Migrants keep entering Hungary as work on fence speeds up
Published 10:14 am Tuesday, September 8, 2015
ROSZKE, Hungary — People anxious to pass through Hungary pushed and police shoved back as tensions mounted at Hungary’s southern border with Serbia Tuesday.
Occasional scuffles broke out and one man was slightly hurt in a stampede. Some disheartened migrants, weary of waiting for transport to a registration center, tried to go back to Serbia but police blocked their way.
“We’ve been here for two days and the Hungarian government only brings one bus?” said a Syrian man, who gave only his first name, Ali.
“We’re asking to go back to Serbia and they are not giving us this right. We’re asking to go to Budapest and they are not giving us this right. Why? Why?”
Hungary has made frantic and confused efforts to control the huge tide of migrants transiting the country as they try to reach Germany, leaving many trapped for days outside the border village of Roszke and furious at their treatment by Hungarian authorities. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced fresh efforts to complete a wall to keep the refugees out.
Despite the efforts of volunteers offering water and some clothes, there were few amenities at the border. The area was strewn with garbage and more people could be seen walking along railroad tracks in Serbia on their way to Hungary. Many of the travelers had slept outdoors in a field during a cold night. They had hoped to be bused to a registration center, but very few buses appeared.
As they grew more frustrated, some of the migrants tried twice to break free from a police line at a collection point near Roszke but were pushed back.