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| Refugee crisis: 'Europe's biggest test since second world war' – live updates | Refugee crisis: 'Europe's biggest test since second world war' – live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.55am BST08:55 | |
| Putin blames US foreign policy in the Middle East | |
| Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has blamed the crisis on the US policies in the Middle East, according to the Russian news agency Tass. | |
| It reported him saying that the crisis is rooted in the wrong foreign policy that the West and namely the United States conducts in the Middle East and Northern Africa. | |
| Putin is quoted as saying: “What is this policy about? This is imposing its standards without taking into consideration historic, religious, national and cultural specifics of these regions. This is first of all, the policy of our American partners.” | |
| Tass added: Putin said he was surprised how the US mass media criticise Europe for cruelty against migrants. He stressed that the US is not affected by this migrant flow while Europe, which blindly follows Washington’s instructions, suffers the most. | |
| 8.43am BST08:43 | |
| Refugees faces fordmidable adversaries on the route to Europe, from the waves of the Mediterranean to the police forces of the Balkans and central Europe, as our next interviewee, a 25-year-old Syrian called Fade, tells Sofia Papadopolou, a Guardian contributor based in Thessaloniki. | |
| The hardest thing of the trip was when we had to take the boat from the Turkish to the Greek coast. We were 11 people squeezed on a small rubber boat, no longer than 3.5 meters long. There was a young boy with us and you could easily recognise fear in his eyes. I kept watching him all through the journey and he was looking right back at me as if he was telling me: “please, don’t let me die here”. Waves kept crashing into the boat and the only thing on my mind at that time was how I could save him or keep him warm if things went wrong…” | |
| If the sea was bad, the reception in Europe was not much better. | |
| “We were walking for about three hours through Hungary when we suddenly saw the police. We started running into the forest and hided ourselves behind the trees. We managed to escape and somehow we made it to Budapest. From there, I took the train to Munich but in Austria the police caught me and they sent me to prison. I stayed in for two days and then I was sent back to Hungary. I had to spend two more days imprisoned there before they let me go. This time though I didn’t take the train. I took a taxi so as to be safe”. | |
| Fade finally made it to Germany but he didn’t have enough money to continue his journey so he decided to show up at a police station. | |
| I told them that I am a Syrian and I need help. They sent me to the central camp in Frankfurt, where I am now, waiting for my new life to start”. | |
| Fade had to take a difficult and dangerous trip to Europe but when asked If he would do it all over again if he had to, he says “yes” with no hesitation. | |
| The only thing I would change is the boat trip from the Turkish to the Greek coast. It was a nightmare. I saw death there and I would never want to live such a moment this again in my life”. | |
| Updated at 8.46am BST | |
| 8.39am BST08:39 | |
| The Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison has been speaking to some of the hundreds of people at Budapest’s Keleti station trying to get to Germany. | |
| "My family is waiting for me." One of hundreds trapped in Budapest station pic.twitter.com/DxswbUhr5f | |
| 8.34am BST08:34 | |
| Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has called for a “paradigm shift” in Britain’s response to the crisis. | |
| Speaking to BBC Radio 4 Today’s programme after meeting the Pope to discuss the issue, Mirvis said: “We have a responsibility now because currently there are tens of thousands of people who are knocking on the door of Europe. And if we don’t do something in this humanitarian crisis, God forbid, there will be a deeper loss of life.” | |
| Pressed on how the government should respond, Mirvis said: “What I am saying is there needs to be a paradigm shift with regard to mindset. For far too long we have related to these suffering individuals as if they are people who are living on Mars. Thanks to that desperately sad and tragic image [of Aylan Kurdi’s body] it has moved our hearts. When we heard that 70 people lost their lives in a truck it didn’t do the trick. It is the image of that boy which has brought us to our senses. And now we desperately need to respond adequately ... | |
| “It is not for me to be prescribing numbers. We definitely need to do far more.” | |
| 8.18am BST08:18 | 8.18am BST08:18 |
| Orban: 'Europeans risk becoming a minority' | Orban: 'Europeans risk becoming a minority' |
| Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, remains defiant on his country’s hardline anti-immigrant stance, with a waring that Europeans risk becoming a minority on their own continent. | Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, remains defiant on his country’s hardline anti-immigrant stance, with a waring that Europeans risk becoming a minority on their own continent. |
| “The reality is that Europe is threatened by a mass inflow of people, many tens of millions of people could come to Europe,” Reuters quoted in telling a public radio station. | “The reality is that Europe is threatened by a mass inflow of people, many tens of millions of people could come to Europe,” Reuters quoted in telling a public radio station. |
| He added: “Now we talk about hundreds of thousands but next year we will talk about millions and there is no end to this. All of a sudden we will see that we are in minority in our own continent.” | He added: “Now we talk about hundreds of thousands but next year we will talk about millions and there is no end to this. All of a sudden we will see that we are in minority in our own continent.” |
