refugees
© Dado Ruvic / Reuters
A full-page ad in one of the biggest national newspapers warned people in Lebanon they would be arrested and put in jail if they try to come to Hungary illegally. It was published by the Hungarian government.

The ad in English and Arabic was published Monday in An-Nahar daily. It warns that "the strongest possible action is taken" against people attempting to cross Hungarian border illegally and that the punishment for such an action could be imprisonment.

"Do not listen to the people smugglers. Hungary will not allow illegal immigrants to cross its territory," the ad says.


Last week Hungary closed its border with Serbia and erected a 41-km fence along its border with Croatia to stop the flood of refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, who are trying to pass through the eastern European country on the way to richer European nations like Germany and Sweden. They are trying to pass through the eastern European country on the way to richer European nations like Germany and Sweden, where they hope to get asylum.

Europe is facing record inflow of people this year, with hundreds of thousands estimated to have come since January. The influx comes amid continued turmoil in war-torn countries like Syria and Yemen and the disintegration of Libya, which used to be a major destination for job-seekers in Northern Africa before the NATO-assisted uprising ousted its government in 2011.

EU members and non-member-states like Serbia affected by the crisis are struggling to find a working solution to house and process the crowds of asylum seekers. Meanwhile increasingly loud voices from the less-welcoming citizens of these countries are calling on taking harsh measures to stop and send off the refugees.

Hungary's move follows a similar ad campaign in Lebanon launched by Denmark two weeks ago, which sought to discourage would-be asylum seekers by informing them that it was cutting social benefits and had high requirements for refugees who want to stay.

Lebanon, with a population of four million, is sheltering 1.1 million people.

Budapest and Copenhagen are hardly pioneers in trying to deal with immigration through advertising. In 2013 the British government launched a mobile billboard campaign that said migrants staying in UK illegally should "go home or face arrest".

Critics said the scheme was offensive and aimed at scoring political points for the Conservative Party rather than actually tackling the migrant problem. The ad was eventually banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The campaign was launched as Britain was bracing itself for arrival of migrant workers from Romania and Bulgaria after expected lifting of travel restrictions for the countries to join the EU before Croatia.