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| Migrant Chaos Mounts While Divided Europe Stumbles for Response | Migrant Chaos Mounts While Divided Europe Stumbles for Response |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| LONDON — The struggle among European leaders to develop a coherent response to the spiraling migrant crisis intensified on Thursday as fresh calls for a blocwide plan were met with recriminations about the continent being swamped with Muslims. | |
| Even as wrenching photographs of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy riveted world attention and galvanized public demands for action, the leaders’ first fumbling efforts seemed only to highlight Europe’s divisions, as they bickered over who should take responsibility for the migrants rather than unifying around a new policy. | Even as wrenching photographs of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy riveted world attention and galvanized public demands for action, the leaders’ first fumbling efforts seemed only to highlight Europe’s divisions, as they bickered over who should take responsibility for the migrants rather than unifying around a new policy. |
| The chaos was searingly illustrated by a daylong standoff in Budapest and its outskirts, where hundreds of migrants crammed into trains they thought were bound for Austria and Germany, only to be herded into camps. | |
| The hundreds of thousands of migrants pouring into Europe this summer have posed a third great challenge to the continent in the last decade. Yet, neither of the first two, the still smoldering euro crisis and the war in Ukraine, posed the same degree of divisiveness — between left and right, rich and poor and east and west. And both, for all the anger and debate they sparked, seemed ultimately manageable. | The hundreds of thousands of migrants pouring into Europe this summer have posed a third great challenge to the continent in the last decade. Yet, neither of the first two, the still smoldering euro crisis and the war in Ukraine, posed the same degree of divisiveness — between left and right, rich and poor and east and west. And both, for all the anger and debate they sparked, seemed ultimately manageable. |
| The migrant crisis seems different. With war, instability and poverty spreading through Africa and the Middle East, a prosperous and peaceful Europe is proving a powerful attraction to potentially millions of people who have wearied of the constant turmoil and day-to-day struggles for survival. There is little sign the flow will soon subside. | The migrant crisis seems different. With war, instability and poverty spreading through Africa and the Middle East, a prosperous and peaceful Europe is proving a powerful attraction to potentially millions of people who have wearied of the constant turmoil and day-to-day struggles for survival. There is little sign the flow will soon subside. |
| Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, where thousands of desperate migrants remain stranded, delivered a series of incendiary comments on Thursday, saying that “Europe’s Christian roots” were being threatened and insisting “the problem is a German problem,” not Europe’s. | Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, where thousands of desperate migrants remain stranded, delivered a series of incendiary comments on Thursday, saying that “Europe’s Christian roots” were being threatened and insisting “the problem is a German problem,” not Europe’s. |
| “Nobody would like to stay in Hungary,” he told reporters in Brussels. “All of them would like to go to Germany.” | “Nobody would like to stay in Hungary,” he told reporters in Brussels. “All of them would like to go to Germany.” |
| The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, rejected Mr. Orban’s assertions, saying Germany was doing only what “is morally and legally required” of every European Union country in accepting its fair share of the migrants. She urged others to do their part, with “quotas and rules that are fair and take into account what is possible in each country.” | |
| President François Hollande of France said he had reached agreement with Ms. Merkel on “a permanent and obligatory mechanism” to allocate migrants across the bloc, saying, “I believe that today what exists is no longer enough. We will need to go further.” But there is no consensus. Mr. Orban rejected the idea of mandatory quotas, as did the Polish and Slovak governments, which said they would accept only Christians, and in small numbers. | President François Hollande of France said he had reached agreement with Ms. Merkel on “a permanent and obligatory mechanism” to allocate migrants across the bloc, saying, “I believe that today what exists is no longer enough. We will need to go further.” But there is no consensus. Mr. Orban rejected the idea of mandatory quotas, as did the Polish and Slovak governments, which said they would accept only Christians, and in small numbers. |
| Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain at first rejected the idea of mandatory quotas, but late Thursday said that “as a father I felt deeply moved” by the boy’s death and that Britain would fulfill its “moral responsibilities.” He gave no details, though there were suggestions it might take more Syrians from camps in the region. | Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain at first rejected the idea of mandatory quotas, but late Thursday said that “as a father I felt deeply moved” by the boy’s death and that Britain would fulfill its “moral responsibilities.” He gave no details, though there were suggestions it might take more Syrians from camps in the region. |
| While politicians searched for answers, migrants continue to pile up in Hungary, particularly at the 19th century Keleti railroad station in the capital, Budapest. After a day of turmoil and a night sleeping on platforms and floors, nearly 500 migrants trapped there were finally allowed to board a train. | While politicians searched for answers, migrants continue to pile up in Hungary, particularly at the 19th century Keleti railroad station in the capital, Budapest. After a day of turmoil and a night sleeping on platforms and floors, nearly 500 migrants trapped there were finally allowed to board a train. |
| Fights broke out in some train cars as migrants pushed and clawed their way inside, believing they were on their way, at last, to Austria and Germany. | Fights broke out in some train cars as migrants pushed and clawed their way inside, believing they were on their way, at last, to Austria and Germany. |
| “Where is this train going?” asked a Syrian man. “This isn’t going to Germany, is it?” | “Where is this train going?” asked a Syrian man. “This isn’t going to Germany, is it?” |
| “No, this is a local, man,” someone answered as he walked past the train. “It’s going to the camps.” That was a reference to reports the migrants would be sent to reception centers to register and file asylum requests, a procedure that can take months. | |
