TRAGEDY, CRISIS AT EUROPE’S DOORSTEP
A Macedonian police officer carries a child across the border between Macedonia and Greece. Tens of thousands of refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia risk their lives in their journey to seek safety in Europe. On Wednesday, images of a drowned
Warning: Story inside contains images of the dead child, which readers may find distressing.
Red T-shirt, navy pants, tiny Velcro shoes, one snap slightly undone as often happens with children. But this toddler’s body was lifeless as ocean waves gently lapped his dark brown hair.
The grim discovery of a dead migrant child washed up along the shores of a Turkish resort town brought fresh horror and renewed calls Wednesday for European nations to take firm action to halt the growing crisis.
The child — a boy who appeared to be no more than 3 years old — was one of at least 12 Syrian migrants who died on two boats trying to cross the sea to the Greek island of Kos, Turkish media reported Wednesday.
At least three of the dead found on the beach in Bodrum in southern Turkey were children, according to the reports.
The town is a popular location for migrants trying to reach Kos, which is among the shortest routes by sea from Asia to the European Union, the state-run Andalou Agency reported.
In a series of images shared widely on social media Wednesday, Turkish authorities walked up to the child’s body before lifting him off the wet sand and carrying him away. The body of a young man was found nearby.
The United Nations says more than 2,400 people have died this year attempting to reach mainland Europe in decrepit boats that cross the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey and North Africa.
The situation on land is also perilous. Tens of thousands of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia have risked taking the so-called Balkan land route.
Wednesday in Hungary, thousands of migrants near Budapest’s main international train station were blocked for a second day from seeking asylum in Germany and other European nations. About 3,000 people are encamped near Keleti station.
Hungary’s police intend to reinforce their positions outside the terminal. Authorities vowed to continue working with security services from Austria, Germany and Slovakia to search for migrants traveling illegally on Hungarian trains.
“What we want? Peace! What we need? Peace!” a few hundred stranded migrants chanted outside Keleti station Wednesday, the AP reported.
Hungary is a member of the EU, but many migrants prefer to try to make it to Germany, where asylum applications are more likely to be approved and where there is relatively generous support from the government. Sweden is also a favored destination.
Wednesday’s sharp clampdown had an immediate effect in Germany, where police reported only 50 migrants arrived on the morning trains to Munich. Tuesday, about 2,400 arrived by the same route, the most recorded for the Bavarian region in a single day.
Members of parliament in Berlin held special crisis talks on what to do about the influx. Germany takes in about 40% of all asylum seekers in the EU, which authorities say is unsustainable. German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed for other EU-member states to increase their share.