Refugee influx strains Munich
Eastern Europe rallies against new arrivals
MUNICH: Authorities in Munich say they are overwhelmed by the influx of migrants streaming into the Bavarian capital, as Europe-wide protests saw tens of thousands take to the streets in both support of and opposition to refugees.
More than 10,000 migrants arrived in Munich on Saturday, alarming regional officials who urged other areas in Germany — seen as the promised land by many of those seeking a haven in Europe — to pull their weight.
Meanwhile, divisions in Europe were evident on the streets, with tens of thousands marching through London waving placards saying “Refugee lives matter”, while i n Eastern European capitals protesters called for refugees to “go home”.
Germany has so far taken the lion’s share of migrants, admitting 450,000 people this year, with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to relax asylum rules for Syrians drawing praise from the refugees, but also sharp criticism from domestic allies and counterparts abroad.
“We no longer know what to do with refugees,” Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter said, amid fears the new arrivals would have to spend the night outdoors.
“Munich and Bavaria can’t overcome this great challenge alone,” a spokeswoman for the Bavarian authorities said, adding the city was struggling to find shelter for all the additional people.
As the newcomers arrived, some onlookers at Munich station held welcome signs to greet them. But there were far fewer than several days ago when cheering volunteers handed out groceries and toys. As the continent scrambles to respond to the biggest movement of people since World War II, sharp divisions have emerged between the EU’s 28 member states, at both government level and on the streets.
At the London rally, Britain’s newly elected Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn drew huge cheers when he addressed the crowd from the back of a truck.
“Open your hearts and open your minds towards supporting people who are desperate, who need somewhere safe to live, want to contribute to our society and are human beings just like all of us,” he said.
About 30,000 people turned out in Copenhagen to express solidarity with asylum seekers, as well as thousands in both Madrid and Hamburg, with smaller numbers in Stockholm, Helsinki and Lisbon. But in Eastern Europe thousands rallied against the influx. “Islam will be the death of Europe,” chanted nearly 5,000 protesters in Warsaw. Hundreds also demonstrated in Prague and in the Slovak capital Bratislava.
The International Organisation for Migration said on Friday more than 430,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe this year, with 2,748 dying or missing en route.
The emergency has exposed deep rifts within the EU, with “frontline” states Italy, Greece and Hungary struggling and European Commission proposals for sharing 160,000 new arrivals in a quota scheme facing resistance.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation held an emergency meeting on the crisis yesterday. Meanwhile, Hungary — which has seen some 180,000 people enter illegally this year and has passed a raft of tough new laws that will take effect on Tuesday — rushed to complete an antimigrant fence along its southern border with Serbia.