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Hungary Train Station Is Gripped by Chaos as Migrants Remain Stranded Hungary Train Station Is Gripped by Chaos as Migrants Remain Stranded
(35 minutes later)
LONDON — About 2,000 migrants remained stranded near the Keleti train station in central Budapest on Wednesday, and hundreds of passengers were delayed overnight on five Eurostar trains after migrants blocked tracks near the French port of Calais, as Europe continued to grapple with a surge of desperate migrants.LONDON — About 2,000 migrants remained stranded near the Keleti train station in central Budapest on Wednesday, and hundreds of passengers were delayed overnight on five Eurostar trains after migrants blocked tracks near the French port of Calais, as Europe continued to grapple with a surge of desperate migrants.
In southern Europe, at least 11 migrants drowned when two boats sank after leaving southwest Turkey for the Greek island of Kos, Reuters reported, citing the Turkish news agency Dogan.In southern Europe, at least 11 migrants drowned when two boats sank after leaving southwest Turkey for the Greek island of Kos, Reuters reported, citing the Turkish news agency Dogan.
The developments served as a reminder that while much of the focus of Europe’s humanitarian crisis in recent days has been on the influx to Hungary, Austria and Germany, countries across the Continent are still struggling to deal with the increasing numbers.The developments served as a reminder that while much of the focus of Europe’s humanitarian crisis in recent days has been on the influx to Hungary, Austria and Germany, countries across the Continent are still struggling to deal with the increasing numbers.
Tens of thousands of migrants, buffeted by conflict in the Middle East and Africa, have been seeking refuge in Europe, only to find themselves confronted with a patchwork of incoherent asylum policies across the 28-member bloc. At the same time, anti-immigrant sentiment, stoked by far-right political parties, is fostering a backlash in some countries, including in Britain, France and Hungary, where those parties have influenced the political agenda. Tens of thousands of migrants, buffeted by conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, have been seeking refuge in Europe, only to find themselves confronted with a patchwork of incoherent asylum policies across the 28-member bloc. At the same time, anti-immigrant sentiment, stoked by far-right political parties, is fostering a backlash in some countries, including in Britain, France and Hungary, where those parties have influenced the political agenda.
In Brussels, a senior European Union official said on Wednesday that the bloc would propose measures to set up screening centers for migrants and asylum seekers in Italy, Greece and possibly Hungary, and to distribute those deemed to be refugees among European states.In Brussels, a senior European Union official said on Wednesday that the bloc would propose measures to set up screening centers for migrants and asylum seekers in Italy, Greece and possibly Hungary, and to distribute those deemed to be refugees among European states.
The Keleti station has become a focal point in the crisis, and on Wednesday it was still cordoned off to prevent migrants from entering. About 100 migrants erupted in protest early Wednesday at the restrictions preventing them from reaching Germany, a favored destination.The Keleti station has become a focal point in the crisis, and on Wednesday it was still cordoned off to prevent migrants from entering. About 100 migrants erupted in protest early Wednesday at the restrictions preventing them from reaching Germany, a favored destination.
The demonstrators chanted “Go! Go! Go! Germany! Germany! We want freedom!” as the bottleneck at the station caused tempers to flare and stoked desperation among the migrants as they waited. The riot police were put on standby, and uniformed police officers were seen rounding up migrants and asking for their documents at cafes and shops around the station. The demonstrators chanted “Go! Go! Go! Germany! Germany! We want freedom!” The riot police were put on standby, and uniformed police officers were seen rounding up migrants and asking for their documents at cafes and shops around the station.
Ahmad Saadoun, 27, from Falluja, Iraq, said he had been fingerprinted by force. He also showed cuts on his shins, where he said he had been beaten after initially refusing to comply at a camp elsewhere in Hungary. Ahmad Saadoun, 27, from Falluja, Iraq, said he had been beaten at a camp elsewhere in Hungary after he initially refused to be fingerprinted.
Ramadan Mustafa, 23, a chef from Qamishli, Syria, seemed equally despondent. “We are sleeping in trash,” he said. “We don’t know what to do. It’s a matter of human rights. If they don’t do something about the situation, we are going to start walking. People are getting sick.”Ramadan Mustafa, 23, a chef from Qamishli, Syria, seemed equally despondent. “We are sleeping in trash,” he said. “We don’t know what to do. It’s a matter of human rights. If they don’t do something about the situation, we are going to start walking. People are getting sick.”
