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| Hungarians Say Images of Harshness Toward Migrants Are Unfair | Hungarians Say Images of Harshness Toward Migrants Are Unfair |
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| BUDAPEST — More than 170,000 migrants have crossed the border of Hungary so far this year, taxing its police, transportation system, commerce and finances. With all that, the image that is likely to linger is that of a Hungarian camerawoman sticking out her foot to trip a migrant carrying his young daughter as they ran from the police. | |
| Video of the episode, which spread rapidly on social media, led to global condemnation and transformed the camerawoman, Petra Laszlo, into a potent symbol of the xenophobic, sometimes violent, response to the migrant crisis in parts of Europe. | Video of the episode, which spread rapidly on social media, led to global condemnation and transformed the camerawoman, Petra Laszlo, into a potent symbol of the xenophobic, sometimes violent, response to the migrant crisis in parts of Europe. |
| It also fed into a perception of a heartless Hungary, where the government is resisting thousands who have fled war and persecution in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other troubled areas — and where reception of the migrants stands in marked contrast to scenes from Austria and Germany, which has greeted them with cheers, chocolate and offers to stay. | It also fed into a perception of a heartless Hungary, where the government is resisting thousands who have fled war and persecution in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other troubled areas — and where reception of the migrants stands in marked contrast to scenes from Austria and Germany, which has greeted them with cheers, chocolate and offers to stay. |
| Ms. Laszlo apologized for her actions on Thursday, saying that she had “snapped” and was defending herself from migrants who were charging at her in a field in southern Hungary to avoid being sent to holding camps. But even as her words of regret were shared, a new image from Hungary was gaining attention. | |
| Video of police wearing surgical masks tossing food to caged migrants in a hangar at a holding center drew a rebuke from humanitarian groups — and a promise of an investigation by the Hungarian authorities. | Video of police wearing surgical masks tossing food to caged migrants in a hangar at a holding center drew a rebuke from humanitarian groups — and a promise of an investigation by the Hungarian authorities. |
| Video by Sprido08Video circulated on social networks shows officers throwing food to detainees held in pens at a migrant camp near Hungary’s border with Serbia. | |
| “The situation for migrants and asylum seekers in Hungary is inhumane and untenable,” Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Friday. “The Hungarian government, with help from fellow E.U. governments and the United Nations, should take concerted action to ensure it can meet its obligations to protect people and treat them humanely.” | “The situation for migrants and asylum seekers in Hungary is inhumane and untenable,” Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Friday. “The Hungarian government, with help from fellow E.U. governments and the United Nations, should take concerted action to ensure it can meet its obligations to protect people and treat them humanely.” |
| Hungarian officials said the harsh image of its country that has emerged in these tumultuous weeks is unfair and flies in the face of the many who have volunteered to feed and help the migrants, and those who have donated goods and money. Officials argue that the police have generally reacted with restraint in the face of large crowds and uncertain direction. | Hungarian officials said the harsh image of its country that has emerged in these tumultuous weeks is unfair and flies in the face of the many who have volunteered to feed and help the migrants, and those who have donated goods and money. Officials argue that the police have generally reacted with restraint in the face of large crowds and uncertain direction. |
| But it has not helped Hungary’s image that the government has been outspoken in its hard-line response to the migrant crisis and is a leading voice against a European Union plan to distribute 160,000 of the migrants across its 28 nations. | But it has not helped Hungary’s image that the government has been outspoken in its hard-line response to the migrant crisis and is a leading voice against a European Union plan to distribute 160,000 of the migrants across its 28 nations. |
| The government has denounced the stream of migrants pouring over its border with Serbia and has erected a fence. It has also passed tougher migration laws that take effect on Tuesday and has promised to arrest anyone who damages or crosses the fence. This week, it ran military exercises at the border in a show of muscle. | The government has denounced the stream of migrants pouring over its border with Serbia and has erected a fence. It has also passed tougher migration laws that take effect on Tuesday and has promised to arrest anyone who damages or crosses the fence. This week, it ran military exercises at the border in a show of muscle. |
