Some European officials are resorting to drastic measures to stem the influx of migrants attempting to seek refuge in their countries. Along Serbia’s border with Hungary, where hundreds of migrants are currently stranded after Hungary abruptly sealed its borders this week, police officers in riot gear are reportedly using tear gas and water cannons as crowd control tactics.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who leads an ardently anti-immigrant government, has cited his country’s “1,000-year-old Christian culture” to explain why he doesn’t want an influx of refugees. “We Hungarians don’t want the global-sized movement of people to change Hungary,” Orban said this week, explaining that his country needs to preserve its heritage.
One of the world’s most influential Christian leaders, however, has taken somewhat of a different approach to the current migrant crisis that’s been spurred by widespread violence and unrest in Syria and its neighboring countries. Pope Francis has asked every Catholic parish in Europe to “welcome a family of refugees,” pointing out that the Gospels call on Christians to treat other people as their neighbors. Earlier this year, when similar clashes broke out along Italy’s borders, the pontiff said that officials who shut out refugees should seek forgiveness, especially those who “close the doors on these people who are searching for family, that are searching for safety.”
Thousands of migrants have attempted to enter Hungary over the past several days during their journey to reach European countries like Germany, where Syrians displaced by a civil war in their home country are seeking asylum. The European Union has not been able to reach consensus on how to handle the unprecedented influx of people in recent months.
In Hungary, officials are taking matters into their own hands. On Wednesday morning, officials from Amnesty International confirmed that Syrian refugees gathering along the Hungarian border are being tear gassed. According to AFP reporters, some children are also being affected by the use of tear gas, which can cause eye irritation and respiratory problems.
#Hungarian #riot police deployed at #horgos. #Police used tear gas against the #refugees http://t.co/oocjZilslI pic.twitter.com/KZd6YpPQT6
— Levente Hernadi (@Lvnte) September 16, 2015
Children also affected by tear gas used by Hungarian riot police at Horgos 2 crossing. pic.twitter.com/5vtDO3ubSA
— Carlo Angerer (@carloangerer) September 16, 2015
Hungarian officials, who sealed the country’s border on Tuesday by erecting a razor wire fence to keep out asylum seekers — a drastic move that’s been criticized by humanitarian groups — say they deployed riot police to deal with an unruly crowd that had become aggressive. Some people have attempted to breach the border, even though Hungary’s right-wing government has promised to arrest and deport migrants who enter the country without permission. Hungary declared a state of emergency after police said some migrants started throwing things at them.
Over the past 24 hours, crowds of stranded migrants have been begging to be allowed to pass through Hungary, some demonstrating on the Serbian side of the border with signs and chants of “Europe, Shame.” One woman along Hungary’s newly constructed fence held up a banner reading, “Mama Merkel, please help us!”
The Associated Press reports that medical personnel were dispatched on Wednesday to treat people suffering injuries resulting from the clash with riot police. “We fled wars and violence and did not expect such brutality and inhumane treatment in Europe,” one man who left Iraq to make the trip to the EU, Amir Hassan, told reporters while trying to rinse tear gas out of his eyes.