Migrant Crisis: Follow the path of refugees seeking EU asylum
As Syrian refugees arrive in Europe in the thousands, a new crisis has taken hold. Europe's refugee emergency is growing more dire every day.
The refugees, fleeing endless war and poverty at home, are being met with both kindness and hostility as they stream their way north.
Today we bring you eye witness accounts from three critical points along that journey -- in Greece, Hungary... and in Germany.
We start in Athens, with BBC Correspondent Chris Buckler. He says the people he sees are desperate. Many Syrians are terrified to be on camera, fearing reprecussions from Assad. The frustrated residents of Agathonisi say they feel they have no help and there are more refugees then residents.
For many of the hundreds of refugees, Budapest, Hungary is the midway-point of their journey. Police are preventing refugees from boarding trains and travelling on to Austria and Germany. A hundred and fifty thousand refugees have arrived in Hungary this year alone hoping to find a safe haven in the European Union.
Daniel Nolan is the Hungary correspondent for The Guardian who has been covering the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe. He says he is struck by the drive and courage many people have making this kind of journey across continents. We reached him in Budapest.
The vast majority of the refugees making their way across Europe have one destination in mind: Germany. In fact, the government in that country says as many as 800,000 refugees can be expected this year.
To get a sense of what that kind of influx means, on the ground, we reached Kate Connolly. She is the Berlin correspondent for The Guardian. Today we've reached her at the train station in Munich - one of the major entry points for refugees entering Germany, since Hungary has been blocking refugees out.
Lifeline Syria
Back in June here on The Current, we told you about a new initiative to settle Syrian refugees with Canadian sponsors in the Greater Toronto Area. In the coming season of The Current, we'll bring you some of their stories... first hand.
Leen Al Zaibak is part of the Lifeline Syria project, which is till looking for volunteers in the Toronto area.
This segment was produced by The Current's Lara O'Brien, Josh Bloch, Marc Apollonio and Howard Goldenthal.
RELATED LINKS
♦ Migrant crisis on Greek island of Kos - Chris Buckler, BBC News
♦ Migrants find holes in Hungary's razor-wire fence - Daniel Noaln, The Guardian
♦ A laboratory for refugee politics: inside Passau - Kate Conolly, The Guardian
♦ I have never been so overwhelmed by a moment - Daniel Etter, The Guardian