NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel is part of the team, including Bill Neely, Claudio Lavanga and Kelly Cobiella, covering the European border crisis across a variety of NBC News platforms. Last night on Nightly News, Engel’s piece focused on the plight of the families and children who are suffering as they make the desperate journey. We caught up with Engel via e-mail to discuss the frightened refugees, how two worlds are stacked on top of each other and the disturbing images he’ll remember forever.
TVNewser: You’ve been reporting on the European border crisis as hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing war and seeking new lives in Europe. You’ve seen a lot of tragedy throughout your career – is this among the worst?
Engel: This is among the most jarring. It is strange, tragic and sad to see victims from cities and tiny bombed out villages in Syria now walking through Europe, lost, dazed and frightened. I was in a village in rural Hungary today, watching families from Syria walk through open fields and along highways. I kept thinking how far they are from home and what an uncertain future they have.
TVNewser: You recently witnessed chaos at a Budapest train station as many tried to travel to Austria. Can you try to walk us through this experience?
Engel: The vast majority of refugees and migrants arriving in Hungary don’t want to stay. They want to transit though and make their way to Germany and Scandinavia; so many head straight for Budapest’s train station. After waiting at the station for days, hundreds of Syrians bought tickets and boarded a train they thought was headed for the Austrian border. About 45 minutes after leaving Budapest, the train stopped. Passengers with valid travel papers were offloaded and accommodated onto another train. Riot police were assembled to load the rest onto buses to take them to holding camps. The Syrians were furious and felt they’d been tricked and lured into a trap. Hundreds refused to get off the train. The riot police kept the train surrounded for a day and a half until the Syrians were exhausted and turned themselves in.
TVNewser: Is there a particular moment you’ve seen in Hungary or Serbia over the last two weeks that will stay with you forever?
Engel: It is the contrast that I find so disturbing. I was at the Budapest train station, which was especially packed that day. Many Syrians were waiting in the station hall by the trains. Even more were living in the tunnels and walkways underneath. The dark underground passageways were particularly crowded and filthy. After filming in the tunnels for an hour or so, I went back upstairs to station and into the restaurant to get a coffee. It was a historic dining room with gilded columns, high ceilings, tables with candelabras and waiters in smart jackets. At one table, I saw a family with two children having lunch. The girl looked about 10 years old. She was slender and wore white leggings, black leather shoes, a dark pleated skirt and a white blouse. She had straight brown hair. Her brother, perhaps eight years old, wore perfectly ironed navy blue slacks, a button down shirt and a form fitting v-neck sweater, which was also navy blue. They were eating with delicate table manners. When an acquaintance arrived, the girl stood up from her chair, put down her napkin and kissed the woman lightly on both cheeks. I kept thinking that below their feet, in a tunnel right under the restaurant, children the same age were going to the bathroom up against a wall and digging through piles of used clothing for something warm to get through the night. Two worlds were stacked on top of each other.
TVNewser: You’re very active on Twitter. How has social media changed the way you think while out on assignment?
Engel: Social media is a tip hotline. Many of the tips are false, but not all of them.
TVNewser: On a lighter note, your job has brought you all over the world. Which country has the best food? Specific meal, please.
Engel: Best food in the entire world? This is too dangerous a statement to make. I think the best food I’ve had recently covering the refugee crisis was in Lampedusa, a small island off Sicily. The meal was pasta with tomato, fennel and fish, followed by grilled grouper with a caper sauce, accompanied with a medium fruity white wine. Two almond cookies for desert and a short black espresso, no sugar. Perfecto.