Andrew J. Rozsa wrote:
>
> At 06:52 PM 4/26/97 +0200, you wrote:
>
> >Just for the Hungarian-speaking fan of the earlier Soros discussion as
> >an addition. From today4s ( April 26th, 1997 )Magyar Hirlap
> >
> >MKH
> >
> >         BELFVLD
> >                                                         1997. aprilis
> >26., szombat
> >                     Agrarkerekasztal: kormanyon bel|li vita a
> >                     fvldtulajdonlasrsl
> >
> >                     A szekszardi hzsosok zjra sztrajkolnanak
> >
> >                     Nem lesz sztrajk a vasztnal
> [....]
>
> Sorry, Miklos.... I guess I have been away for too long because I
> couldn't understand at all the text.... maybe it's just EudoraPro?
>
> Bandi :-(
Try Netscape. I just copied it from the Net

Denes BOGSANYI wrote:
>
> I do not know whether you are familiar with the German ballad "Der
 Rattenfdnger von Hammeln". In the final stanza it say that there is a story
 that the children led away by the "Rattenfdnger" are the ancestors of the
 Saxons in Transylvania. What is interesting is that a good proportion of the
 Saxons in Transylvania did originate from around Hammeln.
>
> Regards
> Dines
>
> ----------
> From:  S or G Farkas[SMTP:]
> Sent:  Saturday, 26 April 1997 14:20
> To:  Multiple recipients of list HUNGARY
> Subject:  Erdely
>
> At 12:04 AM 4/23/97 -0400, Bandi Rozsa wrote, in response to Joe Szalai
> writing :
> [snip]
> >> I thought that
> >>maybe they were from Erde'ly, or some mysterious place like that.
>
> >Gabor! Miklos! anyone!.... are you gonna let him get away with "mysterious?"
>
> A little late, but here I am. No way! It's about time all this BS about
> Transylvania is ended, at least on this list. Since 1975 I became tired of
> people looking at my teeth when I confessed being from THERE.
>
> Gabor D. Farkas
But speak a letzteburger ( Luxemburg ) duetsch.
MKH

Andrew J. Rozsa wrote:
>
> At 12:11 PM 4/26/97 -0400, you wrote:
> >Gabor responds:
> >
> >>>Gabor! Miklos! anyone!.... are you gonna let him get away with
> "mysterious?"
> >>
> >>A little late, but here I am. No way! It's about time all this BS about
> >>Transylvania is ended, at least on this list. Since 1975 I became tired of
> >>people looking at my teeth when I confessed being from THERE.
> >
> >It is a continuous battle.
> >At one of my work sies, it became fashionable to discuss the interests of
> >"stakeholders".
> >I always request them not to do that because it makes me very  nervous.
> >
> >Regards,Jeliko.
>
> Et tu, Brute?.... :-)
>
> >
Roma az ismert vilag vegeig koevette Brutuszt bosszutallando...

Dies ist eine mehrteilige Nachricht im MIME-Format.

--------------4AC3CD838E
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Try e.g. http://www.dwelle.de/tv/Welcome.html
Miklos

--------------4AC3CD838E
Content-Type: message/rfc822
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Content-Disposition: inline

Message-ID: >
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 1997 09:58:31 +0200
From: "Miklos K. Hoffmann" >
X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01 DT [de]C (Win95; I)
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: Hungarian Discussion List >
Subject: Re: Learning languages....
References: >
                    > >
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

aheringer wrote:
>
> >>
> >> Jawohl!  Agnes
> >
> >German you speak, too, Agnes? And without an accent!
> >;-)))  Miklos
>
> I think we discussed this once.  Remember, we compared Marillen mit
> Aprikosen usw?  It is my second mothertongue, although since the German
> books have been replaced in the libraries with Urdu and Cantonese, I have
> no opportunity to read any more and I am getting quite rusty.  Agnes

It4s always pity to loose a skill possessed once. I think, you might
- if you wish - get some refreshment on the Net. I think, there is even
Deutsche Welle as TV on the Net.
Miklos


--------------4AC3CD838E--

aheringer wrote:
>
> >>
> >> Jawohl!  Agnes
> >
> >German you speak, too, Agnes? And without an accent!
> >;-)))  Miklos
>
> I think we discussed this once.  Remember, we compared Marillen mit
> Aprikosen usw?  It is my second mothertongue, although since the German
> books have been replaced in the libraries with Urdu and Cantonese, I have
> no opportunity to read any more and I am getting quite rusty.  Agnes

It4s always pity to loose a skill possessed once. I think, you might
- if you wish - get some refreshment on the Net. I think, there is even
Deutsche Welle as TV on the Net.
Miklos

At 09:19 PM 4/25/97 GMT, Agnes Heringer wrote:

>Eva, actually why were you so unhappy in Canada?  My only problem is the
>climate....

