An Austrian newspaper has highlighted a group of about 20 Syrians who have been stuck for years on the border crossings between Serbia, Hungary and Romania. They have been waiting for the opportunity to reach their dream of entering the European Union.
The Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported that Syrians from Idleb and Afrin live inside an abandoned and demolished building in the Serbian town of Majan on the border between Hungary and Romania. They only have blankets and have been lying on the cold concrete floor.
The newspaper tells the story of the twenty Syrians, most of whom came more than two years ago from Turkey, where they live in a dilapidated concrete building with four hungry and emaciated dogs. They share the misery and food provided to them by some humanitarian organizations there.
One refugee told the newspaper that his dog keeps him warm at night and protects him from wolves.
Asylum seekers constantly try to cross into Hungary and Romania until they reach Western Europe, but are returned to Serbia by authorities at the border.
Severe beatings
Many of these Syrians suffer leg injuries. They are being beaten on their legs by police patrols intercepting them as they try to escape through the high fence into Hungary using aluminum ladders, or when they walk stealthily in the dark to cross into Romania.
A 23-year-old Syrian who wants to go to Germany says “we are being beaten by the Hungarian authorities, while Romanians are stealing our money.”
There are no reception centers for migrants in Serbia, as they are all sent to the federal part of the country and mostly end up somewhere on the Bosnian-Croatian or Serbian-Hungarian border in slums, often in abandoned houses. There, they are not only exposed to insects and freezing, but also have no toilets or laundry facilities.
Refugees are waiting for an opportunity to close the eyes of police patrols that treat them particularly brutally in Hungary to enter the European Union on foot, and realize their long-awaited dream, as happened with those twenty.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