| Viktor Orban, the country’s conservative prime minister, has portrayed the migrants as criminals, saying on Friday, “They have rebelled against Hungarian legal order.” | Viktor Orban, the country’s conservative prime minister, has portrayed the migrants as criminals, saying on Friday, “They have rebelled against Hungarian legal order.” |
| The migrants themselves have often made clear that they want to just pass through Hungary on their way to friendlier countries to the north. They have run from the police — as they were during the episode involving Ms. Laszlo — to avoid being processed in Hungary, which could limit their options for seeking asylum. | The migrants themselves have often made clear that they want to just pass through Hungary on their way to friendlier countries to the north. They have run from the police — as they were during the episode involving Ms. Laszlo — to avoid being processed in Hungary, which could limit their options for seeking asylum. |
| Hungary is a landlocked country of 10 million, with a mostly white population and prevailing conservatism. Workers on average earn less than the equivalent of $800 a month, and retirees live off even smaller amounts. It is also a place that people, young and old, have been leaving by the thousands in recent years because of a lack of opportunity. | Hungary is a landlocked country of 10 million, with a mostly white population and prevailing conservatism. Workers on average earn less than the equivalent of $800 a month, and retirees live off even smaller amounts. It is also a place that people, young and old, have been leaving by the thousands in recent years because of a lack of opportunity. |
| State television has emphasized negative images of the migrants. On a recent Sunday, for instance, it repeatedly broadcast an interview with the mayor of Horgos, a village south of the Serbia-Hungary border where complaints included reports that hungry migrants had ravaged peaches that the villagers were hoping to harvest. | State television has emphasized negative images of the migrants. On a recent Sunday, for instance, it repeatedly broadcast an interview with the mayor of Horgos, a village south of the Serbia-Hungary border where complaints included reports that hungry migrants had ravaged peaches that the villagers were hoping to harvest. |
| But while images of the ugliest confrontations in Hungary have gone viral, there have also been daily examples of kindness and generosity. At Keleti, Budapest’s central train station, where tens of thousands of people were bottled up last week when the Hungarian train system was shut, a volunteer group that was organized on Facebook sprang into round-the-clock action. The group, Migration Aid, handed out hot meals, distributed donations and offered medical aid. | But while images of the ugliest confrontations in Hungary have gone viral, there have also been daily examples of kindness and generosity. At Keleti, Budapest’s central train station, where tens of thousands of people were bottled up last week when the Hungarian train system was shut, a volunteer group that was organized on Facebook sprang into round-the-clock action. The group, Migration Aid, handed out hot meals, distributed donations and offered medical aid. |
| The footage of the police tossing food to the migrants was taken at a refugee camp in Roszke. Michaela Spritzendorfer-Ehrenhauser, who works for the Roman Catholic diocese of St. Pölten, Austria, told Reuters that she had shot the video while delivering supplies with the Hungarian Red Cross. | The footage of the police tossing food to the migrants was taken at a refugee camp in Roszke. Michaela Spritzendorfer-Ehrenhauser, who works for the Roman Catholic diocese of St. Pölten, Austria, told Reuters that she had shot the video while delivering supplies with the Hungarian Red Cross. |
| “There were maybe 100 people trying to catch these plastic bags with sausages,” she told Reuters. “They were not able to organize a camp and treat them like human beings.” | “There were maybe 100 people trying to catch these plastic bags with sausages,” she told Reuters. “They were not able to organize a camp and treat them like human beings.” |
| But Zoltan Kovacs, a government spokesman, said the police were just trying to keep order. | But Zoltan Kovacs, a government spokesman, said the police were just trying to keep order. |
| “I don’t see a scandal there,” he said. “If you look closer, you’ll see that migrants don’t want to wait for their food. You see a mob of 40 to 50 people trying to bypass to get access to water and food.” | “I don’t see a scandal there,” he said. “If you look closer, you’ll see that migrants don’t want to wait for their food. You see a mob of 40 to 50 people trying to bypass to get access to water and food.” |
| Not every migrant has had complaints. As thousands were loaded onto buses at Keleti and driven to the Austrian border to continue their journeys one recent night, a Syrian man traveling with his family stopped to deliver a message. “Tell people in Hungary, ‘Thank you for everything,’ ” he said. “But your government is bad. We’re sorry if we caused any trouble.” | Not every migrant has had complaints. As thousands were loaded onto buses at Keleti and driven to the Austrian border to continue their journeys one recent night, a Syrian man traveling with his family stopped to deliver a message. “Tell people in Hungary, ‘Thank you for everything,’ ” he said. “But your government is bad. We’re sorry if we caused any trouble.” |