More than 500 refugees from Syria and other countries have been stranded recently in the tiny town of Nikel on Russia’s far northern edge, where they have encountered problems trying to cross into Norway, local media reported.
Most of the migrants had tried to enter Europe by flying to Moscow on tourist or other visas. They then travelled above the Arctic Circle, where Russia borders Norway. The lure of this unlikely route is that it bypasses unfriendly border guards, barbed-wire fences and cluttered refugee camps that migrants bound for Germany and Scandinavia often encounter in Central Europe.
The migrants who make their way through Russia travel to the regional capital, Murmansk, and then to the border at Nikel, an industrial town of nearly 13,000 people. There, they usually take a taxi to the border and then cover the short distance between the Russian and Norwegian border posts on bicycles — crossing on foot is not allowed.
Norway, while not a member of the European Union, is part of the Schengen Area, which gives people who enter unfettered access to most other European countries.
About 1,200 refugees seeking asylum have made this journey in 2015, compared with just a dozen in 2014, Norway’s government said in a report this month, according to Reuters.
As this alternative route gained attention in the media, Nikel’s only hotel began to overflow with migrants waiting for processing. Local stores ran out of bicycles.
On Wednesday, around 100 migrants sent a letter to President Vladimir Putin of Russia, demanding passage to Norway with or without a bicycle. Several people tried to cross the border on foot but were stopped by Russian officers.
“We have no space to shelter them, but we cannot leave them on the streets, either,” Alexander Morozov, head of the municipality, told the local state-run television station, Murman.
The weather has posed a challenge, with temperatures Friday hovering around freezing. The authorities parked an ambulance in front of the hotel to provide timely help if it was needed. Many of the migrants stuck in Nikel are women and children.
In Norway, the situation has set off a debate about whether the border crossing should be closed. Some politicians have said the flow of migrants should be blocked, while other officials said they were concerned that shutting the border could damage the local economy.
Norway has also raised concerns that some Syrians who have been in Russia for a while are trying to take advantage of the current crisis to gain refugee status in Europe.
In Russia, regional courts have begun to order the deportation of foreigners who try to cross the border by pretending they are Syrians. The first three Afghan nationals will be deported next week, a local news website reported.
Russian and Norwegian diplomats are expected to discuss the situation soon, news reports said.
“This is a challenge both for us and for Russia, but together we must overcome it,” Ole Andreas Lindeman, the Norwegian consul general in Murmansk, said on the local television report.
— New York Times News Service
