About Raymond

Mohammadi Rahman, 30, has been on the run for his entire life.

As a young man, he fled across the border from Afghanistan to Iran after his brother was shot during the country's civil war. He came to Hong Kong in 2007 in search of a better life, but has instead been caught in a draconian immigration system that is plagued with chronic delays.

Rahman – called Raymond by his friends – is one of thousands of refugees who are forced to live in squalor for years as their cases work through the system. While they wait, the Hong Kong government typically prohibits refugees from working. Instead, they receive some food and a housing stipend of 1500 Hong Kong dollars ($194) per month – a paltry sum in a city where even tiny studio apartments can rent for 10 times that amount.

Raymond is chairman of the Refugee Union in Hong Kong, a group that advocates for better conditions for refugees.

Here are journal entries from a day in his life: