exchange for release, although experiences vary widely depending on country and circumstances.

At the same time, obtaining legal status can make a significant difference. It can improve access to services, reduce vulnerability, and allow individuals and families to rebuild their lives with greater stability and dignity.

3. In Singapore, refugee issues often feel distant or abstract. How would you describe the dominant public narratives around refugees here, and where do you see the most significant gaps or misconceptions? 

The most common public narrative is shaped by the government’s position that “Singapore cannot accept refugees because there is limited space.”

However, a New York Times article published on 20 April 2017 notes that Singapore’s land area has increased through reclamation by nearly a quarter —from about 224 to 277 square miles over its decades of independence (Subramanian). At the same time, Singapore continues to welcome Permanent Residents and new citizens each year, guided by criteria that emphasise the ability to contribute to society, integrate well, and demonstrate commitment to making Singapore their home. Space in

Singapore is reserved for those who are deserving.

Another commonly held but oversimplified narrative is that “refugees are dangerous and pose a threat to national security.”

During a 2017 parliamentary discussion on “Staying United Against the Terrorism Threat”, former MP Murali Pillai referenced a Pew Research survey reported in the UK Daily Express in 2016, noting that more than half of the respondents believed that “incoming migrants and refugees increased the likelihood of terrorism” (Parliament of Singapore).

There is so much more for us to unpack and understand. It is important to ask: How are perceptions of refugees as a threat formed? What shapes these fears? To what extent are they grounded in evidence?

Refugees flee war, conflict, and persecution. While they may carry trauma from these experiences, trauma does not inherently make individuals dangerous or predisposed to harm others.

4. Given Singapore’s unique political and geographic position, how do you interpret its role—both currently and potentially—in responding to refugee and forced migration issues in Southeast Asia? 

In the 1990s, ASEAN played a role in hosting Vietnamese boat people. However, as displacement from Myanmar has grown over the past decade – including that of the Rohingya, who were stripped of their citizenship under Myanmar’s 1982 law – ASEAN has held firm to its principle of non-interference, prioritising respect for the sovereignty of member states.

In a 2009 parliamentary exchange, then Member of Parliament and later President Halimah Yacob noted that former Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Balaji Sadasivan had described the Rohingya issue as “bad publicity for ASEAN.”

Since 2017, the government of Singapore has responded primarily through humanitarian assistance and relief efforts, often channelled via organisations such as the Singapore Red Cross. In parliamentary discussions, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan also referenced ASEAN’s principle of non-interference and the ASEAN Charter’s emphasis on consultations, particularly in relation to the situation in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Despite these efforts, the issue remained unresolved, and the attention has since shifted further following the military coup in Myanmar in 2021.

While Singapore can continue to expand humanitarian assistance for displaced populations, it may also be able to leverage its position as a neutral diplomatic platform to encourage dialogue among ASEAN member states on addressing the situation in Myanmar, similar to its role in facilitating the 2018 Trump-Kim Summit.

Individuals also play an important role in supporting refugees and displaced populations in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. In Singapore, public fundraising for foreign charitable causes is regulated under the 80–20 rule, which requires that most funds raised be used locally unless a waiver is granted for specific circumstances.

5. Singapore is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention. How does this legal position shape both the realities of refugees in the region and the influence in how the issue is understood locally? 

The 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol create a set of international norms in the aftermath of World War II, calling on United Nations Member States to commit to the protection of people displaced under specific circumstances, such as war, conflict, well-founded fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

When a country is not a signatory to the Convention and Protocol, there is no basis for protection or safety net for the population in question. As such, refugees are often seen as toeing the line of legality, simply based on the country in which they are seeking asylum.

For proud passport-holding Singaporeans, travel is relatively easy. However, this is not the case for refugees, especially stateless refugees like the Rohingya people, who often fall victim to smuggling and human trafficking in exchange for the hope of a better life.

From the perspective of an ordinary citizen, forced displacement affects groups of people due to political instability in their governments or other previously mentioned circumstances. Therefore, solving the issue requires addressing the root causes of displacement. This perspective can also lead to citizens feeling absolved of any responsibility.

However, as the root causes of displacement continue to fester, the impact of forced displacement is a lived reality for people and this is where it can get difficult for citizens to understand: “What does it have to do with me?”

