Kosovo Albanians flee misery for EU promised land
Palic (Serbia) (AFP) - The town of Palic in northern Serbia is grappling with an exodus of impoverished Kosovo Albanians who are using the small summer resort as a transit point for a better life in the EU.
In recent weeks, hotels and villas scattered around the lakeside town have been packed with ethnic Albanians who must cross through Serbia to reach Hungary, a member of the 28-nation European Union.
A network of Kosovo Albanian smugglers in Palic charges the migrants a hefty price for their desperate journey to the EU promised land -- primarily Germany.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and the predominately ethnic Albanian territory is among Europe's poorest. A third of its population of around 1.8 million people is jobless, and some 40 percent live in dire poverty.
According to Serbian authorities, more than 1,000 illegal immigrants have been detained on a daily basis since the start of February, the vast majority from Kosovo.
According to Hungarian police, nearly 8,000 illegal migrants, mostly from Kosovo, have been apprehended in the past week alone.
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