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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/05/refugees-travelling-from-hungary-can-enter-germany-and-austria
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| First refugees arrive from Hungary after Austria and Germany open borders | First refugees arrive from Hungary after Austria and Germany open borders |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The first of thousands of refugees reached Austria early on Saturday morning as buses carrying them out of Hungary began to arrive following the Austrian and German governments’ decision to allow them entry. | The first of thousands of refugees reached Austria early on Saturday morning as buses carrying them out of Hungary began to arrive following the Austrian and German governments’ decision to allow them entry. |
| News channels and social media showed people being met by Austrian authorities just before 3am local time. There were scenes of soup being handed out in cups from an outdoor kitchen to passengers from the buses, while other footage showed police explaining what would happen next. Later they were ushered into shelters where food and stretcher beds awaited. | News channels and social media showed people being met by Austrian authorities just before 3am local time. There were scenes of soup being handed out in cups from an outdoor kitchen to passengers from the buses, while other footage showed police explaining what would happen next. Later they were ushered into shelters where food and stretcher beds awaited. |
| First marchers already asleep after very long day RT@martinkaul Watch this, Orban! Austria says hello. Shame on you! pic.twitter.com/vgkqXSm4L5 | First marchers already asleep after very long day RT@martinkaul Watch this, Orban! Austria says hello. Shame on you! pic.twitter.com/vgkqXSm4L5 |
| About 1,200 people had set off westwards through Hungary early on Friday evening, on foot and in cars, while many more remained at Budapest’s Keleti railway terminus. Later, however, Hungarian authorities announced they would put buses on to take the refugees to the Austrian border. The Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, confirmed Austria and Germany would allow them in. | About 1,200 people had set off westwards through Hungary early on Friday evening, on foot and in cars, while many more remained at Budapest’s Keleti railway terminus. Later, however, Hungarian authorities announced they would put buses on to take the refugees to the Austrian border. The Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, confirmed Austria and Germany would allow them in. |
| #bus1 #marchofhope #austria 2.51 pic.twitter.com/5DG7T3eprq | #bus1 #marchofhope #austria 2.51 pic.twitter.com/5DG7T3eprq |
| After initial confusion – then suspicion at where they were being taken – most of the refugees boarded the buses. | After initial confusion – then suspicion at where they were being taken – most of the refugees boarded the buses. |
| Many smiled, bidding goodbye to Hungarian volunteers who had brought food and water in recent days. Several thousand people had been left camped in front of a central railway station after authorities cancelled all trains heading to Austria and Germany. | Many smiled, bidding goodbye to Hungarian volunteers who had brought food and water in recent days. Several thousand people had been left camped in front of a central railway station after authorities cancelled all trains heading to Austria and Germany. |
| Keleti suddenly almost empty after refugees woken in the middle of the night and told their chance to leave is now pic.twitter.com/xKilwFyTwR | Keleti suddenly almost empty after refugees woken in the middle of the night and told their chance to leave is now pic.twitter.com/xKilwFyTwR |
| “Because of today’s emergency situation on the Hungarian border, Austria and Germany agree in this case to a continuation of the refugees’ journey into their countries,” wrote Faymann in a Facebook post. | “Because of today’s emergency situation on the Hungarian border, Austria and Germany agree in this case to a continuation of the refugees’ journey into their countries,” wrote Faymann in a Facebook post. |
| He added that Hungary was still expected to meet its obligations to accept the return of people who have sought asylum there before crossing into another country. But he indicated Austria’s willingness to take a greater share of the burden of accommodating the refugees. | He added that Hungary was still expected to meet its obligations to accept the return of people who have sought asylum there before crossing into another country. But he indicated Austria’s willingness to take a greater share of the burden of accommodating the refugees. |
| The Austrian Red Cross said it expected between 800 and 1,500 refugees to arrive at a reception centre at the country’s border with Hungary in the early hours of Saturday. | The Austrian Red Cross said it expected between 800 and 1,500 refugees to arrive at a reception centre at the country’s border with Hungary in the early hours of Saturday. |
