As Crisis Mounts on Serbia-Hungary Border, Refugees Face Uncertainty

As Crisis Mounts on Serbia-Hungary Border, Refugees Face Uncertainty¹

HORGOS, SERBIA—

Mahmoud Ali Hassan left Syria two weeks ago with his father and three friends. They have only half a kilometer down the old abandoned rail tracks to the Hungarian border. His mother stayed in a Palestinian camp in Lebanon to wait until they reach their final destination – the Netherlands.

They stopped briefly² before the border to rest and decide what to do next.

“We are close to Hungary and we fear that they want to detain us and take our finger prints. We stopped to see what options we have. We don’t want to be detained and beaten. Macedonian police beat us, including my father, who is an older person,” said Mahmoud.

After a few moments they conclude that because of Mahmoud’s father they could not enter Hungary overnight and avoid being registered by Hungarian police. Before leaving Serbia, Mahmoud told VOA his story.

“We left our country because of the war. I want to continue my engineering studies. I was a junior but I had to interrupt my studies because it is not safe in our country. Even the university is closed,” he said.

Over the last few days the situation on the Serbian-Hungarian border has been reaching a critical point. Just over the last 24 hours the refugee camp in Kanjiza, close to the border, has accepted 5,000 migrants.

The conditions became more acute after Hungary announced that it would implement³ a new policy after September 15, including more severe punishment for entering the country illegally. The waves of migrants have intensified⁴. For now, they have been crossing the border without problems and Hungarian authorities are placing them in a refugee camp in Roeszke.

While Hungarian authorities continue to work on the border fence, migrants consider the latest news: that those who are registered by the Hungarian police can continue their journey to Germany without delay, based on the promise of German Chancellor⁵ Angela Merkel.

However, asylum⁶ seekers who do not want to go to Germany have a problem, and after the sunset the majority will try to enter Hungary undetected and avoid registration⁷. They rest while awaiting the night.

“I am waiting and I am very tired. After sunset I will enter Hungary. Hungary is the problem. In Serbia we did not have any problems. Hungary is the problem,” said one refugee.

Tamam, another Syrian refugee, plans to board the train for Vienna in Budapest and reach Belgium via Germany, to continue his IT studies

“I am from Syria and I left because of the war. Now I am at the border waiting for the night. I want to cross the border without being caught by the police. My next stop is Budapest,” said Tamam.

He had a very turbulent and dangerous trip to the Serbian-Hungarian border, which lasted several weeks. He was arrested twice and crossed the sea over six-meter waves. Greek police took his cell phone and threw ut into the sea.

“Turkish navy than intercepted⁸ the boat on which we tried to reach Greece again. They put us in jail for seven days,” Tamam recalled.

The night when Tamam and other Syrian refugees hoped to reach Hungary was very cold, with temperatures reaching 7 degrees Celsius⁹. The summer is almost over and rain and colder days are becoming more common, which will bring new problems for migrants making their way to the Serbian-Hungarian border.

1 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

4 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

8 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

9 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。