Other train passengers were allowed to enter the station after passing checkpoints.
The chaos at Keleti prompted the authorities to shut the station temporarily on Tuesday. Regular services eventually resumed, but no passengers were allowed on board unless they had the proper legal documents, effectively stranding many migrants.The chaos at Keleti prompted the authorities to shut the station temporarily on Tuesday. Regular services eventually resumed, but no passengers were allowed on board unless they had the proper legal documents, effectively stranding many migrants.
The Hungarian police said the security presence at the station was being reinforced in response to the drastic rise in migrants, including about 2,000 who were apprehended after crossing the Serbian border into Hungary on Tuesday. Tamas Lederer, one of the founders of a volunteer group called Migration Aid that was started two months ago in Budapest, said that the government’s decision to close the city’s main train station to migrants had done nothing to stanch the flow.
Tamas Lederer, one of the founders of a volunteer group called Migration Aid that was started two months ago in Budapest, said that the government’s decision to close the city’s main train station to migrants had done nothing to stanch the flow from the south.
“They keep coming, in the same numbers, and now they pile up here,” he said.“They keep coming, in the same numbers, and now they pile up here,” he said.
Mr. Lederer added that health issues among the migrants were becoming pressing. “At the beginning, a month ago or so, it was mostly foot problems from the long journey they had made,” he said. “But now, there are so many, we get people with diabetes, various illnesses and, with the building of this wall along the southern border, a lot of slicing wounds from people cut on the razor wire.”Mr. Lederer added that health issues among the migrants were becoming pressing. “At the beginning, a month ago or so, it was mostly foot problems from the long journey they had made,” he said. “But now, there are so many, we get people with diabetes, various illnesses and, with the building of this wall along the southern border, a lot of slicing wounds from people cut on the razor wire.”
More migrants arrived every hour from the south on Wednesday, wondering if they would be allowed to board trains or if they would need to make deals with the groups of human traffickers working the crowd or find some other way — by taxi, perhaps — to make their way out of Hungary and toward Germany.More migrants arrived every hour from the south on Wednesday, wondering if they would be allowed to board trains or if they would need to make deals with the groups of human traffickers working the crowd or find some other way — by taxi, perhaps — to make their way out of Hungary and toward Germany.
The rules covering asylum seekers in the European Union, which are known as the Dublin Regulation, call for them to make a claim in the country where they first arrived or were registered. Hungary has been criticized by Austria for failing to register new arrivals, even as many of them have avoided any official recognition of their arrival there in hopes of finding refuge in Germany.The rules covering asylum seekers in the European Union, which are known as the Dublin Regulation, call for them to make a claim in the country where they first arrived or were registered. Hungary has been criticized by Austria for failing to register new arrivals, even as many of them have avoided any official recognition of their arrival there in hopes of finding refuge in Germany.
“The whole system is crazy,” Mr. Lederer said. “We cannot see any point to it.”“The whole system is crazy,” Mr. Lederer said. “We cannot see any point to it.”
There were signs on Wednesday that Hungary was coming to grips with the situation. Two notices posted in Arabic appeared on the walls and columns of the hallways under the train station, where the migrants have been camping. There were signs on Wednesday that Hungary was coming to grips with the situation. Two unofficial looking notices posted in Arabic appeared on the walls and columns of the hallways under the train station, where the migrants have been camping.
One notice, from the German Embassy in Hungary, briefly stated that Berlin was abiding by the Dublin accord, in the latest effort by Germany to counter reports that it was relaxing the rules. One notice briefly stated that Germany, despite recent reports that it was relaxing asylum rules, was abiding by the Dublin accord. But it was unclear who had posted the sign or if it was accurate.
The other notice, from the Hungarian government, instructed all migrants to report for fingerprinting and to apply for asylum, a process that could take months and offers no guarantee of approval. The other notice instructed all migrants to report for fingerprinting and to apply for asylum, a process that could take months and offers no guarantee of approval.
In the interim, the notice said, asylum seekers would be taken to a camp, where they would have access to food and the Internet and could receive funds from Western Union.In the interim, the notice said, asylum seekers would be taken to a camp, where they would have access to food and the Internet and could receive funds from Western Union.
