Hungary takes out ads to prevent more refugees from coming

The Hungarian government posted ads in Lebanese and Jordanian newspapers on Monday, threatening to arrest migrants who enter the country illegally.

The “strongest possible action is taken against those who attempt to enter Hungary illegally”, the piece in the An-Nahar said.

Lebanon has almost 1.2 million Syrian refugees and Jordan about 630,000, some of whom have expressed interest in migrating to Europe because of dwindling aid and work opportunities.

The statement, which included the Hungarian government’s signature, concluded that “Hungary will not allow illegal immigrants to cross its territory”.

According to the UNHCR, more than 4 million Syrians have fled the war and 6 million remain internally displaced.

European Union interior ministers are due to discuss the crisis the following day and on Wednesday, EU leaders will gather for an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on how to deal with the influx of migrants and refugees.

The right-wing government has cracked down on the flow of refugees coming from the Middle East, especially Syria, sealed its borders with Serbia since Sept.15, and erected a steel barrier on the Croatian border, slowing down traffic to the country.

The result is that more than 16,000 migrants have crossed into Hungary from Croatia since Friday.Meanwhile the United Kingdom government yesterday announced that Syrian refugees will be brought to Britain more swiftly under a fresh push to tackle the growing crisis.

Refugees line up to cross the border from Croatia to the Slovenian village Rigonce at the border station in Harmica, Croatia, Sunday, September 20, 2015.

Hungary’s ads were not the first.

This month, Denmark also placed adverts in several Lebanese newspapers, warning would-be migrants about new and tougher restrictions on those arriving in the Scandinavian country.

Syria’s civil war, now in its fifth year, has killed more than 250,000 people and generated more than 4 million refugees. But this, he warned, leaves roughly the same number – about 200,000 – still without schooling.