The world must understand that Hungary “has no problem with the migrants, but the with those who send and entice them“ - Minister of State for Churches, National Minorities and Civil Affairs Miklós Soltész said at a demographic conference in Timisoara, southwest Romania on Thursday. The primary focus of the conference was the demographic situation of western Romanian Banat region, but speakers also discussed the flood of migrants hitting Europe.

Mr. Soltész encouraged all those present to make Romanians understand that the influx of immigrants is a common problem that also affects them and threatens the values of the Judeo-Christian culture.

He said that if someone is knocking on a family’s door asking for refuge for ten people, they should all accept the house’s rules. But should the receiving person “notice that there are another 15 or one hundred in the garden, he might change his mind. Especially if those asking don’t knock, but bust through the door” – Mr. Soltész explained. He said that “the magnitude of the problem is caused by the fact that Europe’s leaders do not actually see the size of the problem.”

The Minister of State also reminded of the cultural differences. As long as some Islamic states forbid the building of Christian churches and the spread of Christian teachings and as long as Christians might even be martyred for their faith, one cannot perceive these cultures as equals.

He also found it “stupefyingly diabolical” that the influx of migrants has sparked tensions between people and nations that so far led a peaceful coexistence. He said the problems in Hungary’s relations with Serbia and Austria as well as the Serbian-Croatian and Austrian-German relations were caused by politicians unable to perceive the dangers of the migration wave. He expressed his hope that these nations would not be pitted against each other because, as he said, “it is unquestionable that European cooperation is the solution.”

He also said that the migration wave is also connected to the European demographic situation, adding that the shrinking European population is a result of the individual being in the focus of the Western world instead of families and communities.

(Ministry of Human Capacities)