Austere border policies and refugee abuse in Hungary: Social media reacts

Published March 9th, 2017 - 11:47 GMT
Hungarian lawmakers and Prime Minister Orban approved legislation that will detain all refugees in border camps
Hungarian lawmakers and Prime Minister Orban approved legislation that will detain all refugees in border camps

Hungary has been trending on Twitter lately after it made a Draconian policy decision in the last few days relating to refugees. In an effort to rid itself of the migrant crisis, a majority vote by Hungarian lawmakers approved legislation that would up border police and detain all refugees in border camps, according to The BBC. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has a conservative, anti-refugee agenda, has claimed that immigration is “the Trojan Horse of terrorism" (also in above article), and made sure everyone knew he meant it by enacting the new policy.

Social media was generally alarmed at the worsening status quo for refugees, many of whom are Syrian, in Hungary.

One user posted what they claimed was a picture of the camps that have been built to detain asylum seekers:

Another chose to comment on the dismal treatment of refugees by Hungarian authorities, among reports that Hungarian border patrol has taken selfies with beaten refugees, which seems to be a common theme these days:

This user outlined, in short, Hungary’s steps taken to deal with the refugee crisis. Needless to say, he was dismayed: 

Meanwhile, this tweet takes a stab at the Hungarian Prime Minister:

There were also many users tweeting this sentiment:

On a similar note, this user highlighted some disturbing similarities to Europe’s dark past and its present:

And this user is incredulous as to how, sadly, people never seem to learn:  

 


The refugee crisis has hit Europe hard, as well as countries surrounding Syria, whose people make up the largest percentage of refugees fleeing to Europe. According to statistics from UNHCR, there are nearly five million Syrians in bordering countries, another six and a half million internally displaced within Syria, and a million currently seeking refuge in Europe. The fate of those attempting to make a new life in Europe is becoming less and less clear, as Hungary is the gateway leading to countries more open to taking in refugees, such as Germany, who has taken in over a million individuals since 2015.

LM

Follow the Loop on Twitter and Facebook

Loading content ...

Subscribe

Sign up to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content
Subscribe Now