Jeffrey Andrews (social worker)

Andrews was born and raised in British Hong Kong. He attended a designated school, which were established to serve Hong Kong's ethnic minorities, but were later deemed to be discriminatory and dissolved.{{cite news |title=Hong Kong is Our Home too |url=https://varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk/index.php/2021/11/hong-kong-is-our-home-too/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=Varsity |date=9 November 2021}} Students at these schools were often targeted by triad gangs and Andrews was recruited in Form 5. At 19, Andrews was arrested for stealing mobile phones. He cites this as the turning point in his life when social worker Fermi Wong, founder of Hong Kong Unison, assisted him following his arrest and sparked his interest in social work.

In 2011, Andrews enrolled in the Social Work programme at the Caritas Institute of Higher Education, now Saint Francis University, and was the first ethnic minority Hongkonger to qualify locally as a social worker in 2014.

Andrews has campaigned for the rights of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. During the 2014 Occupy Central movement, Andrews, together with a number of other ethnic minority Hongkongers, marched between several of the occupied sites to raise awareness for the inclusion of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.{{cite news |last1=Ng |first1=Ellie |title=Quest for diversity: Ethnic minority Hongkongers seek inclusion in gov't advisory bodies |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2017/03/23/quest-diversity-ethnic-minority-hongkongers-seek-inclusion-govt-advisory-bodies/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=Hong Kong Free Press |date=23 March 2017}}

He previously ran courses in cultural sensitivity for the Hong Kong Police Force.{{cite news |last1=Ng |first1=Ellie |title=Asia's world city? Hong Kong ethnic minorities feel targeted by police stop and search actions |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2017/10/08/asias-world-city-hong-kong-ethnic-minorities-feel-targeted-police-stop-search-actions/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=Hong Kong Free Press |date=8 October 2017}} Andrews also runs tours of Chungking Mansions, a multi-purpose building which is a centre for many minorities in Hong Kong, but which is considered crime-ridden and dangerous by many in Hong Kong.{{cite web |last1=Andrews |first1=Jeffrey |title=Fate Disrupted |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/jeffrey_andrews_fate_disrupted?subtitle=en |website=TED |access-date=14 December 2024 |language=en |date=12 January 2022}}

During the 2019 social unrest, Andrews, together with other ethnic minority Hongkongers, set up outside Chungking Mansions to distribute bottled water to passing protesters.{{cite news |last1=Mathews |first1=Gordon |title=South Asians and Africans are no longer Hong Kong's 'ethnic other' - now it's the mainland Chinese {{!}} Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2019/10/30/south-asians-africans-no-longer-hong-kongs-ethnic-now-mainland-chinese/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=Hong Kong Free Press}}

In 2020, Andrews ran in the 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries. He was the first ethnic minority Hongkonger ever to run in a LegCo election. However, the primaries were later deemed to be 'illegal' by the government. Andrews was among 55 democracy candidates arrested on 6 January 2021, but was one of only 8 to be released on bail.{{cite web |title=Jeffrey Andrews |url=https://www.hongkongwatch.org/political-prisoner/2024/10/30/jeffrey-andrews |website=Hong Kong Watch |access-date=14 December 2024 |date=29 October 2024}}{{cite news |title=53 Hong Kong democrats, activists arrested under security law over 2020 legislative primaries |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2021/01/06/breaking-over-50-hong-kong-democrats-arrested-under-security-law-over-2020-legislative-primaries/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |publisher=Hong Kong Free Press |date=6 January 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Chau |first1=Candice |title=47 democrats charged with 'conspiracy to commit subversion' over legislative primaries |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2021/02/28/47-democrats-charged-with-conspiracy-to-commit-subversion-over-legislative-primaries/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=Hong Kong Free Press |date=28 February 2021}} Andrews was later charged with subversion under the National Security Law.

Andrews received the Secretary for Home Affairs’ Commendation in the 2015-2016 list for 'Distinguished Service for Community Building'.{{cite web |url=https://www.hyab.gov.hk/file_manager/en/documents/whats_new/from_the_desk_of_secretary_for_home_affairs/list_of_awardees_of_former_secretary.pdf |website=Home and Youth Affairs Bureau |publisher=Government of the HKSAR |access-date=17 December 2024}}

In 2019, Andrews was named on the list of 'Cathay Changemakers' for his 'positive contribution to the community and environment'.{{cite web |title=Swire News |url=https://swirenews.swire.com/uploads/docs/SwireNews_May2019.pdf |publisher=Swire Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323022825/https://swirenews.swire.com/uploads/docs/SwireNews_May2019.pdf |access-date=17 December 2024|archive-date=23 March 2020 }}

In 2024, Andrews was named one of 'Asia's Most Influential' people by Tatler Asia magazine.{{cite news |title=Jeffrey Andrews |url=https://www.tatlerasia.com/people/jeffrey-andrews |access-date=17 December 2024 |work=Tatler Asia |language=en}}

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Category:1986 births

Category:Social workers

Category:Living people