Orban: 'Ethnic homogeneity' vital for economic success
March 1, 2017
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has launched a fresh tirade against the EU's immigration policy. His government has announced it is building a second barrier along its border with Serbia to keep out migrants.
Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
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Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban reiterated his misgivings about ethnic and religious diversity in a strongly-worded speech before Hungarian business leaders on Tuesday.
Speaking before the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Budapest, Orban said that "ethnic homogeneity" was key in fostering economic success and that "too much mixing causes trouble."
Hungary currently enjoys a record-low unemployment rate in the European Union of just four percent. However, it is facing an acute shortage of labor, with many employers complaining that they are struggling to fill positions. The Prime Minister, however, vocally spoke out against importing labor to solve the shortages. Boosting competitiveness, he said, was not the way to bolster economic growth and "enhance the value" of the "homeland."
Hungary's government "cannot risk changing the fundamental ethnic character of the country," he said. "That would not enhance the value of the country but downgrade it instead, and toss it into chaos."
The country has introduced strict refugee laws and, on Monday, the government announced it was building a second line of barbed-wire fencing along its border with Serbia to keep out migrants. Hungary was part of the main overland route for refugees travelling towards western Europe, although very few migrants intended on settling in the country.
Monday's announcement spurred a chorus of outcry from rights groups and EU members, while the European Parliament has pledged to review the state of fundamental human rights and democracy in Hungary.
Not counting guest workers
Orban has also dismissed any recourse in the EU's guest worker programs, which allow foreign workers to temporarily reside and perform namely low or semi-skilled labor in countries experiencing workforce shortages. Despite Hungary's shortages, coupled with a declining birthrate, the Prime Minister pledged on Tuesday only to support such a program on an ad-hoc basis for short-term contracts.
"I would not like to see the country drift toward a situation where lower-skilled work would only be carried out by foreigners," he said. "We ourselves have to do the work required to keep our country going, from scrubbing toilets to nuclear science," he said.
dm/bw (AFP, dpa)
Refugees languish on Hungarian border
Refugees endure harsh conditions along Hungary's southern border, refusing to turn back despite increasing difficulties in reaching Western Europe. Diego Cupolo reports from Kelebija, Serbia.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Unwelcome but undeterred
On Sunday, Hungarian voters will decide whether or not their country will accept refugees relocated from EU nations in a referendum called by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Analysts predict an overwhelming ‘No’ vote, which is largely symbolic as it is unlikely to impact decisions in Brussels or reduce a persistent flow of asylum-seekers to border transit areas such as Kelebija.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
The new gates of Europe
People arrive in Kelebija to cross this gate. The Serbian and Hungarian governments worked out a deal to allow border transit for up to 20 asylum-seekers a day. After registering with Serbian officials, potential refugees receive a date to appear at the border, where they are interviewed and have their asylum applications reviewed by Hungarian migration agents.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Transit bottleneck
The process is not without faults. Mohamed Gamal, an 18-year-old Egyptian (not pictured above), arrived in Kelebija after seeing his name on a list of people to be interviewed. When he spoke with border officials, they said the appointment was for another Egyptian of the same name and that they had no records showing he entered Serbia.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Minimal assistance
Having few options, Gamal stayed in the transit camp of about 100 people who were also awaiting asylum appointments. One water spigot was available on site and few organizations visit the camp daily. People make do in the camp with minimal assistance. Pictured above is one of nine children in a Yazidi family that had been at the camp several weeks.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
24/7 patrol
"I will find another way," Gamal told DW, saying he was negotiating with smugglers onsite. He paid 1,500 euros the prior month to breach the fence, but was caught and bused back to Belgrade. Helicopters and 24/7 patrols have made illegal crossings increasingly difficult. "Believe me, if you run faster than the police, they will send the dogs on you."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
'Better Than Other Places'
The children of Walid Khaled, a car mechanic from Irbil, Iraq, play by the border fence. It’s been two months since Khaled arrived at the camp, where his family has suffered setbacks due to confusion over their immigration documents. "The police tells us 'I don’t know, I don’t know,'" he said. "Here it’s bad, but it’s better than other places."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
No turning back
Kelebija hosts one of two camps in the area. Middle Eastern refugees stay here, while Afghans and Pakistanis stay in Horgos. As he fed a campfire with donated diapers and clothing, Khaled said he preferred staying in Kelebija - despite the fact his prospects of crossing the border weren’t improving - because his family had been robbed repeatedly in other camps.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Howls from passing truckers
The next morning, southbound truckers mocked camp inhabitants by howling like monkeys into their megaphones. "In Greece, the average person, if you talk to them, displays sympathy," said Sydney Fernandez, field coordinator for North Star, a Serbian humanitarian organization. "Here, locals have the mentality that these people should have stayed home to fight for their land."