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| Migrant crisis: Walking the long road to Europe | Migrant crisis: Walking the long road to Europe |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The BBC's Matthew Price reflects on his experience of travelling with migrants travelling through Europe. | |
| She woke slowly, rubbed her eyes, and sat upright on the sleeping bag. She stared into the mid-distance and pushed back her brown hair from her eyes. | She woke slowly, rubbed her eyes, and sat upright on the sleeping bag. She stared into the mid-distance and pushed back her brown hair from her eyes. |
| I was up at street level, looking down into the underpass where she had slept, as the rush hour vehicles stopped and started at the traffic lights. | I was up at street level, looking down into the underpass where she had slept, as the rush hour vehicles stopped and started at the traffic lights. |
| She wore a light-pink T-shirt and electric-pink leggings. She turned her head towards her parents, but both were still asleep, curled up on the concrete, so she shifted her gaze to the others gathered around her. | She wore a light-pink T-shirt and electric-pink leggings. She turned her head towards her parents, but both were still asleep, curled up on the concrete, so she shifted her gaze to the others gathered around her. |
| All along the concourse, leading towards the station, men and women and their children slept. | All along the concourse, leading towards the station, men and women and their children slept. |
| Commuters picked their way through the masses. Riding escalators up and down to trains and buses. And this little girl, no more than seven years old, just sat patiently, and waited. | Commuters picked their way through the masses. Riding escalators up and down to trains and buses. And this little girl, no more than seven years old, just sat patiently, and waited. |
| Later that day, she was on the move - with more than a thousand others. They had had enough of waiting at Budapest's railway station, from where the trains to the border had been stopped. | Later that day, she was on the move - with more than a thousand others. They had had enough of waiting at Budapest's railway station, from where the trains to the border had been stopped. |
| They had taken matters into their own hands. Roused by men and megaphones, they had moved off. Through the city centre, and then onwards in an audacious effort to march to Austria, to Germany, beyond. | They had taken matters into their own hands. Roused by men and megaphones, they had moved off. Through the city centre, and then onwards in an audacious effort to march to Austria, to Germany, beyond. |
| And that is where I found them again - on the hard shoulder of the main motorway to the border. | And that is where I found them again - on the hard shoulder of the main motorway to the border. |
| The sun was, thankfully, warm, hot even during the middle of the day. They walked in good spirits - hour after hour, mile after mile. And still the children did not complain. | The sun was, thankfully, warm, hot even during the middle of the day. They walked in good spirits - hour after hour, mile after mile. And still the children did not complain. |
| Men led the group. From Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, they told me. The traffic filed past, slowed by the Hungarian police. And then, the group stopped. Some sat on the Tarmac, others on the crash barrier. The families with their pushchairs and babes in arms caught up, rested a while, and then the group moved on. | Men led the group. From Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, they told me. The traffic filed past, slowed by the Hungarian police. And then, the group stopped. Some sat on the Tarmac, others on the crash barrier. The families with their pushchairs and babes in arms caught up, rested a while, and then the group moved on. |
| Need and response | Need and response |
| I have witnessed many tricky humanitarian situations around the world over the years - none, though, like this one. | I have witnessed many tricky humanitarian situations around the world over the years - none, though, like this one. |
| Here, in the slow lane of the highway, as dusk came and the lights of the vehicles flickered by, human need and human response came together. | Here, in the slow lane of the highway, as dusk came and the lights of the vehicles flickered by, human need and human response came together. |
| Hungarian families, who had watched the drama unfold on their television screens, read in their newspapers about how their country could not, would not help these people, parked up on the side of the road and opened the boots of their cars. They handed out water, and food, and clothes. One man came with a pushchair, and searched up and down the road for a family who needed it. | Hungarian families, who had watched the drama unfold on their television screens, read in their newspapers about how their country could not, would not help these people, parked up on the side of the road and opened the boots of their cars. They handed out water, and food, and clothes. One man came with a pushchair, and searched up and down the road for a family who needed it. |
| Twice, I saw vehicles drive by, the occupants swearing abuse at the marchers, telling them where to go - but only twice. | Twice, I saw vehicles drive by, the occupants swearing abuse at the marchers, telling them where to go - but only twice. |