| “Hungary cannot ignore Schengen rules in its procedures,” said Orban, referring to Europe’s zone of passport-free travel. | “Hungary cannot ignore Schengen rules in its procedures,” said Orban, referring to Europe’s zone of passport-free travel. |
| “Migrants must cooperate with Hungarian authorities, with the German authorities and if Germany wants to admit Syrians, it should issue permission for them to go into Germany.” | “Migrants must cooperate with Hungarian authorities, with the German authorities and if Germany wants to admit Syrians, it should issue permission for them to go into Germany.” |
| Orban said the new measures being debated by parliament would be implemented later this month. | Orban said the new measures being debated by parliament would be implemented later this month. |
| “Everyone should be prepared for this: Serbia, Macedonia, the immigrants, the human traffickers. We ourselves will prepare for this, and a different era will start from 15 September.” | “Everyone should be prepared for this: Serbia, Macedonia, the immigrants, the human traffickers. We ourselves will prepare for this, and a different era will start from 15 September.” |
| 8.09am BST08:09 | 8.09am BST08:09 |
| Through the day we’ll be hearing from individual refugees about their extraordinary journeys. Some, like the Kurdi family, risked all in hopeless boats. Others have walked the length of countries and haven’t slept in a bed for months. | Through the day we’ll be hearing from individual refugees about their extraordinary journeys. Some, like the Kurdi family, risked all in hopeless boats. Others have walked the length of countries and haven’t slept in a bed for months. |
| Mohamad Hesham Moadamani’s tale is instructive. The 24-year-old Syrian spent six hours trying to swim from Turkey to Greece before being rescued by a boat. It was just the beginning, as he told Kate Connolly, the Guardian’s Berlin correspondent. | Mohamad Hesham Moadamani’s tale is instructive. The 24-year-old Syrian spent six hours trying to swim from Turkey to Greece before being rescued by a boat. It was just the beginning, as he told Kate Connolly, the Guardian’s Berlin correspondent. |
| They gave us papers and we went to Athens and from there to Thessaloniki. From there we had a long walk. We reached the Macedonian border at 3am. Our feet were really cut and sore. | They gave us papers and we went to Athens and from there to Thessaloniki. From there we had a long walk. We reached the Macedonian border at 3am. Our feet were really cut and sore. |
| We managed to get into Serbia and from there had to think of how we’d cross Hungary without being obliged to apply for asylum there. | We managed to get into Serbia and from there had to think of how we’d cross Hungary without being obliged to apply for asylum there. |
| We booked tickets for a bus to the border. After spending a night in the forest, we changed into fresh clothes so we wouldn’t look like migrants. But we were picked up by the Hungarian police and taken to jail in Budapest. That night they let us go. | We booked tickets for a bus to the border. After spending a night in the forest, we changed into fresh clothes so we wouldn’t look like migrants. But we were picked up by the Hungarian police and taken to jail in Budapest. That night they let us go. |
| A taxi agreed to take us for €500 per person from Budapest to Germany. After two hours we were in Germany. After just a few metres we were met by the police, who immediately arrested our drivers and asked us: “Are you Syrians?” We said yes we are. “You are welcome to Germany,” they told us. They were smiling and I felt relaxed and safe. Finally I’m in Germany, living in Lübeck and waiting to get a residency permit and to start learning German so that I can pursue my education and find better opportunities. | A taxi agreed to take us for €500 per person from Budapest to Germany. After two hours we were in Germany. After just a few metres we were met by the police, who immediately arrested our drivers and asked us: “Are you Syrians?” We said yes we are. “You are welcome to Germany,” they told us. They were smiling and I felt relaxed and safe. Finally I’m in Germany, living in Lübeck and waiting to get a residency permit and to start learning German so that I can pursue my education and find better opportunities. |
| 8.07am BST08:07 | 8.07am BST08:07 |
| Patrick Kingsley | Patrick Kingsley |
| Our migration correspondent, Patrick Kingsley, has set out 10 ways to manage the crisis. Here’s the first: | Our migration correspondent, Patrick Kingsley, has set out 10 ways to manage the crisis. Here’s the first: |
| 1) Establish a standard asylum procedure across Europe | 1) Establish a standard asylum procedure across Europe |
| The reason this summer’s migration crisis has slowly spread from the islands of Greece to the sports halls of Germany, via Austria’s motorways and Hungary’s train stations, is because some European countries treat refugees more humanely than others. As a result, refugees are aiming for the places that will give them the most stability. Sweden offers indefinite residence to Syrians, while other nations don’t, for instance, while some countries are faster at reuniting children with parents who have gone on ahead to seek asylum. | The reason this summer’s migration crisis has slowly spread from the islands of Greece to the sports halls of Germany, via Austria’s motorways and Hungary’s train stations, is because some European countries treat refugees more humanely than others. As a result, refugees are aiming for the places that will give them the most stability. Sweden offers indefinite residence to Syrians, while other nations don’t, for instance, while some countries are faster at reuniting children with parents who have gone on ahead to seek asylum. |
