As Refugees Arrive in Vienna, Thousands Hold Solidarity Rally

Shortly after trains packed with hundreds of refugees arrived at Vienna’s western railway station on Monday, August 31, around 20,000 people took to the streets of the Austrian capital for a solidarity rally, chanting: “Refugees are welcome here.”

The peaceful demonstration took place as a service was held in the city for the 71 refugees found dead in an abandoned refrigeration truck in Austria last week. Protesters using the hashtag #RefugeesWelcome marched from the train station to the Austrian Parliament Building.

The wave of refugees arrived in Vienna on Monday after being allowed to depart Budapest’s Keleti station, where many had been stranded for days, for Austria or Germany. The trains were stopped at the Austria-Hungary border for several hours before they were allowed to proceed, according to reports. Credit: Instagram/André Karsai