OPATOVAC, Croatia (AP) – Croatia set up a migrant reception center in the eastern village of Opatovac on Monday, in hopes of injecting order into the unrelenting chaos that has gripped the tiny Balkan country overwhelmed by thousands seeking sanctuary in Europe.
Some 27,000 people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia have entered this nation of 4.2 million since Hungary shut its border with Serbia on Sept. 15. That closure stymied many migrants, who found their way blocked as governments bickered over who should take responsibility for them.
Stung by criticism that it had done little to help the plight of the human wave, Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic visited the camp and boarded a bus full of asylum seekers. In a rather folksy tone, he introduced himself by his first name and told the group they had nothing to fear.
“You will be here for short time in the camp to take refreshments, foods, what you need and then you will be transported to Europe,” he said. “Please follow instructions of the police. Everything will be OK. Thank you.”
Police erected a metal fence, dividing the migrants from the media. Exhausted asylum seekers hung their washing on a fence as they recovered from many days spent walking from border to border, hoping to go further north to Germany or Scandinavia.