| So the best way to ensure refugees don’t hop between European countries is not to build fences, which encourages more dangerous forms of smuggling, but to ensure that the asylum system in every EU state operates to the same high standards, gives refugees the same level of benefits and grants the same length of residency. A common policy would also ensure that refugees were distributed proportionally throughout the EU. As it is some countries, particularly Greece and Italy, share a disproportionately large of the burden of the crisis. | So the best way to ensure refugees don’t hop between European countries is not to build fences, which encourages more dangerous forms of smuggling, but to ensure that the asylum system in every EU state operates to the same high standards, gives refugees the same level of benefits and grants the same length of residency. A common policy would also ensure that refugees were distributed proportionally throughout the EU. As it is some countries, particularly Greece and Italy, share a disproportionately large of the burden of the crisis. |
| But such a move would be resisted by most European countries as many politicians believe it would cost them political capital at home. | But such a move would be resisted by most European countries as many politicians believe it would cost them political capital at home. |
| Read the other nine suggestions here. | Read the other nine suggestions here. |
| Updated at 8.09am BST | Updated at 8.09am BST |
| 8.02am BST08:02 | 8.02am BST08:02 |
| Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed “the whole Western world” for the drowning of Aylan Kurdi and his family. In an interview with CNN he said: | Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed “the whole Western world” for the drowning of Aylan Kurdi and his family. In an interview with CNN he said: |
| “To be honest, the whole Western world is to be blamed in my opinion on this issue. When I saw that picture, it was in a family setting, unfortunately, and my children and my grandchildren, they saw the picture at the same time as me.” | “To be honest, the whole Western world is to be blamed in my opinion on this issue. When I saw that picture, it was in a family setting, unfortunately, and my children and my grandchildren, they saw the picture at the same time as me.” |
| “When we saw it, we were devastated and we asked the question of ourselves: Where is humanity? Where is the conscience of humanity that a child – and it’s not the first time this is happening. ... Many children, mothers, fathers unfortunately have been drowned in the rough waters of the Mediterranean.” | “When we saw it, we were devastated and we asked the question of ourselves: Where is humanity? Where is the conscience of humanity that a child – and it’s not the first time this is happening. ... Many children, mothers, fathers unfortunately have been drowned in the rough waters of the Mediterranean.” |
| Updated at 8.03am BST | Updated at 8.03am BST |
| 7.44am BST07:44 | 7.44am BST07:44 |
| Welcome to special live coverage of Europe’s deepening migration crisis amid an increasingly fraught debate about how to tackle it, and dire warnings about the scale of the problem. | Welcome to special live coverage of Europe’s deepening migration crisis amid an increasingly fraught debate about how to tackle it, and dire warnings about the scale of the problem. |
| We will have regular updates on the unfolding crisis from our team of reporters dispatched to various flashpoints across Europe. We’ll hear from our migration correspondent Patrick Kingsley on his way to southern Italy after a stint on a Mediterranean rescue boat; Matthew Taylor on his latest trip to Calais; Phoebe Greenwood with video updates from Munich on the grass roots campaigns offering help; Dan Nolan in Bickse where the Hungarian authorities are in a standoff with hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers trying to get to Germany; and Helena Smith in Kos the Greek island which three-year-old Aylan Kurdi was trying to reach when he drowned along with his brother and mother. | We will have regular updates on the unfolding crisis from our team of reporters dispatched to various flashpoints across Europe. We’ll hear from our migration correspondent Patrick Kingsley on his way to southern Italy after a stint on a Mediterranean rescue boat; Matthew Taylor on his latest trip to Calais; Phoebe Greenwood with video updates from Munich on the grass roots campaigns offering help; Dan Nolan in Bickse where the Hungarian authorities are in a standoff with hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers trying to get to Germany; and Helena Smith in Kos the Greek island which three-year-old Aylan Kurdi was trying to reach when he drowned along with his brother and mother. |
| The crisis is set to dominate a series of high level European meetings today, including a gathering of the prime ministers of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and David Cameron’s meeting with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy. Our political correspondent Nicholas Watt is travelling with the prime minister. | The crisis is set to dominate a series of high level European meetings today, including a gathering of the prime ministers of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and David Cameron’s meeting with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy. Our political correspondent Nicholas Watt is travelling with the prime minister. |
| Meanwile, here’s a roundup of the latest developments: | Meanwile, here’s a roundup of the latest developments: |