Some have resisted efforts to send them to camps. Index.hu, a Hungarian news website, reported that about 100 migrants at Kobanya-Kispest, a station on the outskirts of Budapest, had been circled by riot police officers. Some have resisted efforts to send them to camps. Index.hu, a Hungarian news website, reported that about 100 migrants at Kobanya-Kispest, a station on the outskirts of Budapest, had refused to board trains to the camp. The police said in a statement that some had held children up in the air in protest and had demanded to be allowed to travel to Germany.
That station was closed, and the police said in a statement that the migrants had refused to board trains to the camp. They added that some had held children up in the air in protest and had demanded to be allowed to travel to Germany.
In Munich, only about 150 migrants arrived overnight, after the arrival of thousands in recent days. The authorities were taking measures to organize them to begin the process of applying for asylum.
The migrants who died on Wednesday trying to reach Greece were believed to be Syrian, part of an influx of people who in recent months have poured into the Aegean coast of Turkey in hopes of traveling on to Greece and in that way gaining entry to the European Union.The migrants who died on Wednesday trying to reach Greece were believed to be Syrian, part of an influx of people who in recent months have poured into the Aegean coast of Turkey in hopes of traveling on to Greece and in that way gaining entry to the European Union.
In France and Britain, service returned to normal on the Eurostar on Wednesday morning. Hundreds of passengers were delayed on five trains, in some cases for hours, because of reports that migrants trying to get through the Channel Tunnel had blocked the tracks and tried to board or even climb on the roofs of trains near Calais.In France and Britain, service returned to normal on the Eurostar on Wednesday morning. Hundreds of passengers were delayed on five trains, in some cases for hours, because of reports that migrants trying to get through the Channel Tunnel had blocked the tracks and tried to board or even climb on the roofs of trains near Calais.
“The trespassers are still being removed from the tunnel and away from the tracks,” Eurostar wrote on Twitter late Tuesday night. “We will let you know as soon as we have more info.” The European Union will propose measures to address the migration crisis to interior ministers at an emergency meeting scheduled for Sept. 14, five days after the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, makes his annual address to the European Parliament, in which he is expected to outline the plans.
They were eventually removed, and Eurostar said that at least two trains had returned to their original points of departure in London and Paris. The other three arrived at their destinations in those two cities, the company said. In June, Mr. Juncker had proposed relocating 40,000 asylum seekers in Greece and Italy and a further 20,000 who are in camps outside Europe to other countries in the Continent.
Some migrants in France have cut through fences and stowed away in trucks or other vehicles in an effort to cross the English Channel, while one man nearly succeeded in walking the entire length of the Channel Tunnel before he was arrested, just steps away from arriving in Britain. Ten migrants have been killed near Calais since June trying to reach Britain.
In an opinion column published in the newspaper Libération, the French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, rejected mounting criticism that France was not doing enough to handle the crisis. He wrote that it “had not failed” and pointed to several measures taken recently, including the creation of thousands of housing spots for asylum seekers and the construction of a humanitarian center for women and children in Calais.
France supports the idea that European Union countries should spread out migrants among countries, Mr. Cazeneuve wrote, adding that France would take in 9,000 over the next two years in addition to those already requesting asylum on French soil.
This week, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said during a visit to Calais that France would build a new “humanitarian encampment” in early 2016 with space for 1,500 migrants, which represents only about half of the estimated 3,000 living in a makeshift camp there.
The European Union proposals to address the migration crisis will be presented to interior ministers at an emergency meeting scheduled for Sept. 14, five days after the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, makes his annual address to the European Parliament, in which he is expected to outline the plans.
The bloc’s migration commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, told Reuters that the accelerated crisis had convinced some European countries to accept migrants, although in June, many had opposed Mr. Juncker’s plan to spread out them through mandatory quotas.
Mr. Juncker had proposed relocating 40,000 asylum seekers in Greece and Italy and a further 20,000 who are in camps outside Europe to other countries in the Continent.
“Some countries that were a bit reluctant,” Mr. Avramopoulos said, “have changed their mind because now they realize that this problem is not the problem of other countries but theirs as well.”“Some countries that were a bit reluctant,” Mr. Avramopoulos said, “have changed their mind because now they realize that this problem is not the problem of other countries but theirs as well.”
“The ones in need of international protection will have it,” he said. “But the others, who are not in need of protection, they will be returned.”
The commission is preparing a list of “safe” countries whose citizens’ asylum claims will be “fast-tracked” toward rejection. Germany has urged that all the countries of the western Balkans, from which it gets 40 percent of its asylum seekers, be put on that list so citizens of those nations can be sent home.