Syrian refugee hits back at the Hungarian camerawoman who tripped him and son

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EXCLUSIVE: Syrian refugee tripped by camerawoman speaks to MailOnline
Osama Abdel-Muhsen Alghadab and son fell at Hungarian-Serbian border
Former football coach and son, seven, suffered bruises during the fall
Mr Alghadab has since seen the footage and asks: 'How can I forgive her?'

Published: 07:01 EST, 13 September 2015 | Updated: 10:02 EST, 13 September 2015

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The Syrian refugee who was tripped by a Hungarian camerawoman as he held his terrified son in his arms says he cannot forgive her.

Osama Abdel-Muhsen Alghadab was trying to cross the Hungarian-Serbian border when he was tripped by Petra Laszlo, causing him to fall on top of his seven-year-old, Zaid.

The father-of-four has spoken to MailOnline from Germany, one day after completing their treacherous 12-day journey from Turkey, which included boarding a rubber dingy to reach the Greek island of Kos.

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Tripped: Osama Abdel-Muhsen Alghadab and his son Zaid, seven, were tripped by camerawoman Petra Laszlo

Osama Abdel-Muhsen Alghadab was holding his son Zaid in his arms when he was tripped by Petra Laszlo

Mr Alghadab, 52, originally from war-torn Deir ez-Zor in Syria, and his son suffered bruises when they were tripped as they were attempting to escape the crush of a large crowd of refugees.

'There were thousands of people and they were holding us there until a coach came to take us to the border,' he said. 'It was a very small area with a huge crowd.

'People started to lose patience and wanted to walk the 10km to the border - the police were standing there to stop people going.

'It was chaotic, people started to push. I didn't see where it came from, I didn't know if it was a camerawoman or a policeman. I just felt myself falling to the ground.'

Mr Alghadab, who has since seen the footage of the incident and another clip of Ms Laszlo kicking a young girl, added: 'How can I forgive her?'

She has since apologised and claimed 'something snapped' inside her.

Mr Alghadab, who has four children - Mohmmad, 16, Almuhannad, 18, Zaid and a 13-year-old daughter called Duaa - had a job supervising sports teachers in his hometown of Deir ez-Zor.

Reunited: Osama Abdel-Muhsen Alghadab (right) pictured with his sons Zaid and Mohmmad in Germany

Zaid had bruises on his leg and chin and was later vomiting from the shock after the incident, his father said

He was also a coach at Al Fituwa Football Club before he and his wife Muntaha fled the civil war and ISIS in 2012 and moved their family to Mesin in southern Turkey.

'We had a normal life until the war happened in our area,' he said. 'We stayed for a while and waited but after the big destruction we fled. We went to Turkey at the end of 2012.'

He described leading a difficult life in Turkey and first his son Mohmmad made the trip to Germany. He followed with Zaid, leaving his wife and two of his children behind.

'It was chaotic, people started to push. My son was terrified, he was crying - I was scared for my son

Mr Alghadab first travelled to Bodrum and paid a people smuggler about £800 for his seat on a rubber dinghy to Kos. His son was given a place for free because he was so young.

The same journey claimed the lives of Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi, three, his brother Galip, five, and mother Rehan.

Mr Alghadab and Zaid spent two days in Greece before making the journey through Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Austria - where they boarded a coach to the German border, arriving yesterday morning.

'Some parts of the journey were on foot and some were by car or coach,' he told MailOnline.

Shortly before he was tripped by the camerawoman near the near the Hungarian village of Roszke, Mr Alghadab said his son was deliberately tripped by a policeman.

'One of the policemen tripped my son but it wasn't as bad as the camerawoman,' he said. 'He fell onto the ground, that's why I was holding him.

'My son was terrified, he was crying - I was scared for my son.'

Osama Abdel-Muhsen Alghadab was trying to cross the Hungarian-Serbian border when he was tripped

Hungarian camerawoman Petra Laszlo was caught kicking and tripping over migrants as they escaped from police officers who were making them wait on the border between Hungary and Serbia

Osama was caught off guard and landed heavily with Zaid underneath him while Laszlo continued to watch

Osama and his seven-year-old, who were carrying several bags, landed on the floor after Laszlo tripped them

Mr Alghadab suffered bruising on his chin when the Hungarian camerawoman tripped him and Zaid had bruises on his leg and chin.

Later in the evening, Zaid was vomiting as a result of the shock, his father said.

Responding to Ms Laszlo's claims that she thought she was being attacked at the time, Mr Alghadab added: 'People would not attack the media because the media were very nice to the refugees.'

I didn't see where it came from, I didn't know if it was a camerawoman or a policeman. I just felt myself falling to the ground

In a letter to Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet, Ms Laszlo, 40, said she was 'truly sorry' for the incident.

She wrote: 'The camera was shooting, hundreds of migrants broke through the police cordon, one of them rushed to me and I was scared.'

Claiming something then 'snapped in me', she added: 'I just thought that I was being attacked and I had to protect myself.'

Soon after the footage surfaced on Tuesday, Laszlo was fired from her job as a camerawoman for Hungarian news site N1TV, which is run by the anti-immigration far-right Jobbik party. She also faces criminal charges for breaching the peace.

She added: 'It's hard to make good decisions at a time when people are in a panic and many hundreds of people rushing. I'm sorry about what happened... I take responsibility for it.

'I'm not a heartless, racist children-kicking [camerawoman]. I do not deserve the political witch hunts against me, nor the smears, [or] the death threats... I am truly sorry.'

Vile: Petra Laszlo was caught on camera kicking a young refugee girl as she fled with other migrants from a police line during disturbances at Roszke

Shameful: Laszlo, who attacked both the little girl and tripped up a father carrying his child, is now facing a criminal investigation and she has been sacked from her job

Petra Laszlo worked for Hungarian news site N1TV which is run by the anti-immigration far-right Jobbik party

She added: 'As I watch the footage now, it's like I'm not watching myself. I honestly regret what I have done and take responsibility for it.'

Another clip filmed shows her kicking a young girl across the thigh as she tried to flee police.

Yesterday morning, an exhausted Mr Alghadab reached the German border where he was reunited with his son Mohmmad.

'I stayed at a friend's house in Munich (last night) and now I want to find a hotel,' he said. 'In the future I want to bring my wife and children here.

'I don't want them to do the same journey, I want them to do it legally.'

German police said a total of 12,200 migrants came to Munich yesterday and the flow is continuing into the city - the main point of entry to Germany.

More than 700 people arrived at the city's main station this morning. Officials in Munich are putting up tents but say their capacity to house the newcomers arriving from Hungary via Austria is being stretched to the limit. They are calling for more help from other places in Germany.