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| A poster for the Hungary Helsinki Committee, featuring a woman with hair holding up two fingers |
Anikó provided us with an overview of the current situation. Prior to 2015, migration/refugees was not a major issue in Hungary. However, in February 2015, refugees became part of the political agenda in a particularly xenophobic way, and it is a topic that generally had been little addressed with the US group until today.
Refugees were spoken of in terms of threats to the Hungarian culture. They were also linked to terrorism. The government ran a very deliberate propaganda campaign against refugees, including posters, radio and such. In response, a group of advocates ran a counter-propaganda campaign with humorous posters.
Hungary does not have a strong tradition of civic engagement. While it is very important to show opposition to harmful ideas, it can be difficult to do this, and the counter-propaganda campaign was a good start.
Numbers tell an interesting story. In 2011, Hungary received about two to three thousand applications for asylum. By 2014, that number ballooned to over 40,000. In 2015, Hungary received 177,000 applications for asylum. However, the interpretation of the numbers is important, because while that is a lot of people, the reality is that many people are not staying to see the asylum process through, and many are not even fully aware they have signed applications for asylum because they cannot read Hungarian.
As the world knows, Hungary is now famous for having erected a fence on its borders to keep refugees out, with only certain zones designated as transit areas through which people can pass.
In the summer of 2015, the Hungarian Parliament passed amendments to its asylum law that made it much more difficult to win asylum. The amendments also had the effect of reducing legal protections for asylum applicants in Hungary. The process does not truly give people a chance because Hungary now only looks at people’s country of origin, rather than why they need asylum. Officials ask what countries the applicants have passed through before, and deny asylum on the basis that people did not previously ask for asylum in another country.
The role of Serbia in the migration problem is very interesting. Hungary claims that Serbia is a safe place for migrants, and does everything it can to transport applicants to Serbia. Hungary’s position is that Serbia has capacity to handle the migrants, but in reality Serbia does not actually have the capacity to do so.
As of September 15, 2015, it is now a crime to pass through the border fence. The rights of migrants were further reduced, with also the risk of expulsion from the entire European Union for 3 to 5 days if caught passing through the border fence. The transit zones do offer a very limited opportunity for passage, but the reality is that most people in migration don’t know that passing through the fence is illegal, and when they are fleeing for their lives, laws mean very little.
If the police catch someone who has gone through the border fence illegally, the person is sent to a trial, ordered to leave Hungary, and interred in a camp to await deportation to Serbia. Naturally the Serbs do not want them and thus people caught in this trap are in limbo. Hungary has actually shipped people to the Serbian border and then provided them with instructions in Hungarian, which they cannot read, to get to the Serbian refugee center.
Hungary does understand that Syrians cannot be sent back to Syria due to the condition of the country. Afghans are the second largest group, and despite the conditions in Afghanistan, Hungary does deport people back to that country. There are some other nationalities that Hungary allows within its borders, but Syrians and Afghans are no longer allowed and the restrictions continue to grow.
Just last weekend in Hungary, the police captured about 500 people. Anikó and the HHC are monitoring this group and reported that conditions are overcrowded in the holding camp, with people and beds everywhere. Many were not detained but again, the situation is disturbing in human terms.
The border fence has proven increasingly problematic and Hungarian politicians are recognizing this. There is now a proposal for a new referendum for “resettlement” for a limited number of people, about 1,200. The problem with the referendum is that it also involves European Union law, and it’s not possible for Hungary to have such a referendum without the support of the whole European Union.
Politically, the issue of refugees is a major distraction. Hungary has plenty of issues it needs to resolve, including for education, the economy and more. The refugee matter has been blown to major proportions, despite the fact that 80% of Hungarians have never met a refugee.
It is currently forbidden in Hungary to show women and children refugees on TV. The public only sees the men, despite the fact that last summer there was a large increase in the number of women and children refugees.
