Migszol supports the full inclusion of anyone in society regardless of their immigration status, and demands to take the necessary steps to reach that goal. We want to live in a society where people seeking protection are not separated, where they can live in apartments, can have the same conditions, circumstances as citizens of the country do. That means, we do not support the idea that people should have to live in camps at all during their asylum procedure let alone for years after they were granted asylum.
- Bicske is an old camp in Hungary, it exists since 1989. The camp received a significant amount of money (from EU, Swiss funds). Formerly it was the only “pre-integration camp” - only for recognised refugees (asylum seekers were in the other centers). So at least:
- it has solid buildings, not containers or tents,
- it has decent facilities, heating, water, electricity, people can cook for themselves and can have a shower every day,
- it has some important infrastructure, for example a sports hall or a computer room.
- it has solid buildings, not containers or tents,
- It is an open camp, not combined with a detention center.
- The location of the camp is very important:
- Bicske is close to Budapest, people from the camp can start their new lives, make connections, meet Hungarians, study etc.;
- it is easier to search for flats and jobs from Bicske after someone receives a status;
- it is also easier for NGOs, religious or charity organisations, as well as activist support groups - like us - to reach the camp and provide services and meet the people living there.
- Bicske is close to Budapest, people from the camp can start their new lives, make connections, meet Hungarians, study etc.;
The authorities created tent-camps, like Körmend, while closing camps that offer slightly better conditions (especially in winter). We see this as part of a deliberate strategy by the Hungarian state to make the conditions for asylum seekers as bad as possible. The government is actively sabotaging the asylum system in Hungary through the closure of camps. This links in with the restrictive legal changes and the abolishing of the integration contract, which leaves people who just arrived to Hungary seeking protection without any financial support to get settled and learn the language.
So what is happening - and Bicske is just one example - is that the Hungarian state is increasingly trying to push migrants outside of the center, outside of cities, outside of established camps. Such a strategy of complete marginalisation of people, of making them invisible and unreachable, is unfortunately part of a wider European trend. We see the very same strategy used in a lot of countries, where people in their asylum procedure have to wait far from cities, like in Austria where one of the camps is placed even outside of the country’s territory, or in Greece, where grassroot initiated, self-organized squats are destroyed, while at the same time refugees are being brought to camps which are isolated and hardly accessible from cities (and to the public eye).
In Hungary, now, with Bicske being closed, there is almost no open camp remaining somewhat close to a city. Instead many recognised refugees have to face homelessness, people seeking protection are either in (closed!) detention centers (i.e. prison), in camps very far from any infrastructure or support structure or do not even reach the country, because of the fence and the current laws blocking access to protection completely. This is why we are so angry and this is why we think it is outrageous that Bicske camp is being closed.