| It got dark, really dark - no streetlights along this road. The police had warned people not to walk after dark, yet still they did. One man pushed past, his son on his shoulders fast asleep. | It got dark, really dark - no streetlights along this road. The police had warned people not to walk after dark, yet still they did. One man pushed past, his son on his shoulders fast asleep. |
| The group became strung out. One woman and her three children ground to a halt. The boy, in tears, could not go on. His mother also cried. So they stopped, with hundreds of others, on the grass verge. The boy, clutching a teddy bear, fell fast asleep. | The group became strung out. One woman and her three children ground to a halt. The boy, in tears, could not go on. His mother also cried. So they stopped, with hundreds of others, on the grass verge. The boy, clutching a teddy bear, fell fast asleep. |
| And there they stayed, until the buses came. It was just as well they did. By now, it was well after midnight and the rain had begun to fall - a deep penetrating rain that got under my coat and into my shoes, a rain that, as the buses dropped them at the border with Austria, also dampened the children filing across into yet another country. | And there they stayed, until the buses came. It was just as well they did. By now, it was well after midnight and the rain had begun to fall - a deep penetrating rain that got under my coat and into my shoes, a rain that, as the buses dropped them at the border with Austria, also dampened the children filing across into yet another country. |
| Changing views? | Changing views? |
| It was cold that night, you could feel autumn in the air. And, as dawn broke over Austria, the driver who had taken me across the border, a man who had started the day before uneasy about this great migration, slowed and stopped. | It was cold that night, you could feel autumn in the air. And, as dawn broke over Austria, the driver who had taken me across the border, a man who had started the day before uneasy about this great migration, slowed and stopped. |
| He asked a young couple, from Syria, if they would like a lift to the station where others were congregating. So they climbed in, their one-year-old wrapped tightly against her mother, wide-eyed. | He asked a young couple, from Syria, if they would like a lift to the station where others were congregating. So they climbed in, their one-year-old wrapped tightly against her mother, wide-eyed. |
| You could not but be moved. At the station, dozens of Austrians came to hand out food - so many the people arriving often politely refused the help | You could not but be moved. At the station, dozens of Austrians came to hand out food - so many the people arriving often politely refused the help |
| And the help lasted on, to Germany. As we drove there, we passed buses with more people on, slumped against the windows, sleeping after weeks on the move, and then over the border - and to Munich. | And the help lasted on, to Germany. As we drove there, we passed buses with more people on, slumped against the windows, sleeping after weeks on the move, and then over the border - and to Munich. |
| Empathy | Empathy |
| Many have asked me how they can help these people. The majority, I would say. | Many have asked me how they can help these people. The majority, I would say. |
| But there has also been a sizeable minority of people who are concerned about this great migration. Some have questioned my objectivity. | But there has also been a sizeable minority of people who are concerned about this great migration. Some have questioned my objectivity. |
| But I do not think you lose balance just because you care about another human being. Surely, we can empathise with someone while still acknowledging there are difficult questions that need to be answered about how Europe and the rest of the world should deal with this. | But I do not think you lose balance just because you care about another human being. Surely, we can empathise with someone while still acknowledging there are difficult questions that need to be answered about how Europe and the rest of the world should deal with this. |
| One more person sticks in the mind - a young man in his 20s travelling on his own, like so many other single men in this mass movement. He did not want his photo taken. | One more person sticks in the mind - a young man in his 20s travelling on his own, like so many other single men in this mass movement. He did not want his photo taken. |
| A musician from Raqqa, in northern Syria, the stronghold of the group that calls itself Islamic State. "They said they would surely kill all musicians," he told me. "So I left." | A musician from Raqqa, in northern Syria, the stronghold of the group that calls itself Islamic State. "They said they would surely kill all musicians," he told me. "So I left." |
| He hoped to make it to Amsterdam. Would he ever return to Syria? "It is a paradise," he answered. Yes, one day, he would go back. | He hoped to make it to Amsterdam. Would he ever return to Syria? "It is a paradise," he answered. Yes, one day, he would go back. |
| See more of Matthew Price's tweets charting the journey of migrants travelling through Europe. | See more of Matthew Price's tweets charting the journey of migrants travelling through Europe. |