Austria plans to close border as refugee crisis grows

Austria warned on Sunday that it planned to close its border again to refugees and migrants as thousands of people travelled across on their way to Germany, and splits on how to handle the crisis deepened across Europe, The Guardian reported.

Pope Francis in his Sunday sermon called on every religious community across Europe to do their part to stem the humanitarian crisis by offering sanctuary to a migrant family, in stark contrast to the rhetoric of politicians such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán who have claimed that the mostly Muslim arrivals threaten European Christianity.

He told tens of thousands of people in St Peter’s Square that it was not enough to tell those on the march to “life’s hope” to have courage, and called on every Catholic parish, convent, monastery and sanctuary in Europe to shelter a family.

In Munich, where more than 10,000 people have arrived over a single weekend, the mayor said he was not worrying about whether the country could afford or handle the influx, only how to make those arriving feel safe.

“Of course there are some limits responding given the space we have in Munich but that is not the question I am asking myself,” Dieter Reiter said, adding that he had been surprised by how smoothly the city had handled an influx several times larger than they had expected.

“Every day I am asking myself how can we accommodate these people, these refugees, how can we give them a feeling that they are safe here in Munich, here in Germany. I am not really thinking about how many people can we afford and can we take here in Munich. That is not the question.”

For a second day running, ordinary Germans turned out in force to cheer the new arrivals, handing out toys, sweets, SIM cards and other gifts. “I saw the reports on the news and wanted to help,” said Annabel Parker, who was spending her 16th birthday at the train station handing out toys.

Source: MENA