Duly Noted
The title repeats the famous phrase coined by a great soldier of the I shall return" class. Admiral Farragut knew that torpedoes" exist (today we say mines") and that they cause damage. Nowadays the governing elites politicians actors publicists and professors- are in denial of torpedoes" and pretend that if they exist they have a beneficial effect.
Mass migration has mobilized the moral-intellectual leadership of the West. This opposes the populist" popular" is more accurate- reaction of Clintons deplorable" masses. There is hardly an existential question in which exposed to the consequences the governed could find it easier to form an iconoclastic opinion. The ground-level reaction to the uncontrolled inflow of integration-resistant masses conflicts with the views of the political establishment. The response to disobedience" creates bedlam among insiders" and it threatens to terminate several political careers and to eliminate certain traditional parties.
The case a commented article posted by Yahoo News- that is brought to you below shows the desperate attempt to nudge people to believe what we say and not what you experience". Some of the commented distortions are not only signs of anguish but also of artificially" created facts and of subliminal innuendoes to club the enemy."
Seemingly local stories" can carry global messages. In Hungary where a plebiscite on October 2
nd asked whether its people wishes to accept any number of migrants that the European Union assigns to them without consulting her government. Aside of the Brexit-vote other Europeans have no opportunity to express their view about a migration that they do not control either qualitatively or quantitatively. (Allex a small French town has scheduled a local vote about the placement of migrants there. Paris forbade the vote on October 1
st.) Thus international opinion and especially the opinion makers that serve the left-liberal cause are mobilized. Below follows a story that spans the Ocean.
How do you stop migrants? In Hungary with border hunters. (
The term distorts what is meant. The correct phrase would be Border Patrol.") By
Anthony Faiola October 1 2016.
GYOR Hungary During a recruiting fair at a police proving ground here a gaggle of teenagers ogled a display of machine guns batons and riot gear. A glossy flier held out the promise of rugged patrols in 4x4s super-cool body-heat detecting equipment night- vision goggles and migrant-sniffing dogs. (
Rampant militarism is the insinuated impression. In fact the scene describes action at a recruiting station one used to see in the US. The border patrol is to bolster the police and military assigned to hinder illegal infiltration.)
Because thats how Hungarys new border hunters" roll. (
Border hunter" is a hostile translation of the original term. Literally translated the phrase is correct. However it does not mean what is implied. Meant is Border Patrol" or Border Guards". Hunter" often tags regiments such as in the German Gerbigsjger" (jger = hunter) which means Mountain Division" and not Mountain Hunter". The implication that the Border Guard is to hunt down illegal entrants like hunters do wild boars is a distortion. Hostile intent or an experts" lacking knowledge might by the explanation.)
This nation that once sat behind the Iron Curtain is offering a rare glimpse into a world where the build-a-wall mentality to keep migrants out rules the land. On Sunday Hungarians will cast ballots in a national referendum on European Union quotas for accepting asylum seekers with polls showing an overwhelming majority of likely voters poised to reject them.
They may as well hang a sign at the border critics say: Welcome to Hungary - the migrants dystopia.
Donald Trump may want a wall but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban - a vocal fan of Trumps immigration plan has built one. Now the nation is launching a massive recruitment drive for 3000 border hunters." Their mission: beef up an already formidable migrant blockade turning Hungary into a global model of how to prevent even the most determined asylum seeker from slipping through. (
Oddly Germanys Chancellor who has merkeld-up" Europe by an unlimited invitation to the Near East and Africa to settle in Europe sold the plan as a culture of welcome". Merkel who claimed we will manage it" talks now about the defense of Europes outside borders. Currently Germany is shielded by Orbns wall" that closed Hungary as a transit for the mass that went to Germany where mama Merkel" was expected to give one a house. Not long ago the same Merkels official Germany called Hungarys PM a Fascist for advocating what Merkel now approves.)
