When dozens of refugees tried to escape police officers at a Hungarian camp on Tuesday, one camerawoman decided to get involved. While she was filming a father, holding a child in his arms, she tripped both of them.
The scene at the camp, which you can watch in the video embedded on top of this post, was captured by a German correspondent. According to Hungarian news site 444.hu, the camerawoman worked for Hungarian broadcaster N1 and has since been fired.
On its Web site, the TV station posted a statement that read: "Today, a N1TV colleague behaved unacceptably at the Roeszke reception center. The cameraman's employment was terminated with immediate effect." The statement was signed by N1TV editor Szabolcs Kisber. On its Web site, the channel describes itself as being "fact-based" and "free of opinion."
According to an NBC News crew that was at the scene, hundreds of refugees were able to escape the camp, which is near the Hungarian-Serbian border, on Tuesday because of overcrowding. Tensions had risen for days, with many refugees trying to continue their journey to Germany and Austria but being stopped by local police.
Meanwhile, Twitter users condemned the camerawoman's behavior and demanded an apology from the TV station. Some said the incident was evidence that most Hungarian journalists and media outlets are in line with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has taken a tough stance toward the influx of refugees.
Reactions ranged from outrage to unbelief: British Iranian journalist Sanam Shantyaei called the scene "horrific," for instance, and others demanded that N1 should lay her off. Some users quickly pointed out that the camerawoman had been recorded tripping another fleeing refugee child.
Hungarian news site 444.hu also featured the scene, as recorded from the perspective of the camerawoman itself. The video ends shortly before the two fleeing refugees fall to the ground.
A Reuters photographer captured the scene in a chilling sequence, below:
A man runs with a child before being tripped by a TV camerawoman and falling as he tries to escape from a collection point in Roszke village, Hungary, on Sept. 8. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
A man carrying a child falls after being tripped by a TV camerawoman while trying to escape from a collection point in Roszke village, Hungary, on Sept. 8. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
A man carrying a child falls after being tripped by a TV camerawoman while trying to escape from a collection point in Roszke village, Hungary, on Sept. 8. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
A man falls over a child after being tripped by a TV camerawoman as he tries to escape from a collection point in Roszke village, Hungary, on Sept. 8. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
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