1. DAILYMIRROR THURSDAY 17.09.201512 DM1ST
refugees’ agony: eu slams door in their facesHolislereward
forBAfirepilotTHEheropilotintheBritishAirwaysblazedramahas
retired and been rewarded with a trip to Barbados.
Cool Chris Henkey, 63, oversaw a “perfect” evacua-
tion of 157 passengers and 13 crew when his Boeing
777 engine caught fire before take-off in Las Vegas.
Yesterday he revealed how BA had given him
and his 42-year-old fiancee Lenka Nevolna an all
expenses paid trip to the
Caribbean island.
He said: “It should’ve
been my last flight before I
retired but they sent me
outasapassengerandpaid
for my other half as well,
which was nice.”
Speakingfromhishome
in Padworth, Berks, Chris
said of last week’s blaze:
“TraumaticIsupposeisthewordtodescribeitall,but
we’re over it now. You can’t prepare for it really.”
HesaidoftheSeptember9drama:“I’mnotallowed
to talk about the incident itself as it’s in an ongoing
investigation. I know people are interested but I can’t
talk about the thing itself. It has been a busy time but
an interesting one. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.
“I saw one of the passengers put a big thank you in
one of the papers, that was nice.”
hero Chris with Lenka
Lagsfacejail
videocharge
Two criminals accused of
filming a rap video behind
bars are facing what is
believed to be the first pros-
ecution of its kind.
Demehl Thomas and
Moysha Shepherd, both 25,
have been charged with
making a sound recording
in HMP Birmingham.
The pair are said to have
filmed a “selfie rap” on a
banned mobile boasting of
drug dealing and assaults.
Malariatoll
cutby60%
DEATHSfrommalariahave
dropped 60% in 15 years,
raising hopes the disease
could one day be wiped out.
The World Health Organ-
isationannouncedyesterday
that 6.2 million people –
mostlychildren–havebeen
saved since 2000, largely
thanks to UK donations.
Three billion people
remain at risk but the WHO
said: “It’s a sign that we can
beat this ancient killer.”
blocked its border with Serbia, thou-
sands of migrants remain in the
Balkansseekingotherpaths,including
to Croatia and Romania. Both are in
the EU, but not the Schengen zone.
As refugee agencies warned of
minefield dangers, Croatian officials
yesterday said they were urgently
sending experts to the area.
It came as thousands of migrants
arrivedbybusfromPresevo,southern
movement across Europe under the
EU’sSchengenAgreement.TheCzech
Republic is to launch armed-force
patrols of its borders, while Romania
and Slovakia also announced meas-
urestodealwithaninfluxofrefugees.
The route through Hungary has
been the main one used by migrants,
who arrive in Greece by dinghy then
trek across the Balkan Peninsula to
the Schengen Area. Since Hungary
by russell myersinSid,Croatia,
and BEN GLAZe PoliticalCorrespondent
days”, Home Secretary Theresa
May said yesterday. The packs will
include kids’ pyjamas and blankets.
A National Refugee Welcome
Board has been set up by Citizens
UK and pressure group 38 Degrees.
COMMUNITY activists are putting
together emergency packs for
refugees about to arrive in Britain
after raising £200,000.
The first refugees from camps
bordering Syria will arrive “within
Britainopensitsarmstoarrivals
SERBIA
ROMANIA
CROATIA
BOSNIA
HERZ.
AUSTRIA
CZECH
REP.
HUNGARY
SLOVAKIA
Sid
Presevo
Europe’s welcome:mines,
tear gas water cannon
terrified refugees are risking
their lives trekking through
minefields as tens of thousands
seek new routes into Europe.
Nations across the continent put
in place emergency measures over
multiple borders as the migration
crisis yesterday took a seismic turn.
With Hungary remaining firm
on blocking migrants from entering
the country, thousands are instead
crossing into Croatia from Serbia.
Any refugees navigating the area
around the Croatia-Hungary border
are at risk from 50,000 active mines
in 9,400 minefields left behind from
the Balkans War in the 1990s.
Andashundredsdesperatelybroke
through a 110-mile razor-wire fence
atsouthernHungary’sRoszke-Horgos
borderwithSerbia,armedpolicefired
tear gas and water cannons at them.
shocked
UNSecretaryGeneralBanKi-moon
said last night: “I was shocked to see
howtheserefugeesandmigrantswere
treated, it’s not acceptable.
“All the countries have their
domesticproblems,butsincetheyare
thepeoplefleeingthewarsandperse-
cutions, then we must show our
compassionate leadership.”
Gavin Crowden, of humanitarian
charityWorldVisionUK,addedusing
water cannons and tear gas “is not
only appalling, it is unacceptable”.
There were more fears following
reports last night of three Hungarian
military trucks mounted with guns
pulling up at Roszke crossing point.
It was also reported the border there
would be shut for the next 30 days.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor
Orbansaidhewouldputafencealong
parts of the frontier with Croatia.
