EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SERBIA-CROATIA REAX UNHCR says migrants in Serbia will be stuck and without access to basic protection if Hungary closes its border with Croatia

Record ID: 136081

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SERBIA-CROATIA REAX UNHCR says migrants in Serbia will be stuck and without access to basic protection if Hungary closes its border with Croatia
  • Date: 16th October 2015
  • Summary: BERKASOVO, SERBIA (OCTOBER 16, 2015) (REUTERS) HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS CROSSING SERBIA'S BORDER WITH CROATIA ON FOOT CARRYING UMBRELLAS MORE OF MIGRANTS WALKING TOWARDS CROATIA GIRL STRUGGLING TO HOLD UMBRELLA BECAUSE OF STRONG WIND (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIGRANT FROM AFGHANISTAN, ZEINA BASAMATI, SAYING: "We did not know about that (Hungary closing its border for refugees) tha
  • Embargoed: 31st October 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Croatia
  • Country: Croatia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA96AHTMQVSJO427Y3AB6HOBR46
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Some 3,000 migrants crossed from Serbia into Croatia on Friday (October 16), many of them trying to reach Germany through Hungary. Another 1,000 migrants are expected to cross before midnight (2200 GMT) when Hungary is to close its southern border with Croatia.
    Hungary announced the seal-off of its border with Croatia on Friday, pressing ahead with a unilateral crackdown on the flow of migrants to a Europe still divided over how to handle them.
    The move comes a month after Hungary's right-wing government shut its frontier with Serbia to hundreds of thousands of migrants, many of them refugees from war in Syria, streaming across the Balkan peninsula from conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
    Hungary has erected a steel fence almost the length of its southern frontier, declaring it has to secure the borders of the European Union from mainly Muslim migrants who it says pose a threat to the prosperity, security and "Christian values" of Europe.
    "We did not know about that (Hungary closing its border for refugees) that is very bad, our plan was not this. We want to go to Croatia after that to Slovenia, after that Austria and after that Germany," said Zeina Basamati from Afghanistan, who found protection from the rain under a shelter set up by aid workers.
    With winter approaching migrants are struggling with the bad weather and dropping temperatures.
    "The weather is as we can see outside is bad, it's raining, it's windy and it's cold, so regardless whether the border is open or not, that is something that we take very seriously and we make sure that people have the minimum protection against the weather. If Hungary decides to close its border tonight of course that brings an additional concern, that people will be stuck without access to the basic protection," UNHCR coordinator Niklas Stoerup Agerup said, as refugees continued to walk from Serbia to Croatia.
    "So far the general picture is that we have about four to five thousand people entering into Serbia from Macedonia, every day. There is also people entering from Bulgaria but that's a much smaller number. So far we haven't seen any reduction due to the weather, whether that will happen remains to be seen. Regardless, we'll be ready to assist the people, no matter if it is two thousand, four thousand or five thousands coming per day," Stoerup Agerup added.
    After crossing into Croatia, migrants so far have been taken by trains and buses to Austria via Hungary. They now face being diverted from Croatia into Slovenia, like Hungary a member of Europe's Schengen zone of passport-free travel.
    Croatia said it had agreed a plan with fellow former Yugoslav republic Slovenia to handle the flow of migrants when Hungary sealed the border. Slovenia denied this but confirmed that the neighbours were holding "operational talks".
    Slovenia, a country of 2 million people, said it would designate one or two entrance points for migrants and convene its national security council on Saturday.
    Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec indicated that Slovenia would not restrict entry providing Germany keeps its doors open.
    The EU has agreed a deal - resisted by some of its members in eastern Europe - to share out 120,000 refugees, only a small proportion of the 700,000 or so people expected to reach Europe this year.
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