| “We are getting beds, shelter, food and hot drinks ready for them, and there will also be medical care available if needed,” said spokesman Thomas Horvath. | “We are getting beds, shelter, food and hot drinks ready for them, and there will also be medical care available if needed,” said spokesman Thomas Horvath. |
| As the buses get ready to leave Keleti for Austria, Mohammad who fled Isis in Mosul makes a heart with his hands pic.twitter.com/uSjv1Rxc3O | As the buses get ready to leave Keleti for Austria, Mohammad who fled Isis in Mosul makes a heart with his hands pic.twitter.com/uSjv1Rxc3O |
| "Thank you! Thank you"! They shout as buses drive past pic.twitter.com/l3NfYmICap | "Thank you! Thank you"! They shout as buses drive past pic.twitter.com/l3NfYmICap |
| On board one of the buses to Austria, exhausted migrants veered between concern and relief. Many were nervous after Hungary tried to transport a trainload of migrants heading for Austria into a camp on Thursday. | |
| “I was not comfortable leaving the Keleti railway station,” said 26-year-old Syrian Mohammed. But he relaxed as he caught a glimpse of the Danube river through the window: “I had heard about it but I’ve never seen it,” he said. “It’s beautiful.” | |
| Between 800 and 3,000 migrants were expected to arrive at the Austrian border in the pre-dawn hours, said police spokesman Werner Fasching, adding that law enforcement and workers from the Red Cross were there to receive them. | |
| Some 600 beds had been made available in Nickelsdorf for the new arrivals and neighbouring regions were mobilising to ensure they were provided with food and medical care, he said. | |
| In Hungary, at one point along the road, a group of stragglers waited in the drizzle for a bus after falling behind the main pack of people who had set off on foot. “Some of them were vomiting,” says Kolozs, a 39-year-old Hungarian engineer who tied a blanket between a tree and a car to shelter the refugees. “They are women and children – I’m amazed they got this far.” | |
| Some people cruised past in cars shouting abuse, calling them “Saddam Hussein” and “scum”. The Syrians were restrained in response. “People are people,” said Manoli, a 19-year-old electrical engineering student. “You can’t convince some of them.” Some of the Syrians remained to be convinced whether the promised bus would really take them to Austria. “Who’s organising it, the Hungarians?” asks one Syrian. “Forget it, I’m walking.” | |
| Meanwhile as the Keleti camp in Budapest rapidly emptied out, the handful still remaining kept asking: “Is it a trick?” | Meanwhile as the Keleti camp in Budapest rapidly emptied out, the handful still remaining kept asking: “Is it a trick?” |
| “They say they take us to Austria, but won’t they just take us to a camp like they did with the train?” said Hadi Rostani, a 24-year-old from Afghanistan’s south-west. Several of his friends had thought they were getting a train to Germany, only for it to be stopped near a refugee camp that Hungarian authorities tried to corral passengers without papers into. | “They say they take us to Austria, but won’t they just take us to a camp like they did with the train?” said Hadi Rostani, a 24-year-old from Afghanistan’s south-west. Several of his friends had thought they were getting a train to Germany, only for it to be stopped near a refugee camp that Hungarian authorities tried to corral passengers without papers into. |
| Others did not need to be asked twice. “I feel like a baby that has been given a new toy,” said Akhmad Alfarhan, a 23-year-old from Damascus travelling with a group of friends just before his bus set off. | |
| “I will learn German and then I can go back to college and finish training as a dentist,” said 20-year-old Sara Mardini, grinning widely. “I thought it was a joke when they woke me up to tell me there were buses.” | |
| As the buses slipped away into the dark drizzle of Saturday morning many inside smiled and waved at everyone outside despite the strange hour. Their goodbye party was a mix of volunteers, aid workers, riot police and a few bemused tourists and football hooligans who had drifted down from a match at a nearby stadium. | As the buses slipped away into the dark drizzle of Saturday morning many inside smiled and waved at everyone outside despite the strange hour. Their goodbye party was a mix of volunteers, aid workers, riot police and a few bemused tourists and football hooligans who had drifted down from a match at a nearby stadium. |
| “Thank you! Thank you!” they shouted as the fast-emptying square slipped behind them. Most of the crowd had been asleep when news spread that the march of hundreds to the border had forced the Hungarian government’s hand. | “Thank you! Thank you!” they shouted as the fast-emptying square slipped behind them. Most of the crowd had been asleep when news spread that the march of hundreds to the border had forced the Hungarian government’s hand. |