        And sorry about being so verbose in answering you.
        I don't know whether you could call my state of mind in those days
exactly "unhappiness." Dissatisfaction would be perhaps a better
description. I certainly would like to be fair to Canada, and therefore I
must emphasize that the first five years of living in a new country are the
hardest, and therefore out of the nine years I spent in Canada, more than
half of it was spent in that unfortunate transitional period.
        Today there are many Hungarian students who are studying in the
United States or Canada (or any other country for that matter) and who are
very critical of their surroundings. Some of the criticism is valid. Others
are based on misconceptions and therefore one cannot take them too
seriously. They are homesick; they are in unfamiliar surroundings; they are
lonely and so on and so forth. The reaction to all that is insufferable
superiority complex. All this sounds very familiar to me from my own
experience. Thus, I am not saying that it was all Canada's fault. Most
likely a great deal of it was my own fault.
        My decision to go to Canada was a deliberate one. I know that a lot
of people went there in 1956-57 because Canada's doors were more open than
those of some other countries. (Canada even today is still seeking out more
immigrants to inhabit that huge land.) No, I went to Canada because I wanted
to go to Canada. One reason was that I had, believe it or not, a Canadian
roommate in the dormitory in Budapest. She was not a university student: she
came to Hungary to study "folk dances." Somehow she ended up in our
dormitory sometime in October 1955. It turned out that her parents (to be
more precise, her mother) was a member of the Canadian communist party and
the party, full of Hungarians from St. Catharines, Ont., sent her to
Hungary, where the government/party gave her a scholarship (about twice as
much as the highest scholarship awarded to a Hungarian student and still she
couldn't live on it although she didn't even have to pay for the room) for a
year. She was the only child of an odd couple. The mother was a small child
when her peasant parents emigrated to Canada in 1910. She spoke perfect
English and although she had only high school education she was an
intelligent woman. The father was also of peasant stock but he arrived in
Canada sometime in the second half of the 1930s. He became a carpenter and
he never really learned English. Mother worked in a stationery store; father
worked whenever there was some work for him. They were poor by any standard.
The house, which I actually visited sometine in the spring of 1957, was more
than modest. It was half finished and primitive. Father built it.

        In any case, I knew something about Canada through this roommate who
actually gave me $10.00 Canadian dollars which I hid between two layers of
socks before my departure from Hungary. My other reason for going to Canada
was my reluctance to go to the United States. We mustn't forget that the
United States had a bad billing in Hungary in 1956. Most Hungarians blamed
the United States for Hungary's misfortunes (Yalta, Roosevelt, etc.), but my
decision about avoiding the United States wasn't that. For some strange
reason I felt that I didn't want to live in a "superpower," however stupid
this sounds today. (And for Miklos Hoffmann here: I didn't want to stay in
Europe because I was afraid of a third world war!! However that stupid it
sounds today!)
        My first misgiving about my choice was on the plane. I would like to
remind everybody that in those days there were no jets or if there were,
they were not reserved for Hungarian refugees. We travelled on some Canadian
airline from the Maritimes. No heat, no insulation, end of February and 20
hours of flying time. First stop: Scotland; second stop: Iceland; and third
stop: Montreal. Anyway, after a very long flight there is land at last.
"Land, land," everybody shouts. We all look outside and indeed there is land
all right but hours go by and not one inhabited area. The students on the
plane got a little worried. My answer: "Surely this must be Labrador." Two
minutes later, the pilot announces: "We are approaching Quebec City."
        Once we arrived in Montreal we were taken to a gathering place for
Hungarian refugees outside of Montreal and shortly afterward began the fight
for the Hungarian refugees between the French and the English Canadians. And
I must admit here that if I knew anything about French- versus
English-Canada I don't remember. It never occurred to me there was this
little problem: Quebec and the rest of Canada. Surely, my Canadian roommate
never said a word about the French in Canada and I had no recollection of
any geography lesson which had anything to do with them. (I am sure that the
textbook mentioned it I just happened not to be present that day!!)  First
the French Canadians arrived but we didn't know that they were French
because their spokesman was a Hungarian. He had an interview with the
Hungarian students and those whom he deemed more intelligent than some of
others ended up among "the select few" taken to Montreal. I was among them.
It took me about two weeks to figure out that I was in the French-Canadian
camp and that I didn't want to be in the French Canadian camp. I guess the
last push was the very strong presence of Catholic priests in a former
nunnery on St. Antoine Street where they put us up. Considering that I
wasn't Catholic, I wasn't even religious, daily six-o'clock mass didn't
appeal to my too much!!!
        So, I managed to get over to the "English camp" and from the
French-Canadian nunnery, where the beds were so short that I of average
height couldn't stretch out, to the YWCA. And from there to Hamilton,
Ontario (I still hate the place!) where McMaster University (an originally
Baptist university which just became secular but, of course, I learned about
that only later) announced that they would take 25 Hungarian refugee
students!! Marvelous! Well, it didn't turn out to be so marvelous. Yes, they
hired a high school teacher to teach 25 Hungarian students, all in one
class, English!! We learned nothing. A class of 25 was too large and the
high school teacher of English in Hamilton, Ontario, wasn't trained to teach
English as a second language.
        Meanwhile, we were supposed to get a job. There were only two women
in the group and they roomed us together (it just happened that we knew each
other from high school) with a family who was obviously hard up enough to
have to let a room out. The family was supposed to give us dinner, but no
lunch and no breakfast. Thus, we had no lunch and no breakfast for quite a
few months. They never inquired whether we had anything else to eat, except
their "wretched hamburgers" at six o'clock. After a month we fled and ended
up with a Czech family who let half their basement out: a bedroom with one
Queen-size bed, a kitchen, and a shower carved out from the rest of the
basement. We were especially upset about the one bed and we said so in our
inadequate English to the lady of the house. The answer was: two men slept
in it quite confortably, so we ought not to have any trouble!! It was a
pretty wretched existence but at least we could cook for ourselves. As for
jobs. We could have gotten a very good job: to be waitresses at the golf
course's restaurant. But the hours were such that we couldn't have attended
the "priceless" (useless) English lessons. Thus, the job was vetoed by
MacMaster University. (Mind you we would have learned fifty times more
Engligh being waitresses in the restaurant than being in that stupid class,
but these guys knews little about how a foreigners learning English.)