SeveralotherEUstateshavereintro-
ducedbordercontrolsandMacedonia
has declared a state of emergency,
effectively ending two decades of free
Policeturn»»
onmigrants
atbordergate
Thousands»»
riskperilous
newroutes
blasted Refugees sprayed
at Roszke-Horgos crossing
SEE
THEVIDEO
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mustsee
DM1ST
THURSDAY 17.09.2015 DAILYMIRROR 13mirror.co.uk
refugees’ agony: eu slams door in their faces
refugees, before trying to
reintroduce controls on
Sunday,sayingithadshown
Germany’s “friendly, beau-
tiful face” to the world.
And it was last night
reported EU officials were
prepared to drop plans for a quota
systemtoresettle120,000refugeesafter
somecountries,includingHungary,said
they would not co-operate.
Home Secretary Theresa May told
the Commons the first wave of Syrian
refugeeswillarrive“inthecomingdays”
under the Government’s resettlement
scheme.Theyareamong20,000asylum
seekers the UK has agreed to accept
over the next four-and-a-half years.
ItcameasDowningStreetconfirmed
a Royal Navy warship will go to the
Mediterranean to tackle people smug-
glers sending refugees across the sea.
russell.myers@mirror.co.uk
“They lost their son,” I was told. The
survivors, all Syrians and Iraqis, paid
£1,800 each for the crossing.
Some Iraqis posed for a photo and
said: “We didn’t know each other before
but after what we went through we will
be friends for ever.“ Terrified Syrians
declined to be pictured. One said: “If IS
see me they will kill my family.”
All had terrifying stories.
Ahmed, an interpreter for
the US army in Baghdad,
fled home when a death
squad arrived last Friday.
He said: “I have reached
Greece and Europe but
what I had to see on that
boat was just terrible.”
Business graduate
Ibrahem Bassil, 24,
pointed to the Aegean. “I
hate the sea,” he said.
“Iraqi and Syrian children
should not be dying in the
Mediterranean.”
Abdul Fatah Hassan, 26,
worked in a hospital. He said: “A small
boat took us to the big boat. It made five
journeys. Police arrived and a group
were left on the beach. At the time they
were the unlucky ones but it turned out
they were the lucky ones.”
Refugees spoke to British volunteer
Kate Lincoln, a lawyer arranging food
and water for those with no cash.
People who lost loved ones are going
to Rhodes this morning to identify them.
The others went to Athens last night.
Around 3,000 people remain in a
no-man’s-land between Serbia and
Hungary, protesting to be let through.
Atotalof519havebeenarrestedand
detained under new anti-immigration
laws since Tuesday for attempting to
enter Hungary illegally. Officials said
theydetained29refugeesduringclashes
at its southern border yesterday.
The country will also automatically
deny asylum claims at the Serbian
border becauseithasdeemeditsneigh-
bour a safe country for refugees.
Meanwhile German Chancellor
Angela Merkel has defended opening
her country’s borders to unregistered
Serbia, to Croatian town Sid.
A train was last night due to
takethemontoAustria,after
CroatianPMZoranMilanovic
announcedrefugeeswouldbe
granted free passage.
Some learned they needed
to change route via internet on mobile
phones.HalilfromSyriatoldtheMirror
he avoided travelling to Hungary after
followingFacebookupdatesfromcoun-
trymen stuck at the Serbian border.
He said: “We travelled from Greece
last week and up through Serbia at the
weekend, but as soon as the problems
started we knew we must change our
route. We contacted people who told
us not to follow them up because there
were many troubles.
“So we waited for the past two days
to decide what to do and then took a
train to here, because now Croatia will
let us pass. We are going to Germany.”
Europe’s welcome:mines,
tear gas water cannon
distress Girl caught
up in tear-gas clash
under
attack
Migrants
tear gassed
yesterday
ExclusiveBy AndyLines
ChiefReporteronLeros,Greece
THIS is one of the harrowing images
from the weekend’s fishing boat tragedy
that survivors begged us to publish.
A young boy in a life jacket is carried
to shore after the sinking, which killed
34 refugees – including four babies and
11 children. Those who made it handed
photos and video to us so
that we could reveal
their terror and suffering
to the world.
The footage is grim
viewing. People beg for
help as the ship sinks,
some blowing whistles
and shining torches to
draw rescuers. One
screams: “Tell the other
refugees not to come on
these boats.” Another
begs: “Please save us.”
Those who lived
waited four hours for
rescue. Ahmed Amer
Abdulghni, 28, described how he
watched people – including two severely
disabled men – drown. As the refugees
showed us their images, they asked to
borrow chargers for devices. I handed
them my laptop and they queued
politely to contact their families on
Facebook and say: “I’m alive.”
It was an extraordinary scene at the
pool at Hotel Marilyn. As some grieved,
others celebrated arriving in Europe and
being alive. A young couple sat crying.
Harrowingscenesthatboat
survivorswantworldtosee
I reached
Europe but
what I had
to see on
that boat
was terrible
AHMED AMER
ABDULGHNIREFUGEE
trauma
Child was
plucked from
sinking boat
SEE
THEVIDEO
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