Refugees with disabilities do not have any reasonable accommodations whatsoever. For example, there was a blind man being held in the second floor of a building, and the cafeteria and other key areas were in the ground floor, and unless someone helped him he could not access anything. There have also been people with physical disabilities who need help to eat and toilet, and unless someone helps them that does not happen. The police do not provide any assistance. There is supposed to be a protocol to assist people with disabilities, but the reality is they are not helped.
Anikó pointed out that it is incredibly helpful to have the volunteer networks of Hungarians who have stepped forward to help the refugees. Active solidarity from society makes a big difference for the refugees. She believes it is possible to mobilize people in Hungary, once they see what the problem is. This is difficult when the propaganda machine is in place.
Aliz from Mig Sol discussed her group, which is a group of refugees and allies that have come together in an informal network. They are very politically active, coordinating letters, protests and other tactics in order to increase awareness about the difficulties faced by refugees, and to move people with power to action. They are part of a network with other groups across Europe, and try to share information and encourage NGOs.
She noted that it is really important to provide refugees with paths to actual integration. They need to understand the processes, and have opportunities and programs for housing, jobs, education and more.
Aliz raised the situation of people who had tried to leave Hungary by train over the summer, as this is one of the locations where they have had protests. The conditions for people change weekly, daily, even hourly. The problem with the trains is that people bought train tickets, and then Hungary blocked the train stations. People could not enter to either ride a train or get their money back. They had paid usually about 200-300 Euro for each ticket. When they were blocked, people began camping around the trains in terrible conditions. After a while many began just walking to Austria.
Lilla began talking at this point and said that from her observation as a social worker, the train situations were the most difficult. There were only police, no Red Cross, no supports, no supplies. People were desperate without basic necessities. They also have no information: their location, what to do, who to ask for help. Trust is essential to ensuring that people can begin figuring out their next steps.
At the train stations and other refugee areas, Hungarian officials have gone in and offered people documents to apply for asylum. However, these documents are in Hungarian, and the translation supports are very bad. Often the translator says simply that “if you sign this document, you will be free.” There is no mention of the real system that includes criminal punishment, and no opportunity to explain why someone is a refugee. Sometimes people do get waivers to stay for a limited time, but they are not told of the expiration and are surprised with orders to leave.
Naturally the refugees are blamed for their own situation, and there is no support to learn Hungarian so they can handle the game.
Ronnie Harris from the US group then found the Facebook group Budapest seen, and we looked at the photos on the page. The Hungarian advocates verified that the photos at that page are an accurate reflection of conditions they have seen and monitored.
People from the US reading this blog will of course wonder about the relief and aid groups, such as the Red Cross. Weren’t they doing their job? In Serbia, yes, but in Hungary it has been a different story. The Hungarian advocates told us that the Hungarian aid groups laid low and did not offer help to the refugees, even though they had the resources to do so. In fact, three of the biggest ones, including the International Red Cross, were actually paid $62.5 million Forint (more than $200,000 US) each by the government as a reward for not doing anything.
The advocates were especially bothered by witnessing the Red Cross providing relief to the Hungarian police, and not the refugees. They provided water and support to the police, and even set up misters for the police to cool off on a hot day.
By Christmas of 2015, if you listened to Hungarian radio, there were propaganda pieces against the refugees airing every thirty minutes. If you relied on Hungarian media for your information, you would belief that the country was under serious threat. However, the rate of refugees actually slowed a great deal during December 2015 and January 2016.
In the face of such dreadful circumstances it is important to stay focused on the Hungarian volunteer networks that came forward to help improve the situation. They are a bright light in a very dark night. Even as smuggling of refugees has been big business, the volunteer networks and groups like HHC and Menedek have been accused of smuggling themselves. They face major Facebook troll attacks of hate speech. They call upon the Hungarian and global public to step forward to assist and show solidarity. And yet they push on, to help people with translation, food, documents, and a place to sleep.
***Interestingly, just after the US mentors group left Bulgaria, the word is that Bulgaria has now also closed its borders to migrants as well.
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