Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via BosNewsLife and Vatican Radio:
(In a series of reports, Hungary-based BosNewsLife follows what is now Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War Two. Many Christians fleeing conflict zones are also among them. New Europe covers news developments in the (former) Communist nations of Europe and the Soviet Union impacting the Church and/or compassionate professionals).
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Hungarian-Serbian border area
ROSZKE, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)– A Hungarian court has ordered the preliminary detention of four men suspected of being involved in the deaths of 71 migrants found in a truck in Austria until they are indicted or September 29 at the latest. The three Bulgarian suspects are aged 29, 30 and 50, officials said, while the Afghani is 28 years old. The arrests came while thousands of refugees continue to arrive in Hungary.
In tropical temperatures, Vatican Radio watched a huge crowd of migrants fleeing war and poverty awaiting aid. Hungarian police backed by international police at one time used force, to ensure they didn’t leave the open field with almost nothing to hide women and children from the burning sun.
No water or food was distributed, there were just four mobile toilets for hundreds of people.
They arrived after walking across the railway tracks from neighboring Serbia. This was not the reception many expected and at least one Syrian said he would return to Serbia.
Those staying behind were awaiting a police bus to deport them to a camp in the town of Röszke. Vatican Radio soon watched tensions there.
Police fired teargas at refugees who tried to escape.
NGO WORRIED
The tensions worries Balázs Szalai, of the migrant solidarity group Migszol Szeged. “If they are smart they would make smaller camps to manage the situation. There are children here. If they use tear gas or other stuff to stop them it’s a bad situation,” he told Vatican Radio standing near the crowded camp.
Soon after, a young Syrian woman came to see her three family members. Sawsan arrived from Germany where she has been living
since the age of one. She was refused entry by agitated policemen, though two family members are children. “We are not allowed to go in.
I spoke to the police, but we are now allowed. It would be very nice if you could help us a little bit…,” she said.
Hungary’s government says it is overwhelmed by the nearly 150,000 migrants who arrived in Hungary illegally this year alone.
Most of them want to go to wealthier Western nations. In practise, that’s possible after several days of detention. Yet many don’t want to
get fingerprinted, fearing that under European Union rules they will be send back by the West to Hungary, where they are clearly
not welcome.
