There is something deeply disturbing about this fence that Hungary has put up. It is distressing to watch images of the anguished faces of desperate people as they see their route to freedom barred by an arrogant interpretation of a set of EU rules drafted without any comprehension of the kind of crisis now unfolding. Creating a bottleneck of this kind, backed by a new set of its own laws passed in a rush, in defiance of EU principles and some interpretations of international law does Hungary no favours at all. Laws bereft of humanity are a throwback to an ugly past.
I recall the Hungarian uprising of 1956 put down by Soviet tanks, when many who had managed to escape before the Red Army intervened, arrived at the port of Dover to seek sanctuary in Britain. They received a warm welcome and were received, among others, by my mother in her official capacity as a Red Cross volunteer. She was on duty because of her fluency in German, the common language of most of the refugees. It seems rather sad that a country which has suffered the trauma of flight from repression and war should be so heartless when destiny swings the onus of welcome towards it. Now that it is a member of the EU it should behave like one.