Hungarian Christians support refugees: “Jesus was a migrant, too”

Many have criticised the fence the Hungarian government is building along its border with Serbia, which should stop the growing flow of illegal immigrants.

A demonstration in Budapest united, according to Reuters, about one thousand people from different civic organisations to ask politicians in power to respect Human Rights and protect the refugees arriving to the country.

The rally started from the city's biggest church, Saint Stephen's and marchers walked to the Parliament building, where they demolished a 15-metre mock fence symbolising the one being put up along the border, cutting the wire into pieces.

During the demonstration, Christians were holding signs like “Jesus was an inmigrant, too” and “My best friend was a migrant.”

Picture of the demonstration in Budapest. / AP

A NEW ‘WALL’ TO STOP INMIGRANTS

The fence that Hungary started to construct on Monday will be four metres high and 175 kilometres long.

The government argues it is defending the European Union's and its own borders, after registering more than 70,000 migrants so far this year, up from 43,000 all last year.

The migrants come from poor or conflict-ridden countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Most travel on to wealthier parts of the EU, but under EU rules those states are supposed to send illegal migrants back to Hungary if that is where they entered Europe.

Bulldozers of the Hungarian Defense Force are used to build the fence. / AP

“MONEY SHOULD BE SPENT ON AID”

Speakers at the rally said the fence would not keep people from fleeing war zones and the money spent on it was a waste.

One of them, Edit Gyantar said the fence was “immoral” after hundreds of thousands had moved into Western states from Eastern Europe for a better living.

“The money should be spent on aid”, said Agnes Hars, a demonstrator.

A student from Germany, Johann Mahr, said all European nations had a responsibility to stop the suffering, “especially if it is caused by our foreign policy in the Middle East.”

“These people are not economic migrants as the government says (…) most of them are literally fleeing from situations that are absolutely horrible”, he added.