Agencies
BRUSSELS, JULY 21
The fate of more than 40,000 migrants fleeing from war-torn countries lies in the hands of European leaders, who are giving themselves until the end of July to find a humanitarian response to a years-long immigration crisis.
On Monday, representatives from European Union member states met in Brussels to again discuss how to redistribute migrants who have traveled to the continent this year, predominantly from war-torn countries like Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. Officials failed to come to a consensus during a July 9 summit in Luxembourg to establish a redistribution plan to integrate tens of thousands of migrants, with countries sparring over how many people they were willing to host.
The issue has gained worldwide attention as horror stories of migrants dying in the Mediterranean on their journey to Italy and Greece repeatedly emerge.
During the earlier meeting, member states including Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovakia expressed resistance to the resettlement plan, which was proposed based on a calculation made by the European Commission. Anti-immigrant sentiment pervaded the countries’ opposition to the integration plan.
The calculation considered each member state’s population, GDP, average number of asylum applications, unemployment rate, and current refugee population, according to Politico. These national quotas aim to evenly distribute the burden of the thousands of refugees. As of now, countries like Greece—which is struggling with its own economic crisis—are bearing the brunt of the mass migration, thanks to their location.
The redistribution plan has sparked anti-Islam protests in several member states. Last week, hundreds of people gathered in the Czech Republic to protest the government’s willingness to accept a portion of the refugees, wielding banners that read “Say no to Islam.” On the United Nations’ World Refugee Day in late June, anti-Islam group Stop the Islamisation of Europe assembled in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava to protest the European Commission’s request that the country accept approximately 800 migrants.
Meanwhile, refugees continue to make the dangerous trek across the Balkans in hopes of reaching Germany, which has a reputation for welcoming asylum seekers. The photos below document some of that journey.
Migrants sleep on a train heading north across Serbia.
A man waits with his child as he leaves a train at a railway station on the Tabanovce border crossing between Macedonia and Serbia. Many migrants venture across these countries in an effort to enter the European Union through Hungary. Meanwhile, Hungarian officials have begun constructing a controversial fence along the country’s border with Serbia to stem the flow of refugees.
Men from Syria and Afghanistan rest after crossing the border between Serbia and Hungary.
Migrants reach from a crowded train for water from an aid worker at Gevgelija Station in Macedonia, near the border with Greece.
A woman waits at a migrant center in the southern Serbian town of Presevo, near the Macedonian border, for papers that will legalize her stay in the country for 72 hours.
A child traveling with his family from Aleppo, Syria, looks out the window of a train in Macedonia.
