In spring 2015, not least because of the civil war in Syria, a strong escape movement in the direction of the European Union began. Since the beginning of September 2015, Hungary no longer left refugees on board the trains towards Austria, and international traffic was partially completely stopped.
Measure with far -reaching consequences
On Friday, September 4, 2015, Chancellor Werner Faymann (SPÖ), in coordination with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), announced the decision to allow refugees from Hungary to travel to Austria and Germany. The measure was “decided on the Hungarian border due to today’s emergency”, it was said at the time.
This decision led to a rush to Austrian train stations. The crisis team in Upper Austria therefore met on September 5. Representatives of the Red Cross, the fire brigade, the State Police Directorate OÖ and the state of Upper Austria were involved. On the same day it became known that around 250 people would arrive in Linz in the evening.
- LEat from the archive: 20,000 refugees came to Austria at the weekend
Beds, WiFi and play room
The Red Cross then began to set up in the Betten tobacco factory at 5 p.m., where the refugees should finally be accommodated. In an emergency, even 500 people would have found space there. In addition, a play room with video shop for children, an internet café with free WiFi and examination rooms for sick people was set up.
Volkshilfe also reacted quickly: in the afternoon, the aid organization opened a warehouse in which citizens were able to donate donations in kind at any time.
Austria as a non -attractive goal
At this point it was already clear that most refugees wanted to continue traveling to Germany. The German Federal Office for Refugees and Migration (BAMF) had previously stated that the Dublin procedure – which provides a return to the first -time area within the EU – had to be suspended for Syrians.
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Image: Alexander Schwarzl
Source: Nachrichten
