BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – He’s 6-foot-6, built like a heavyweight boxer and has tattoos all over his body. Baba Mujhse may sound like the type of guy most people would run away from – but hundreds of desperate migrants are instead running to him for help.
This gentle giant, with a Hungarian-Jewish mother and Egyptian-Muslim father, is a living embodiment of reconciliation as he helps the mostly Islamic asylum seekers who turn up exhausted every day at Budapest’s main train station.
Mujhse, a fluent Arabic speaker, and his posse of volunteers help out at Keleti station, Hungary’s most popular train terminal for migrants because it’s the departure point for trains to Austria, Germany and other wealthy European Union nations.
“The first time I came here, one of my friends said we should come because there are a lot of Arabs coming and we should try to help,” Mujhse, a 31-year-old textile designer, said on a recent scorching afternoon. “So we came out and I got stuck here. It was supposed to be a one-off occasion and it’s now been two or three months.”
Mujhse’s parents met at a Budapest university and decided to celebrate their respective religions – together observing the holidays of both faiths. The parents moved to Cairo years ago, but Mujhse stayed in the Hungarian capital. His multicultural background is now serving him well as he serves others.