Refugee Crisis in Austria Marks Another Anniversary

Ten years ago, tens of thousands of people came to Austria in a large wave of refugees. Due to the large influx, Austria and Germany coordinated to open the border barriers for refugees, who were mainly from the civil war-torn country of Syria, on the night of September 5, 2015. The discovery of 71 suffocated refugees in a refrigerated truck in Parndorf shortly before had shocked many people. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel assured: "We can do this!"

Refugees on foot, by bus and train

After the border opening, thousands of refugees set out on foot, by bus, or train from Hungary towards Austria and Germany. On the first weekend of September 2015 alone, 15,000 people crossed the border into Austria, most of whom continued to Germany. In the long term, the events led to Europe tightening its migration policy and asylum numbers decreasing. Austria, which was among the countries with the highest proportion of asylum seekers compared to the population, took a leading role in this effort.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.