Berkley Center

Last weekend, our resident director at Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) Budapest sent us an email to address some growing “security issues” in Hungary. Over the last two months alone, over 30,000 people from Kosovo (more than in the entirety of 2014) have crossed over into Hungary via Serbia without the proper travel documentation. This resulted in increased police presence and passport/travel document inspections at train stations and transit areas throughout Budapest. Although the main purpose of her email was to inform us about these extra precautions taken by the Hungarian police, it alluded to a much larger international problem, one that (as an undocumented Indonesian-American immigrant in the United States) particularly resonated with me.

Seven years ago, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia but has been struggling to develop its economy ever since. According to the United Nations, Kosovo’s unemployment rate has remained at 40 to 50 percent for about a decade, and nearly 30 percent of the country lives in poverty. In addition to the unpleasant economic atmosphere, many Kosovars are also frustrated with their country’s politics—corruption is widespread and many Kosovars feel that their government has done a terrible job in looking after its citizens, especially in terms of education and healthcare.

Why is this Hungary’s problem? First of all, because of Hungary’s close proximity to Kosovo, it is very easy for Kosovars to make their way to the Hungarian border via Serbia, which is often just a few bus rides away. Second, Hungary is a part of the Schengen Area, which is comprised of 26 European countries that have abolished internal immigration inspections at their common borders. This means that once Kosovars cross the border into Hungary, they are generally free to travel throughout the Schengen Area as they please. Upon arrival, most Kosovars apply for asylum with the Hungarian government to stave off initial deportation, and once their applications are processing, many make their way to Germany in search of better economic and employment opportunities. To attain legal status in Germany, Kosovars once again turn to asylum, but the situation is bleak—in January 2015, the approval rate for asylum applications from Kosovars was 0.3 percent. As a result, experts predict that most Kosovars will eventually have to return back to their home country, despite the dire economic and political circumstances that await them.

In response to this growing migration issue, Hungary’s Fidesz party (which holds a two-thirds majority in parliament) has come up with several proposals that aim to detain and expel these economic immigrants from the country “without haste,” and there have even been talks of closing the Hungarian border completely to Kosovars seeking to enter. Taking all of this into account, I was initially shocked to find that Hungary seemed even more xenophobic than the United States, but after talking to my resident director and other professors at the Corvinus University of Budapest, things began to make more sense. After all, Hungary has a much more linguistically and ethnically homogeneous population than the United States does, which might make it more difficult for immigrants to assimilate and be welcomed into Hungarian society. Additionally, Hungary is still very much a post-communist democracy, which means that the country has enough of its own political, economic, and institutional problems to worry about.

Despite these valid counter arguments, I still disagree with the way the Hungary is dealing with this issue. Kosovars are not leaving their homes and their communities on a whim—they are leaving because they have no other choice. They feel suffocated in their home country and betrayed by their government—so why shouldn’t they be allowed to contribute to the EU's economy? If the definition of political asylum is “the fear of living or returning to one’s own country,” why don’t Kosovars meet these requirements? They are afraid that they will never be able to escape their dire political and economic situation unless they take matters into their own hands—aren’t these reasons valid enough?

As in the United States, immigration in Hungary (and the greater Schengen Area) is a very complex and divisive issue. However, I hope that the Hungarian government is able to empathize with the urgency of the Kosovars’ situation, recognize the common humanity that is embedded within their struggle for liberation, and enact just and appropriate policy responses.