Refugees in crisis: a NH man bears witness

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refugees walking serbia — Refugees walking from Serbia into Hungary. People keep walking in. Some stay at the border and everyone is telling us that they are afraid that if they give their fingerprints to be registered as refugees in Hungary then they won’t be allowed to move on to Germany.

refugee fence hungary — The fence along the border between Horgos, Serbia and Hungary, being built into a permanent high wall down the road.

The police taking our ID info down as we get closer to the construction of the wall separating Serbia and Hungary.

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.

refugee camp hungary — The first make-shift camp on the border between Serbia and Hungary. We spoke to Afghans who said they made it 30km into Hungary last night and the police caught them and brought them back here.

refugees walking austria hungary — Etyek, Hungary: More than a thousand refugees left the city to walk over 150km to Austria by the highway.

refugee aid hungary — Etyek, Hungary: Refugees attempt to walk the 150km to Austria by the highway. We met them 15km down the road and handed out water and food brought there by Hungarian citizens who wanted to help. Every other person walking by said “thank you” or “we love you Hungarians”. Meanwhile, at least three Hungarian cars drove by screaming at us and showing the middle finger. How far will they get? Will they be interned in camps half way?

refugees walking austria — Etyek, Hungary: More than a thousand refugees left the city to walk over 150km to Austria by the highway.

train station hungary — All international trains to western Europe cancelled “for safety reasons”. Migrants are being taken off an hour outside of Budapest to be put into camps.

Hunting for a fight. Hungarian neo-nazis detained. Nighttime in Budapest. Soccer match between Romania and Hungary has ended and we hear that neo-nazis/hooligans are coming to attack the refugees. The refugees are being told to stay in the underground passage and not go out on the streets. BUT most are carrying on, playing and just hanging out.

refugee girl — Girl and her doll at Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugees hungary — Hungarian folk musicians entertain the refugees at Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugee boy — At Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugee keleti station — At Budapest Keleti railway station and underground passage.

police keleti station — At Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugee keleti station hungary — Underground passage at Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugees budapest — Preparing to leave — at Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugee camp keleti — Despite more than a thousand refugees leaving today to walk on the highway, the station is full — at Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugee hungary — Guy speaking German “in the name of the Ger embassy” — at Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugee toddler hungary — At Budapest Keleti railway station.

Preparing to leave — at Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugees bus hungary — These guys were happy to get on but then asked us “Where is this bus going?? Vienna??” — at Budapest Keleti railway station.

refugee bus hungary — Buses to the border — at Budapest Keleti railway station. It’s 1 a.m. 120 city buses deployed to transport the refugees to the Austrian border. There is no panicked rush. Some refugees are afraid they’ll be taken to camps. It’s starting to rain.

Water tanks against neo nazis — at Budapest Keleti railway station.

Hungarians waving white flag yelling “We love you! Peace!” — at Budapest Keleti railway station.

iraq refugee — This 29 year old guy followed us out of the make-shift border camp. He told our Polish-Arabic translator, through tears, that he wants to go back to Iraq, he can’t take it anymore. He is alone and gets no assistance as a single young man. All we could do is lend him our phone to call his mother in Iraq and give him our number in case he needs help in Budapest. This is where I break down.

refugee trains hungary — Sunday-crowds get on trains taking them to the border of Austria.

When a wave of more than 10,000 refugees arrived in Hungary this weekend, New Hampshire native Greg Czarnecki captured the scene.

Budapest became a focal point of the crisis late last week as refugees fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan attempted to pass through Hungary in order to seek asylum in wealthier Northern and Western European nations, like Germany and Austria.

The situation came to a head when refugees refused to get off trains in Budapest’s Keleti station so they could be moved to holding camps in Hungary to be documented. For more than 24 hours refugees refused to leave the trains despite the heat and lack of food. Eventually, they decided to walk en masse more than 100 miles to the Austrian border. Chaos ensued when thousands of refugees took to the highway and railroad tracks on foot, forcing Hungarian officials to provide busing to the Austrian border.

Refugee versus migrant? The crisis has sparked a debate on terminology. A migrant is defined as a person who moves from place to place, usually for employment. A refugee is someone who flees a country fearing death or persecution. Refugees are afforded basic rights and protections, but migrants are not and can be legally ejected from countries. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2014, there were 19.5 million refugees worldwide.

The distinction is important. While many of the people fleeing the Middle East, Africa and Asia are refugees under the established definition, many may be extremely poor but their lives are not at risk, so they are migrants. European governments are accused of favoring the term migrant because it absolves them of responsibility.

Greg Czarnecki is from Atkinson, NH and attended Timberlane Regional High School and the University of Vermont. He currently lives in Budapest, Hungary and works as an LGBT advocate in Eastern Europe. Note: all photo captions provided by Czarnecki.

Refugees in crisis: a NH man bears witness

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Susan Flower