Photo: Fireside Chat organised by AFR-SG in 2025, featuring Debbie (Transient Workers Count Too), Dr Hakim (Medical Doctor) and Yuan Siang (Co-Founder of Monolith) to reflect on their past/current experiences working with refugees.

6. To what extent do structural constraints—particularly in areas such as employment, education, and legal protection—shape the long-term trajectories and lived outcomes of refugees across Southeast Asia? 

The lack of a comprehensive legal framework that recognises and protects refugees has long-term implications. Many refugees experience prolonged or “protracted” displacement situations that may last for years or even decades. During this time, many live with uncertainty about their future, including whether they will be able to return home, integrate locally, or be resettled elsewhere.

For children in displacement, prolonged instability can disrupt access to education and limit opportunities to build skills for adulthood. When basic needs such as food, shelter, or healthcare are not fully met, some children may also be forced to leave school to work and help support their families.

While access to education for refugee children has improved in some host countries such as Malaysia, limited pathways to formal employment remain a major challenge. Many working-age refugees are able and willing to work but are excluded from formal labour markets due to their legal status. This represents a missed economic opportunity: enabling access to work could help meet labour demand in certain sectors, contribute to local economies, and support refugees in rebuilding stability and dignity.

Photo: AFR-SG conducted a pilot programme on Digital Inclusion & Literacy Pilot Programme with Myanmar Ethnic Women Refugee Organisation (MEWRO) in 2022, to deliver digital accessibility and relevant digital skills for refugee women in Malaysia.

7. In Singapore’s relatively constrained civic landscape, how does AFR-SG conceptualise and execute advocacy in ways that meaningfully shape public discourse while remaining both effective and responsible? 

The approach to refugee advocacy in Singapore requires curiosity and an effort to understand what drives certain sentiments. Some sentiments can be rationalised, while others are deeply rooted in the notion of nationalism and the idea of “Singaporeans first”.

In practice, policy change is unlikely to be driven by appeals to altruism alone—that caring for refugees is inherently the right thing to do. A more persuasive approach may be to highlight how displaced people, like our migrant forefathers, can bring skills, cultural diversity, and a strong motivation to rebuild their lives. Framed this way, refugees may be seen as individuals capable of contributing to society and integrating meaningfully, alongside permanent residents and new citizens who are committed to making Singapore their home.

With World Refugee Day 2026 (June 20th) coming up, this conversation is a reminder that displacement is not only a humanitarian issue that deserves a day of recognition, but also a question of public understanding. In Singapore, refugee issues often remain distant from civic discussions, making awareness difficult to build and easy to overlook. Yet as AFR-SG's work demonstrates, meaningful engagement begins not with certainty, but with a willingness to learn about experiences that sit beyond our immediate frame of reference or political atmosphere.

References

Balakrishnan, Vivian. “Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Singapore's Contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 7 February 2024.” Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore, 7 Feb. 2024, https://www.mfa.gov.sg/newsroom/press-statements-transcripts-and-photos/20240207-pqwrunhcr-07-feb-2024/.

National Population and Talent Division, Strategy Group, Prime Minister's Office. “People & Society.” National Population and Talent Division, https://www.population.gov.sg/our-population/population-trends/people-and-society/.

Osada, Jasmine. “Singapore Can't Accept Refugees: MHA.” The Straits Times, 19 May 2015, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-cant-accept-refugees-mha.

Parliament of Singapore. “Rohingya Refugees.” Parliamentary Debates Singapore (Hansard), 24 Mar. 2009, https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/topic?reportid=006_20090324_S0005_T0008.

Parliament of Singapore. “Staying United Against the Terrorism Threat (Motion).” Parliamentary Debates Singapore (Hansard), 3 Oct. 2017, https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=motion-1003.

Rajandran, Dhivya. “Explanation of Position by Ms Dhivya Rajandran, First Secretary (Political Affairs), After the Adoption of the Resolution Entitled ‘Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’, Third Committee, United Nations, New York, 14 November 2023.” Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations in New York, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore, 14 Nov. 2023, https://newyork-un.mfa.gov.sg/mission-updates/third-committee/20231114-3-14-nov-2023/.

Subramanian, Samantha. “How Singapore Is Creating More Land for Itself.” The New York Times Magazine, 20 Apr. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/magazine/how-singapore-is-creating-more-land-for-itself.html.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Global Trends.” UNHCR, 12 June 2025, https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends.

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