Thousands of migrants surge into Slovenia
PETISOVCI, Slovenia (AP) — Thousands of migrants surged into tiny Slovenia yesterday as an alternative route opened in Europe for them after Hungary sealed its border for their free flow, adding another hurdle in their frantic flight from wars and poverty toward what they hope is a better life in Western Europe.
The closure of Hungary’s border with Croatia early yesterday caused redirection of thousands of people — including women and small children soaked in cold rain — further west toward Croatia’s border with Slovenia.
The small European Union-member state has limited capacity to process large numbers wishing to head toward richer European Union countries such as Germany, Austria or Sweden.
This could leave thousands stranded in Croatia and further east and south in Serbia and Macedonia — the countries on the so-called Balkan migrant corridor. The Hungarian border closure is the latest demonstration of the EU’s unco-ordinated response to the flow of people reaching its borders.
Several buses packed with migrants arrived in the Slovenian border town of Petisovci yesterday from Croatia. A train carrying 1,800 people arrived at the border in the afternoon. Police said that after processing, most of them were transferred toward the Austrian border.
The UN refugee agency said Slovenia has the capacity to accept some 7,000 migrants a day. Slovenian officials said, however, that they can permit up to 2,500 people a day, and will allow in new groups only after previous groups leave the country.
Croatian police said more than 5,000 migrants have entered the country since Hungary closed its border, illustrating a possible backlog of those whom Slovenia would not admit.
UNHCR spokeswoman Caroline Van Buren said at Slovenia’s border with Croatia yesterday that “all is going well” as the first groups of migrants started arriving to the small Alpine nation.
“We have been in cold since two in the morning in Serbia,” said Omar Thaqfa, 33, from Mosul in Iraq. “We were sitting in the street. Very cold. Inshallah, I am going to Germany.”