On Wednesday, Hungary made plans to reinforce its southern border by sending an additional 2,000 police officers, some of them mounted police, helicopters, and dogs, reports Reuters.
The government is also considering sending military troops, as a record number of migrants cross through the razor wire into Europe. The 109-mile long fence, made of three layers of razor wire has done very little to stem the tide as Hungary has scrambled to stop the influx of people seeking refuge.
According to the Associated Press, Hungary is part of the Balkan route. The route starts in Turkey, then goes to Greece by sea. The route continues north to Macedonia on foot or by bus, ending with a train ride through Serbia and then crossing the border into Hungary, a European Union state.
With the surge of migrants escaping conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Europe is left with the worst refugee crisis it has seen since World War II. The crisis has become a test of the 28-member European Union’s solidarity, resources and social responsibility.
“(It’s been) very, very difficult,” Odei, a Syrian migrant from Daraa, told the AP once he reached Hungary. “We were here from yesterday. We are very hungry. There’s no food, there’s no medicine for the children, there’s nothing. We are so tired.”
Most of the 2,533 migrants, mainly Syrians, Afghans and Pakistanis who crossed Hungary’s border on Tuesday were on their way to richer countries in the E.U., like Germany, The Netherlands or Sweden. Over 10,000 migrants have passed through Serbia the last two days, heading for Hungary.
Tear Gas used at migrant center
Police had to resort to using tear gas at a migrant center in Roszke when asylum seekers refused to be fingerprinted because they wanted their claims for refugee status to be decided in European countries where they intended to settle. Most were headed to Germany reports Channel 4 News.
German Chancellor Angela Merkle was heckled and booed yesterday by ant-migration protesters when she visited an asylum center in Heidenau, near Dresden, the scene of violent protests by the far-right over the past weekend. Germany is expecting to receive over 800,000 asylum seekers this year, more than any other European nation.
