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It's fun that they idolise Merkel (not knowing her government's responsibility for the Dublin Accord which Orbán's Hungary enforced on them). *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
If We Rescued the Banks We Can Save Refugees, Merkel Says http://t.co/y7eWV4Ks2H— Hans Rosling (@HansRosling) septiembre 2, 2015
so we dont forget: #Merkel attacked over crying #refugee girl http://t.co/Mjp9KcnMLA 17 July 2015 #germany— عمك مصرى (@AElMassry) septiembre 3, 2015
Merkel is badass. Those who criticized her for being awkward w/ refugee girl last month are what's wrong w/ the world http://t.co/I5UQyfHmmX— Luz Caballero (@gerbille) septiembre 2, 2015
Palestinian girl Reem Sahwil, whose story moved Chancellor Merkel to stroke her cheek in a discussion forum, has had her residency permit extended. Her family can now remain in Germany at least until March 2016.
BREAKING: Hungarian government to send buses for migrants, offering to transport them to Austrian border: Hungarian PM's chief of staff— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) 4. September 2015
BREAKING: Hungarian government to send buses for migrants, offering to transport them to Austrian border: Hungarian PM's chief of staff
According to reporters on the ground, the refugees are incredulous and distrustful – no wonder after the lies and dirty tricks of the previous days.
This decision was taken by an official "emergency committee". For a week, the government didn't feel the need of one. On the day police executed its fateful U-turn at Keleti station, the national police chief was at some government seminar and had no clue. As for the interior minister, he was on holiday and didn't feel the need to interrupt it. Orbán himself was in Brussels on the day of the "end station Bicske" dirty trick. In other words, The Great Hungarian Refugee Crisis is a glaring example of near-total mismanagement – but I doubt many Fidesz voters will recognise that. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
About 4,500 refugees were taken to the border in 104 buses. Just in time as the autumn rain started during the night.
Austria transported the refugees further on buses and trains.
4,500 is a lot, but for scale: in spite of the border fence, Hungarian police detained over 2,000 'illegal' immigrants yesterday, while in Greece, daily new arrivals are now around 4,000. (The 800,000 annual total number for Germany would mean about 100,000 a month from now on, that's 3,300 a day.)
The refugees marching along the highway were the most distrustful of the bus transport offer: fearing another trick to take them to the Bicske camp, they first boarded only a single bus and waited until it actually arrived on the border, and insisted that a journalist or NGO helper sit on every bus. (The photo below from Instagram shows Index.hu reporter Balázs Pandi in the middle, on board the first bus.)
I find that the international media gives rather incomplete reports of the "last station Bicske" dirty trick, so they don't get the level of the refugees' distrust.
I think one of the many mistakes of the government was to ignore that most of the Syrians are educated people: the police measures and dirty tricks assumed a wild rabble who could only rage against their fate. But these were people who self-organised and informed themselves and each other and created strategy, which proved effective in derailing each government plan even if it was far from the level of professional PR. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Another small bit on this: at Keleti, the refugees boarding the buses wouldn't accept anything from police, so instead it was a group of punks who gave them water. In the previous days, the punks got the refugees' special attention, the children were especially amazed.
*Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
It hurts to see the level of civilian activism and welcome in Austria and Germany, when compared to that here. Even if local activism picked up dramatically in the last two days (the treks today got help even in the small villages which vote overwhelmingly Fidesz and Jobbik), because those are contrasted by absolutely vile reactions from many many passing people. For example, when a car driven by two old ladies tried to pick up a family with small children which couldn't keep the pace of yesterday's big trek along the highway, the driver of a Porsche with Slovakian license plate [a tax cheat trick] jumped out to physically threat them; two refugees at Keleti got into hospital due to petards thrown by the hooligans; at a nearby park, two girls with the hooligans invited some refugees out so that the hooligans can beat them; at a pharmacy, a refugee with an open wound was sent away.
It also hurts to see that in five days, a rag-tag army of people barely speaking English managed to force the Orbán regime into complete surrender with actions of non-violent resistance, something the domestic democratic opposition couldn't manage in five years. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
The subtitles are in Hungarian but all the interviewed speak English. The one part where there is a lot of Hungarian and some Arabic is from 5:00 in, that's when the buses arrive. The man in red jacket explains that the first six buses won't stop because they will pick up the trek along the railway tracks (the one from the train stopped at Bicske) because they are in even worse health. Later the two Syrians in yellow baseball hats debate whether to board the buses or avoid another trap by walking on. Later the Hungarian interpreter relays the demand that all bus drivers confirm in front of cameras that the buses are really going to the border.
Also, for example the shot of the guy at about 1:05 is priceless. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
The comments have already been swamped by trolls. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Who will be whom they'll pick up at Keleti station? Most of the few hundred refugees currently there are Afghans and Pakistanis who didn't buy a train ticket out of uncertainty about their situation: they know Germany made an exception about the Syrians. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
The Good Mother Merkel?! For heaven's sake... Schengen is toast!
I don't get why you find that strange. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
How would you know that? Did he say what level of training he had earlier? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
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