Hungary does not need a single migrant for the economy to work or the population to sustain itself or for the country to have a future" said Orban who likened migration to poison." He added Every single migrant poses a public security and terror risk." (
The Hungarians estimate that while her borders were open thousands of IS followers had passed it. Orbns real point trumps the feeble quote here. It is something like: we wish to preserve our identity. So we must be able to determine with whom we live together and will not leave that decision to the bureaucracy of the European Union.)
Yet in a country where the Gestapo once hunted Jews and Cold War-era secret police ferreted out dissidents some here say that the government is in danger of instilling a different kind of fear.
(Indeed after the countrys German occupation in 1944 the Jews were hunted not without local cooperation. Nevertheless the holocaust in the countryside most of the Jews of Budapest could be saved- is unrelated to the closing of the borders to suspected Islamists that are not the friends of the Zionists". Even so the innuendo is well placed and creates the desired sentiment of a Nazi revival among the uninformed.)
Orbans government is fueling the public rebellion against the mostly Muslim migrants critics say by financing a multimillion-euro campaign asking voters to reject E.U. quotas. Opponents call it the rise of state-sponsored hate speech. (
True referendums are not cheap. The advocates of not limiting the entrance of mostly Muslim" migrants are the remnants of the left-liberal parties that achieve around 20 of the vote.)
In a widely distributed flier the campaign is echoing Trumps claim last year that aggressive Muslim migration has turned some European neighborhoods into
no-go zones." (
In fact several big cities have districts that the police and taxis avoid.) In one series of national ads billboards in cities towns and villages asked Hungarians Did you know?" before answering their own question:
- Since the beginning of the migration crisis more than 300 people died in terrorist attacks in Europe." (Most of the killers in Paris and Belgium had passed through Hungary)
- Since the beginning of the migration crisis harassment against women in Europe increased dramatically." (It might not be PC; nevertheless the claim is documented.)
- The Paris attacks were carried out by migrants." (Well Martians they were not.)
Critics concede it is within the limits of freedom of expression for anti-migrant supporters to make such blanket claims. But what is extraordinary they say is the zeal with which the government itself has become a mouthpiece for ethnic and religious caricatures. (
Yes the government urges a No" vote to imposed settlement. It seeks to have an argument to resist EU pressure. Numerous other governments (Poland the Czech Republic Slovakia) support Budapest and others hope that a precedent will be created that they can utilize.)
The Orban government they argue is mainstreaming racism.
They have launched this extremely vile campaign to portray migrants as rapists and terrorists who can only be stopped if we put up walls to protect our Christian identity" said Mrta Pardavi co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. To them it doesnt matter that its not true what theyre saying. They have created a great opportunity for racists."
(The politically dead opposition" it has its TV stations and press- hopes to activate forces abroad to de-legitimize the countrys government.)
Setting the agenda
Europes migrant flood of last year has slowed to a trickle in part because of a tenuous E.U. deal with Turkey as well as a move by Balkan nations to shut their borders.
(This elegantly ignores Budapests role and that Turkey might soon open the gates to Europe.)
But hundreds of migrants are still slipping through and more than 100000 are stranded in the entry countries of Greece and Italy. All nations in the bloc E.U. officials say must share the burden and resettle a certain number of migrants determined by country size population economy and other factors.
But Hungary -along with Poland the Czech Republic and Slovakia is suing the E.U. to avoid taking in the 1294 migrants the bloc says it must resettle. Sundays referendum is ostensibly to block future quotas. But it has effectively become a referendum on migrants themselves.
(The quoted numbers appear to be insignificant. However a principle is involved and the precedent threatens to have to share the millions that desire to come.)
Orban this week suggested one solution: setting up a giant refugee city" in lawless Libya to process asylum seekers.
(He also suggested stabilizing the country.)
Balzs Hidvghi a spokesman for Orbans Fidesz Party defended the no" campaign and the hiring of border hunters rejecting criticism as political correctness.
