There are reports
of thousands of migrants racing to catch
the last trains into backdoor of Europe - desperate families head towards
Hungary before the new EU member completes a 109-mile long fence across its
borders. MailOnline and other press
report of men, women and children anxiously
waiting for trains in the Macedonian town of Gevgelija. Scores
of desperate migrants from the Middle East and North Africa have been pictured
sitting on railway tracks in Macedonia - a country that is fast becoming a hub
for illegal migration into Europe from all over the world.Waiting for trains
that will continue their journey through Serbia and Hungary on to wealthier
western European nations like Germany and France, the migrants were
photographed at a train station in the town of Gevgelija, on the
Macedonian-Greek border.Vast queues are seen at the station's ticket office,
where the migrants use the few Macedonian denars and euros they have to their
name to purchase tickets for the overcrowded trains, where men, women and children
stand for hours in claustrophobic cabins and aisles.
There is no
question of comfort as families crowd into packed, run-down carriages as they
travel towards Serbia and on to Hungary – it is a question of survival and
uncertain future, as desperate migrants pile onto overcrowded trains in sweltering heat. Situated as it is in the heart of eastern
Europe, Macedonia sees migrants arrive from numerous locations - with the
majority arriving via land through Bulgaria and Turkey having fled war torn nations
like Syria and Afghanistan. African migrants coming to Macedonia will already
have faced the horrors of crossing the Mediterranean Sea on board dangerously
overcrowded and dilapidated boats run by people-smuggling gangs based in North
Africa. Arriving from Greece, these migrants quickly make their way to the
border with southern Macedonia.Wherever they have come from, few migrants plan
on staying in Macedonia for very long, moving through the 26 European countries
that make up the Schengen Area - nations that have abolished passport and
border control at their shared borders.Having caught the Serbia-bound train
from Gevgelija, the migrants easily pass through Hungary and the Czech Republic
into Germany and France.
While some of the
migrants end their journey in these wealthy Western nations, many continue on
to Calais - where they will join thousands of others currently living in the
squalid Jungle migrant camp and making nightly raids on the Channel Tunnel,
which they hope to use to pass into Britain. Recently, Hungarian soldiers started building
a 109-mile long fence along the border with Serbia, in an effort meant to stop
the rising flow of migrants trying to enter the European Union.Work on the
fence is being carried out at several locations at once, with around 900
soldiers taking part in the project. Some elements of the fence, including the
razor wire to be placed on top of the barrier, is being prepared by inmates
from Hungarian prisons, and people in a state work program may also be sent to
help the soldiers.
More than 100,000
migrants have reached Hungary on routes across the Balkans so far in 2015,
compared with fewer than 43,000 asylum seekers last year and 18,900 in 2013. There have been deaths at sea - at least 367
survivors were taken aboard the Le Naimh, which was approaching the dock at
Palermo in Sicily. The Italian Navy,
which had two ships in the rescue operation, said three survivors were flown by
helicopter for medical treatment aboard the Doctors Without Borders ship
Dignity1. During the rescue, crew of Dignity1 tossed life vests and life
preservers as survivors swam frantically to boats. It is stated that may went
to sea – with only one life jacket that was with father, who gave the life jacket to his wife, because
she didn't know how to swim. After that he saw that the baby was getting deep
in the water' and in danger of drowning.Several Syrians were among those
rescued, including a pregnant woman who at first appeared in danger of
miscarriage.
In another
instance, a Sudanese migrant was arrested at the end of the Channel Tunnel in
Kent after running all the way through
from Calais. The man was almost at the end of the 31-mile long tunnel when he
was caught be police less than a mile from Folkestone.He scaled four security
fences and dodged 400 surveillance cameras before sneaking into the undersea
link. The desperate migrant then ran in
darkness through the south tunnel, which is used by Eurostar trains heading
from London to Paris and Brussels. He was only spotted when he set off an alarm
around 15 miles into his 'highly dangerous' journey through the tunnel, a
Eurotunnel spokesman said.UK border police finally caught him as he was within
sight of the tunnel mouth in Cheriton, near Folkestone, after services were
delayed by four hours.
The Eurotunnel
spokesman added: 'This type of criminal intrusion into the tunnel is extremely
rare, as well as being both illegal and extremely dangerous.'Trains travel
through there from England at up to 100mph, and he could easily have been struck.
Usually migrants climb aboard Shuttle trains or lorries, not run all the way
through the tunnel.' The authorities are
now busy investigating how he managed to evade all the different levels of
security.
It is believed the
man was part of 600 migrants who tried to storm the Channel Tunnel terminal at
Cocquelles in France. The man had run
in total darkness – pathetic is the quest for migrating ! The crisis in Calais has escalated recently
as around 3,000 migrants massed on the northern French coast, in a bid to storm
the Eurotunnel site and cross. Abdul
Rahman Haroun, 40, of no fixed abode, wascharged with causing an obstruction to
an engine or carriage using the railway under the Malicious Damage Act 1861.He
is due to appear before Medway Magistrates' Court. Kent Police spokesman added: 'It is
understood a Home Office Immigration Enforcement are also investigating this
incident in a separate enquiry.'
The
running incident is a loner - migrants
have risked their lives by smuggling
themselves into refrigerated lorries, clinging to the axles of HGVs and even
aboard a cargo of coffins. Earlier this week, hundreds of people were caught
trying to jump onto lorries boarding ferries bound for Britain.It was a clear
change of tactic for the migrants, who in recent weeks had focused their
efforts to reach Britain on the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais.Meanwhile
Eurotunnel authorities have been left struggling to source extra fencing needed
to protect the site after French factory workers went on holiday.
Clearly
all is not well ….
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
7th Aug 2015.
