Page 9 - Aruba Today

WORLD NEWS 9
Tuesday 22 September 2015

Hungary posts ads in Lebanon, A girl holds a balloon as migrants wait for buses after crossing the border between Hungary and

Jordan media warning migrants Austria in Nickelsdorf, Austria, 70 kilometers (43 miles) southeast of Vienna, Monday, Sept. 21,

SARAH EL DEEB 2015. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP) — The Hungarian government posted ads European officials clash over migrants
in Lebanese and Jordanian papers on Monday, warn-
ing migrants not to enter Hungary illegally, saying it is a D. STOJANOVIC East, Africa and Asia to action over the blocking of
crime punishable by imprisonment. Associated Press Croatia. truck traffic.
The move comes as Europe is reeling under pressure BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — At first, Croatia welcomed — Hungary blamed Serbia
from tens of thousands of refugees making the peril- The war of words over Eu- them, thinking they would for failing to stop the mi-
ous trek to the continent to seek sanctuary there. rope’s migrant crisis is turn- simply go to Slovenia and grants from throwing stones
In a terse statement published as a full-page an- ing vicious, with officials in continue on to Austria and at its border police and ac-
nouncement in several newspapers, including Leba- the bickering Balkans trad- Germany. But Slovenia shut cused Croatia of jeopardiz-
non’s leading An-Nahar and Jordan’s Al-Rai, the gov- ing blame and accusations its border, and Croatia ing its sovereignty by send-
ernment of Hungary said that “the strongest possible of lying, while also dispar- quickly found itself over- ing thousands of migrants
action is taken” against people who attempt to enter aging each other’s actions whelmed with about 30,000 to Hungary. It also blamed
Hungary illegally. as “pathetic” and a “dis- people in a matter of days. Greece for failing to stop
“Do not listen to the people smugglers. Hungary will grace.” Croatia then started put- the influx.
not allow illegal immigrants to cross its territory,” it said The plight over how to deal ting the asylum seekers on — Slovenia expressed an-
in both English and Arabic. with thousands of asylum trains and buses, even as ger that Croatia is busing
Lebanon, a country of around 4.5 million people, has seekers is reviving old dif- their furious leaders argued people to its frontier.
over 1.1 million Syrian refugees, while Jordan, with a ferences among Serbia, that they had been let This led to undiplomatic ex-
population of 6.5 million, has about 630,000 — some Croatia, Macedonia and down by their neighbors. changes among the Euro-
of whom have already shown readiness to migrate to Slovenia dating back to Even though Croatia set up pean Union neighbors.
Europe because of dwindling aid and work opportuni- the 1990s breakup of Yu- a migrant reception cen- When Croatia said it and
ties. goslavia. It’s also creating ter Monday in the eastern Hungary had agreed to
Hungary, which closed its border with Serbia on Sept. some new tensions. village of Opatovac to try create a corridor for the
15, has erected another steel barrier at the Beremend While the 28-nation Euro- to bring order to the unre- migrants, the Hungarian
border crossing with Croatia to try to slow the flow but pean Union remains deeply lenting chaos and misery, Foreign Ministry called that
the migrants keep coming. divided over how to share it could hardly undo the a “pack of lies.” Hungarian
Many, fleeing violence and poverty in the Middle East, the burden of relocating damage. Foreign Minister Peter Szij-
Asia and Africa, cross the Mediterranean in rickety the refugees and is con- And the high-level griping jarto called the Croatian
smuggler boats and rush from one European border vening a series of meetings has strained relations. prime minister’s handing of
to the next to try to reach welcoming countries such this week to seek a resolu- — Serbia denounced Hun- the crisis “pathetic.”
as Germany and Sweden. The majority of those arriv- tion, the finger-pointing gary for using tear gas Croatian, Serbian and Ro-
ing on the shores of Europe are Syrians. turned especially nasty in against the migrants on the manian officials compared
Hungary’s ads were not the first. Earlier this month, the Balkans. border, with canisters land- Hungary’s tough policies,
Denmark’s Ministry of Immigration, Integration and Hungary’s decision Sept. 15 ing on Serbian territory. It including its new razor-coil
Housing posted advertisements in Lebanese newspa- to close its border with Ser- also protested Croatia’s fence, to the practices of
pers aiming to deter migrants, saying that the Scan- bia has diverted the waves closing of most of its border Budapest’s Nazi-backed
dinavian nation has reduced social aid to migrants of people from the Middle crossings, threatening legal World War II regime.q
by 50 percent recently. Denmark also warned that
migrants whose applications are rejected will be de-
ported immediately.
Syria’s civil war, now in its fifth year, has killed more
than 250,000 people and generated more than 4 mil-
lion refugees.
Meanwhile in Lebanon, the education minister ap-
pealed to donors to remain committed to helping
the country deal with the flux of refugees, including
providing free schooling to hundreds of thousands of
refugee children currently here.
Elias Bou Saab said his government would absorb
more Syrian refugee children in schools this year, aim-
ing to double those enrolled from last year to reach
200,000. But this, he warned, leaves roughly the same
number — about 200,000 — still without schooling.
“There are a still a great number of students out of
schools, and that is a danger, danger to Lebanon and
to the region,” Bou Saab told reporters as he launched
the Back to School campaign, for which the govern-
ment raised $94 million in grants — $25 million short of
the needed funds.q