A former anti-communist activist turned populist nationalist Orban last year took heat from his European peers for throwing up a fence to block the path of asylum seekers streaming into Europe from the war-torn Middle East. Yet Hidvghi bragged that for instance the leader of Austria who criticized Orbans hard-line stance is out of a job while Orban is stronger than ever. (
Orbns concept without giving credit to the source is becoming the policy of civilized" western governments that are under the pressure of uncontrolled migration. Austria which once subscribed to Merkels multicultural fantasies is a good example.)
We are setting the agenda" Hidvghi said.
One thing is relatively clear: Hungarys migrant blockade seems to be working.
From a peak of more than 13000 migrants a day Hungary has more or less snuffed out illegal migration. About 30 legal migrants a day are allowed into transit centers for processing and even the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) concedes that very few illegal migrants appear to be getting through.
That is partly because since July Hungarian police and soldiers -about 8000 of them- have begun escorting" back behind the fence any migrant found within five miles of Hungarys side of the border. Because the fence rests a few feet within Hungarian territory the government says it is not technically expelling asylum seekers a violation of international law.
The new border hunters will augment their efforts officials say by pairing with more experienced officers to spot migrants from towers and vehicles track them and ultimately put them back behind the fence.
The UNHCR however says the policy appears to violate the Geneva Conventions. In addition the UNHCR and Doctors Without Borders have documented allegations that the Hungarian police in more than 100 instances used excessive force to return migrants. Some migrants interviewed had showed investigators dog bites severe bruises and other injuries.
(Do some assertive migrants not act aggressively? Just listen to local peasants.)
It is a basic right that if a person wants to ask for asylum they have the right to cross the border in an irregular manner and make such a request" said Ern Simon a senior spokesman for the UNHCR in Hungary.
(Do ponder the reasonableness of such claims.)
Most migrants are simply seeking to transit Hungary to get to more generous nations such as Germany. But even some migrants who are permitted into Hungary are treated like animals" according a report released this week by Amnesty International. (
Those that settle in poor countries might be told that they cannot expect more than what the natives" have. Meanwhile the generous" Germans enjoy the relief brought by Hungarys fence.)
In early August according to Amnesty more than half of the 1200 asylum seekers residing in Hungary were under official detention. Former detainees reported beatings and threats of violence by Hungarian police and security guards. (
Migrant claims are difficult to confirm because false document are widely used. Frequently the papers that indicate citizenship in a safe state are destroyed in order to claim a favorable identity.)
Hungarian officials call such claims unfounded. Asked about allegations of mistreatment by migrants Hidvghi shrugged.
Migrants have also said they came from Syria and turned out to be terrorists" he said.
Opponents think the government may move to pass more anti-migrant legislation based on the outcome of Sundays vote. Polls show a large majority of likely voters set to reject the quotas - although turnout must exceed 50 percent to make the referendum valid. Some critics are calling for opponents to cast invalid ballots to try to nullify the results.
But whether because of the government campaign or not many Hungarians seem to echo the sentiments of Daniel Kiss a 17-year-old at the border hunters recruitment drive in this mid-size city. He is anxious to graduate high school next year he said and then become a border hunter to defend my country."
There are some migrants with goodwill but the majority are aggressive" he said. They just want to get across our border and we cant allow that."
Gergo Saling in Budapest and Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin contributed to this report.
Postscript October 3
rd the morning after". 98 of the 45 of the eligible voters rejected quotas. With inadequate participation the referendum failed as a legally binding decision. To that nations shame most plebiscites in Hungary fail due to her 50 rule. In fact most referendums elsewhere such as Columbias on the same Sunday show low participation as do many general elections. The failure is a negative for Orbn. However the high rate of approval by those that did not assume that anyhow their neighbor will go and vote is a pale success. That and the 80 of support that opinion surveys indicate will have legislative consequences and Hungary leading others- will resist quotas".
