2.0 KiB
| title |
|---|
| Refugee Convoy - Schienenersatzverkehr für Flüchtlinge |
Late in August 2015, after the suspension of the Dublin Regulation, thousands of refugees fleeing the war in Syria found themselves at the gates of the Budapest Keleti train station, hoping to continue their journey onwards to Austria, Germany and beyond. As the Hungarian government decided to seal its borders, it also prevented refugees from entering the Keleti station. After two days of intense stand-off, on August 30th the refugees were allowed to board the train heading westwards, but then the train was stopped at Bicske to force the passengers to register in the local camp for asylum seekers, which many resisted and started to walk toward the border.
Just two days earlier, on August 28th, 2015, a parked lorry was discovered on an Austrian highway, holding inside 71 dead migrants. In response to this emergency and with refugees walking toward the border, the collective Erzsebet Szabo opened a Facebook page, calling onto people in Austria to organise on September 6th a convoy of cars to help the refugees walking toward Austria and stuck in Budapest cross safely into Austria, bring them to the train stations in Austria or to the German border, so that they could continue their journey. In spite of the fact that helping refugees across the border was illegal (a misdemeanour in Austria, a felony in Germany), over 170 cars joined the action on that day. In unusual circumstances, where thousands took to the streets to protest the actions of Sebastian Kurz’s government, many did not shy away from taking to collective disobedience. Austrian police initiated investigations against some of the participants, however did not press charges.
In October 2015, at the Open Border Congress, Refugee Convoy was awarded Lisa Fittko Prize (named after a woman who in 1940/1941 helped 2000 people cross the Pyrenees to freedom) and in April 2016, the Ute Bock Prize for Civil Courage awarded by SOS Mitmensch.