Germany is stepping up pressure on would-be immigrants from the Balkans. Authorities have released a video aimed at convincing them to stay at home
ADVERTISEMENTGermany is stepping up pressure on would-be immigrants from the Balkans.
Authorities have released a video aimed at convincing them to stay at home.
The film warns Balkan citizens that their chances of obtaining asylum are very slim and and that when they are deported they risk having to foot the bill themselves.
Germany is grappling with a record number of refugees, most fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. But tens of thousands of migrants are coming from the Balkans in southeast Europe.
Just 0.1 percent of applications from the Balkans were successful in the first half of 2015, according to Germany’s Ministry for Migration and Refugees.
The four-minute-long video is being screened in Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo.
Germany warns Balkans migrants of deportation http://t.co/O2a2HTGDsLpic.twitter.com/C1so3Z2LvX
— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) 7 Août 2015
Germany has seen a sharp rise in the number of people from Kosovo applying for asylum since a relaxation of travel rules made it easier to reach EU borders via Serbia.
Tensions are rising in Germany over soaring refugee numbers, with calls for other European countries to do more.
But in the summer heat of Berlin on Friday, as asylum applicants waited to be processed, there was also a demonstration of generosity with local people turning out to donate food, water and toys for the children.