| About a half-hour to the west of Budapest, the reports and rumors turned out to have some truth. An intercity train with about 500 migrants on board was stopped in the town of Bicske, the site of an already overwhelmed camp. Buses idled nearby, seemingly waiting to take the migrants to a Hungarian camp. | About a half-hour to the west of Budapest, the reports and rumors turned out to have some truth. An intercity train with about 500 migrants on board was stopped in the town of Bicske, the site of an already overwhelmed camp. Buses idled nearby, seemingly waiting to take the migrants to a Hungarian camp. |
| All Hungarians were told they could get off, but non-Hungarians remained locked inside the train without drinking water. Riot police officers fended off migrants hanging out of windows and chanting that they wanted to go to Austria and Germany. | All Hungarians were told they could get off, but non-Hungarians remained locked inside the train without drinking water. Riot police officers fended off migrants hanging out of windows and chanting that they wanted to go to Austria and Germany. |
| The migrants initially refused to get off, believing they were being tricked by the authorities. “No camp, no camp,” people shouted from the train. | The migrants initially refused to get off, believing they were being tricked by the authorities. “No camp, no camp,” people shouted from the train. |
| Eventually, the migrants left the train and huddled on the platform, kept there by the police, who blocked the exits. | Eventually, the migrants left the train and huddled on the platform, kept there by the police, who blocked the exits. |
| Hungary has emerged as a potent symbol of Europe’s struggle to come to terms with the migration crisis, as well as its lack of preparedness to cope with an influx of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. | Hungary has emerged as a potent symbol of Europe’s struggle to come to terms with the migration crisis, as well as its lack of preparedness to cope with an influx of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. |
| The migrants have no desire to stay in the country, where Mr. Orban’s center-right government has made it abundantly clear they are unwelcome, and would prefer to travel to Germany. | The migrants have no desire to stay in the country, where Mr. Orban’s center-right government has made it abundantly clear they are unwelcome, and would prefer to travel to Germany. |
| Under European Union rules, however, migrants are supposed to file for asylum in the country where they enter, before moving on to their final destination. In practice, the migrants are often given no final destinations and become the responsibility of the country that registered them. | Under European Union rules, however, migrants are supposed to file for asylum in the country where they enter, before moving on to their final destination. In practice, the migrants are often given no final destinations and become the responsibility of the country that registered them. |
| After first encouraging migrants to pass through the country, he changed course on Thursday, following the letter of the law while complaining that the system was broken. | After first encouraging migrants to pass through the country, he changed course on Thursday, following the letter of the law while complaining that the system was broken. |
| “We Hungarians are full of fear,” he added. “People in Europe are full of fear, because we see that European leaders, among them the prime ministers, are not capable of controlling the situation.” | “We Hungarians are full of fear,” he added. “People in Europe are full of fear, because we see that European leaders, among them the prime ministers, are not capable of controlling the situation.” |
| Germany has promised to be generous in accepting asylum-seekers, especially from Syria, but made it clear that it cannot accept everyone forever, and that the burden must be shared by other E.U. states. | Germany has promised to be generous in accepting asylum-seekers, especially from Syria, but made it clear that it cannot accept everyone forever, and that the burden must be shared by other E.U. states. |
| To try to get around the problem, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, whose proposal for mandatory quotas was rejected in June, is considering allowing some countries to provide money instead of taking migrants. The European Commission is preparing proposals for setting up reception and screening centers in Italy and Greece and is making another effort at pushing member states to share the burden. | |
| But in a fashion typical of the bloc, the process is cumbersome and slow. Only after a preparatory meeting of interior and justice ministers on Sept. 14 will a summit meeting of European leaders be considered. | |
| The numbers, of course, are not the biggest issue — for Mr. Orban and some others, it is the cultural and religious dimension that troubles them. | The numbers, of course, are not the biggest issue — for Mr. Orban and some others, it is the cultural and religious dimension that troubles them. |
| His country, he said, was being “overrun” with asylum-seekers, most of whom are Muslim. “That is an important question, because Europe and European culture have Christian roots,” he wrote in the German newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. | His country, he said, was being “overrun” with asylum-seekers, most of whom are Muslim. “That is an important question, because Europe and European culture have Christian roots,” he wrote in the German newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. |
| Unaware of what was going on in Bicske, migrants continued to surge into Keleti after the authorities relaxed their cordon. Officers “left and let people come into the station, but now they’re back,” said Mohammad al-Bekaai, a 23-year-old Syrian. “They’re going to pen these people inside and take them to the camp.” | Unaware of what was going on in Bicske, migrants continued to surge into Keleti after the authorities relaxed their cordon. Officers “left and let people come into the station, but now they’re back,” said Mohammad al-Bekaai, a 23-year-old Syrian. “They’re going to pen these people inside and take them to the camp.” |
| A handful managed to get onto the next few trains headed west, but they were removed at Bicske and joined the few who had left the morning train and moved onto the platform. | A handful managed to get onto the next few trains headed west, but they were removed at Bicske and joined the few who had left the morning train and moved onto the platform. |
| Some, realizing the authorities were determined to send them to reception centers, were resigned. “Even if they take us to the camp, it’s better than staying in the station,” said Ali al-Taai, a Syrian from Deir al-Zour. “I’ve been there for six days without food and water. I’ve had enough.” | Some, realizing the authorities were determined to send them to reception centers, were resigned. “Even if they take us to the camp, it’s better than staying in the station,” said Ali al-Taai, a Syrian from Deir al-Zour. “I’ve been there for six days without food and water. I’ve had enough.” |