| None complained about the abrupt nature of their departure, or the rickety old city buses that had been pressed into service for the long commute. Most had spent days camping out in miserable limbo on the station forecourt, subsisting on handouts, afraid of death on the roads after more than 70 people suffocated in a smuggler’s van, but barred from crossing the border on trains. | None complained about the abrupt nature of their departure, or the rickety old city buses that had been pressed into service for the long commute. Most had spent days camping out in miserable limbo on the station forecourt, subsisting on handouts, afraid of death on the roads after more than 70 people suffocated in a smuggler’s van, but barred from crossing the border on trains. |
| The Hungarian government seemed relieved to see them go. Before the first bus even pulled out, clean-up teams began disinfecting and removing the eight squalid portable toilets that hundreds of travellers had been forced to share. | The Hungarian government seemed relieved to see them go. Before the first bus even pulled out, clean-up teams began disinfecting and removing the eight squalid portable toilets that hundreds of travellers had been forced to share. |
| By the time the first marchers reached Austria the square was nearly empty, dotted only with tents, sleeping mats and other detritus left behind by families who feared they could not carry them, or hoped they would no longer need them. | By the time the first marchers reached Austria the square was nearly empty, dotted only with tents, sleeping mats and other detritus left behind by families who feared they could not carry them, or hoped they would no longer need them. |
| Earlier, Angela Merkel said Germany could cope with a record-breaking influx of people this year without raising taxes. But the German chancellor repeated her call that the refugees should be distributed more equally across the EU member states, as part of a common strategy to cope with Europe’s unprecedented migration crisis. | Earlier, Angela Merkel said Germany could cope with a record-breaking influx of people this year without raising taxes. But the German chancellor repeated her call that the refugees should be distributed more equally across the EU member states, as part of a common strategy to cope with Europe’s unprecedented migration crisis. |
| “The whole system needs to be redesigned,” said Merkel, adding that tasks and burdens should be distributed more fairly. | “The whole system needs to be redesigned,” said Merkel, adding that tasks and burdens should be distributed more fairly. |
| The country is the EU’s biggest recipient of refugees from the Middle East and economic migrants from south-eastern Europe. | The country is the EU’s biggest recipient of refugees from the Middle East and economic migrants from south-eastern Europe. |
| A record 104,460 asylum seekers entered the country in August, and the country expects about 800,000 refugees and migrants this year – four times last year’s level. | A record 104,460 asylum seekers entered the country in August, and the country expects about 800,000 refugees and migrants this year – four times last year’s level. |
| In light of the influx, the government plans to introduce a supplementary budget to free up funds for the refugees and to help towns in the frontline which are already struggling to pay for accommodation and fund medical care for the new arrivals. | In light of the influx, the government plans to introduce a supplementary budget to free up funds for the refugees and to help towns in the frontline which are already struggling to pay for accommodation and fund medical care for the new arrivals. |
| “We won’t raise taxes. And we still have the goal of posting a balanced budget without taking on new debt,” Merkel told several local newspapers. | “We won’t raise taxes. And we still have the goal of posting a balanced budget without taking on new debt,” Merkel told several local newspapers. |
| The leeway in the country’s budget that will allow it to spend an extra €5bn (£3.68bn) was created by higher than expected tax revenues and windfall gains from the sale of mobile phone frequencies, said officials. | The leeway in the country’s budget that will allow it to spend an extra €5bn (£3.68bn) was created by higher than expected tax revenues and windfall gains from the sale of mobile phone frequencies, said officials. |
| Merkel’s coalition is expected to agree on a series of measures on Sunday, including cutting red tape to facilitate the construction of new asylum shelters, speeding up asylum procedures and increasing funds for federal states and towns. | Merkel’s coalition is expected to agree on a series of measures on Sunday, including cutting red tape to facilitate the construction of new asylum shelters, speeding up asylum procedures and increasing funds for federal states and towns. |