Hundreds of Refugees in Budapest Demand Passage to Germany

Refugees gathered at a train station in Budapest held a demonstration on Saturday, August 29, demanding to be let on trains to Germany, according to local reports. Hundreds of refugees have been camped out at Budapest’s Keleti rail station for days, hoping to make it to Germany after navigating a perilous route from the Middle East across the Mediterranean and through the Balkans.

As thousands of Syrian refugees en route to Germany continue to flood into the nation from Serbia each day, the Hungarian government is working to complete a border fence to keep them out. A record 3,241 potential asylum seekers crossed the Hungarian-Serbian border near Roszke on August 26, local police reported. On the same day, Hungary announced it would deploy over 2,000 police officers to help control its border with Serbia, Al Jazeera reported.

Germany announced on August 25 that it would stop sending away refugees and process asylum claims. The Federal Office of Migration and Refugees in Germany announced on Twitter it would suspend the Dublin Regulation—a 1990 rule forcing refugees to seek asylum in the nation they first arrive—in regards to Syrian refugees. With the move, Germany becomes the first EU nation to disregard the rule. Credit: Twitter/eliszewa