Festival-goers in Hungary have been encouraged to show solidarity to refugees entering the country – by donating their tents and sleeping bags
Festival-goers in Hungary have been encouraged to show solidarity to refugees entering the country – by donating their tents and sleeping bags.
Organisers of the Sziget festival, which ended at the weekend, launched their “camp aid for refugees” campaign knowing that tourists – many from all over Europe – often leave tents behind.
It’s a poignant call in a country whose government has been taking an ever harder line, polarising opinion in the country.
A fence is being built to keep migrants out, asylum laws have been tightened to allow swift deportation, and Budapest has been defying EU rules by refusing to take back people from other countries.
Most are said to have fled conflict and unrest in countries such as Syria and Iraq.
The numbers have vastly increased but rights campaigners say most swiftly leave Hungary.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has accused the government of inflating the problem.
It’s not known how many of the hundreds of thousands of festival-goers responded to the donation call.