Hungary, Serbia struggling with influx of refugees

(Vatican Radio) Tens of thousands of refugees are trying to reach the West through Hungary, a European Union member state, after many asylum seekers died in dangerous boat trips on the Mediterranean Sea. European Union leaders discussed this week how to tackle the influx of refugees, but Hungarian villagers living in the border area with Serbia have expressed doubts over EU policies. 

Listen to this report by Stefan Bos from the Hungarian-Serbian border

Meet villager Zoltán Sáringer . He is a young man on a mission. As one of just three rangers in the Hungarian border village of Ásotthalom he patrols a muddy road near the Serbian border. He appears tense as he prepares to meet refugees in the middle of the night.  

"The refugee crisis had a huge impact on the lives of villagers here. We are just with about 4,000 people," he says. "But in recent weeks, 1,500 refugees arrived here everyday."

He adds that sometimes "it's scary if you meet 30 or 40 refugees at a time." Once they are caught, he calls police, who either deport them back to Serbia or allow them to travel to one of Hungary's refugee camps.   

While driving through a forest near Serbia Sáringer hastens to add: "Yet we didn't had much problems with them, though some cars were stolen and things disappeared from farms."

The twenty-something and the mayor tell Vatican Radio it's painful to see desperate people who in some cases were walking to Hungary all the way from Afghanistan or Syria. Yet those caught often say they don't want to stay in Hungary, including a young man from Syria.  

"I will never apply for asylum in Hungary," he says as he runs through the forest. "It's a very poor country. It's not as Germany. You can't compare it. I am not thinking about myself, but I am thinking about my children and their future. My children are still in the war. It's not that there are not just two sides fighting. There are hundreds of sides fighting each other two parties fighting."

Nearby, Mayor László Toroczkai, of the far-right Jobbik party, collects documents. "These documents were all found near the border. Look a passport from Kosovo," he tells Vatican Radio. "Its painful to see the children. We had to rescue them in the cold."  

Besides Kosovars, an increasing number of persecuted people from Syria and other countries, including Christians, have arrived in Hungary, the mayor explains.   "Yes I saw Christian people. They escape from Muslim states and from the war, for example from Syria and Iraq." 

Yet, the far right mayor believes that Western countries should make it less attractive for asylum seekers to travel to Europe. He suggests reducing social benefits.   

"Most of them are not real refugees. They just want money. The police is not enough, we need to change the laws," Tororszkai adds, speaking to Vatican Radio in his office.  

He fears the situation will get worse as German police have left the region following a brief stint in Serbia. The European Union says it tries to find a balance between genuine asylum seekers fleeing persecution and those seeking economic benefits. Last year some 276,000 often desperate asylum seekers entered Europe illegally.

Tororszkai has his doubts. "Look, the European Parliament is talking about protecting airports. But if I would be a terrorist I wouldn't fly. I would just cross into Europe here in Hungary," the mayor says. "Oh, and you can even bring weapons. Not just a Kalashnikov rifle, even a tank."

But for now it's up to rangers like Zoltán Sáringer  and some police, to halt an invasion of refugees here.