Budapest creates designated areas for migrants in transit

Budapest (MTI) – The city of Budapest will set up designated transit areas in Budapest where migrants passing through the city can take advantage of basic hygiene and medical services, the municipal council’s chief law enforcement officer said on Wednesday.

After talks with Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos it was agreed that areas would be cordonned off near Keleti, Nyugati and Deli train stations where basic services can be provided, Gyorgy Peto told a press conference.

The city will support the work of volunteers who are distributing drinking water, food and sanitary products to the migrants arriving from the border. The municipal council will provide tap water, toilets and a chance to take showers, Peto said. Sanitary conditions will be ensured by enhanced cleaning services, he added.

There will be buses transporting the migrants between railway stations according to the itinerary they must follow to reach their designated refugee camp. The migrants are advised to use this service instead of public transport where travelling without a ticket they would be subject to a fine. Police patrolling will be enhanced in these areas as well and social workers have been asked to coordinate on guaranteeing basic health and hygiene standards in areas with a large number of migrants, he added.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party criticised the plan, and argued that refugee camps should be set up outside the city rather than in its centre.

Regional director of Jobbik Janos Stummer said that designating those areas in the vicinity of railway stations showed “appalling irresponsibility”, and insisted that the immigrant facilities would lead to the “conservation of increasingly serious problems of public security and health in the very middle of the city”.

Photo: MTI

Source: www.mtva.hu/hungary-matters