- Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/EU-PROTEST Refugees protest on sidelines of EU migration meeting
- Date: 14th September 2015
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (SEPTEMBER 14, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PROTESTERS INCLUDING REFUGEES GATHERED IN FRONT OF CINQUANTENAIRE PARK PROTESTERS INCLUDING REFUGEES DURING DEMO, MAN HOLDING BANNER READING (English) 'We are not dangerous, we are in danger' PROTESTERS CHANTING GROUP OF IRAQI REFUGEES ARRIVING AT DEMONSTRATION CARRYING BANNERS REFUGEES GATHERED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) 25-YEAR-OLD IRAQI STUDENT, HASSAN YASSINE, SAYING: "What we demand is that they do open the borders and they should not close it. It is undeniable that there is a lot of pressure lately and it is getting crowded in here, but we expect from the authorities to address the situation in a proper way." VARIOUS OF REFUGEES CARRYING BANNERS AND CHANTING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) 22-YEAR-OLD SYRIAN, MOHAMMAD SOLTAN, SAYING: "What we are asking for is help, from a humanitarian side, regardless of religions. We ask for visas to be delivered to sick people and children and people in real need. These people are dying and their only crime was to have lived in a country where humanity does not exist." VARIOUS OF REFUGEES DANCING AS BYSTANDERS CLAP HANDS POLICE IN FRONT OF BARRIER
- Embargoed: 29th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Belgium
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABVZD8Y9TAR397KIGRWBA9ZAVM
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Refugees and migrants protested in Brussels on Monday (September 14) on the sidelines of a meeting of EU interior ministers discussing proposals to distribute asylum-seekers across the continent.
A draft agreement for discussion by interior ministers in Brussels would see them agree to a proposal from the EU executive to relocate 120,000 of the most deserving cases around the bloc - but leave the way in which to distribute them for discussion over the next few weeks.
Hassan Yassine, a 25-year-old Iraqi student, called on EU leaders to open up the borders.
"What we demand is that they do open the borders and they should not close it. It is undeniable that there is a lot of pressure lately and it is getting crowded in here, but we expect from the authorities to address the situation in a proper way," he said.
The protest was organised by Facebook group "Citizens' platform of support for refugees", which was set up to co-ordinate volunteers' efforts for refugees in the city of Brussels and has since attracted over 20,000 supporters.
Syrian Mohammad Soltan, 22, called on visas to be given.
"What we are asking for is help, from a humanitarian side, regardless of religions. We ask for visas to be delivered to sick people and children and people in real need. These people are dying and their only crime was to have lived in a country where humanity does not exist," Soltan, who has lived in Belgium for three years, said.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, backed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, has proposed national quotas for EU states to take people in from over-burdened frontline states.
But that is opposed by some ex-communist eastern states, notably Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary - even though the latter would benefit from the executive's plan. They argue that quotas would draw more migrants to Europe and disrupt their societies, which have not been used to large-scale immigration. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
