Almost 10 thousand refugees arrived just yesterday from Ukraine – UPDATED
Fully 5,607 people crossed into Hungary directly from Ukraine on Tuesday, while another 4,248 from Ukraine crossed from Romania, the national police headquarters said.
Police issued temporary residence permits valid for 30 days to 2,169 people, the police website said on Wednesday. Holders of such permits must contact a local immigration office near their place of residence within 30 days to apply for permanent documents, it added.
Budapest police received 1,589 refugees, 623 children among them, by train, according to the municipal police website.
Refugees arriving on special train services at Kőbánya felső railway station, in eastern Budapest, were taken by bus to the BOK sports and events centre serving as a humanitarian transit point.
The authorities transported 17 people, including 9 children, to accommodation in the capital and outlying areas.
The police have contracted 31 Ukrainian interpreters, and they are working closely with staff of the disaster management authority, the immigration office, the Budapest metropolitan council, as well as numerous aid groups, the statement said.
UPDATE (3.30. 11.35 GMT)
Meanwhile, the municipal government office of Budapest said staff at the BOK transit facility had helped 1,161 refugees on Tuesday, accommodating 271 of them for the night.
The BOK centre provides food and drink, medical services, toilets, internet access and help with travel arrangements in cooperation with charity organisations and volunteers. National railways MAV operates a ticket office at the site, while buses are provided to take people to the main train stations and the airport.
The EU introduced minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and introduced measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/03/04/ukraine-council-introduces-temporary-protection-for-persons-fleeing-the-war/
Despite the massive exodus from Ukraine as per this article, according to Hungarian official figures of 27 March (do not have access to more recent statistics – everyone busy with elections?), only 7,749 people have applied for this temporary protected status in Hungary. This entitles them to social welfare support including housing, the right to work and access to education, under the Council decision.
So – whereas we have lots of Ukrainians entering Hungary, we appear to be a TRANSIT country, NOT a destination. Ukrainians move on. They are not staying in Hungary. We help them go elsewhere.
CONCLUSION: the numbers are very deceptive!