Turmoil near Austria

Is the Hungarian government planning a new refugee camp?

The angry citizens of Vitnyéd finally want answers: Is a new refugee camp being built?

(Bild: Screenshot Facebook/Remete László)

A three-metre-high fence guarded by police officers around the clock and renovation work in a former vocational school have been causing great unrest in a community of 1,500 people near the Austrian border for weeks. Several Hungarian media report that a new refugee camp is being built in Vitnyéd - despite all statements to the contrary by Viktor Orbán's right-wing nationalist government.

The online portal hvg.hu wrote on Monday that a three-meter-high wire fence had been erected at lightning speed around the former school grounds, which are being closely guarded by the police. Photos show that there are already double-decker beds in the former gymnasium (see picture below). The mayor of Vitnyéd, Csaba Szalai, had pointed out that the site was state-owned and that he was not allowed to comment on the matter.

Who will sleep in these bunk beds in the gymnasium of the former vocational school?

(Bild: Screenshot facebook.com/gabor.nyikos)

In the town's official Facebook group, however, Szalai initially justified the establishment of a refugee camp by stating that Hungary had been fined millions for violating EU asylum law. Csermajor had previously housed refugees from Ukraine. Vitnyéd is located just a few kilometers from the border in Burgenland's Seewinkel and near Deutschkreutz.

Protest in front of construction site: "Who are they actually protecting?"
Resistance is stirring among the residents of Vitnyéd. A protest march to the construction site took place on Sunday. The numerous demonstrators complained about the government's secrecy and demanded access. "The police can escort us and show us everything so that we can calm down. Who are they actually protecting?" shouted several angry residents, as reported by hvg.hu.

A government commissioner responsible for rural development stated in a video on Facebook: "There will be no migrant camp in Vitnyéd. Prime Minister Orbán has already personally assured us of this." According to the Fidesz politician, any information to the contrary is false information aimed at spreading fear. The reason for the renovation work is that the building is in a "desolate state" due to the accommodation of numerous refugees from Ukraine and needs to be renovated.

False "evidence photos" shown?
In the video, the politician also showed several pictures of the state of the sanitary and living areas, some of which are actually uninhabitable. However, according to opposition politicians and the media, the photos were taken in a different school building.