        Without going into all the awful details of the first year in
Canada, I am going to skip quite a few months, maybe years. The upshot of it
was that I ended up in Ottawa where I actually stayed for almost nine years.
Ottawa is a pretty city, but in those days at least it was not exactly the
center of the universe. "The Nation's Capital" didn't have a professional
theater. It didn't have an orchestra (eventually there was one but it died
after about two years). It didn't have a building where concerts actually
could be held. If there was a concert it was held in a movie theater on Bank
Street! The so-called National Gallery was pitiful--that was the only way
describe it. The only theater one could attend was the "Little Theater,"
that is an amateur theater--one of our guys, a professional actor in
Hungary, ended up directing in the Little Theater. As far as "international
food" was concerned--there was practically nothing. Eventually we discovered
a place called *European Delicatessen* ran by a Polish family where you
could actually get decent bread. Otherwise, the only thing which was
available was "Kleenex" bread--as we called it. All in all, it was a city of
about 150 thousand people with no cultural life to speak of, but, my God, as
far as they were concerned Canada was the center of the universe. Never mind
that the weather was God-awful: humid and unbearably hot during the summer
and so cold during the winter that occasionally I thought that my thighs
were going to freeze in those stupid nylon stockings we had to wear in those
days in the middle of the winter while waiting for the bus on the streets of
Ottawa. One day actually my glasses broke into half, right in the middle,
because the outside temperature was -20F and the inside 70F! During the
summer the black flies were eating you alive. And at the same time the
winters were never-ending. Winters began at the end of November and in April
and May it was still snowing. Eventually, your nerves were completely
frayed: you started to be extremely irritated. I kept saying to myself: How
on earth did I end up in Canada? After all, I never wanted to emigrate to
Siberia, and if I just had taken my geography lessons more seriously, if my
geography textbooks had been more sophisticated, I should have realized that
Canada is really only an extention of Siberia! Why should anyone want to go
to Siberia? Did the early immigrants to this continent go to the area which
is today Canada? No! They had better sense than that. Canada became
populated only after the American Revolution when the legitimists had to
flee and there was nowhere else to go. And yes, the legitimists who ended up
in Nova Scotia called the "Nova Mysery."
        However, in spite of all this, eventually things got better in spite
of the fact that I went through Carleton University--absolutely
straight-A-student--without any scholarship! Not because I was so stupid
that I couldn't get myself a scholarship, but because there was no such
thing as a scholarship! It never occurred to the Canadians in those days
that there might be some very poor people who are outstanding students and
who deserve some help! I was so miserably poor during my undergraduate days
that I don't think that too many people today can even imagine it! In those
days a cup of coffee was 10 cents but I couldn't afford 10 cents for a cup
of coffee. I received something which was called bursary money--maybe
$300.00 a year. I worked for two professors: a Pole and an American. For the
Pole I organized his files, cutting out articles from the New York Times;
for the American, I graded papers for Russian history. During the first
summer I got a job in the library and although I replaced a woman (a former
employee of the Cuban embassy who was simply waiting to join the rest of the
family in the United States) I got only minimum wages because the chief
librarian decided that a student could only earn minimum wages: $1.00/hour!
Eventually, thanks to the head of the department I got a summer job with the
Canadian government: the restoration of Louisbourg, a French front destroyed
by the English in the middle of the eighteenth centyry--we were doing
research (one student per province in addition to the professional staff)
for the restruction of the fort.
        And a final note. I was such a sterling student at Carleton that all
my professors wanted me to continue my studies at the postgradual level.
Although I did put in an application to the University of Toronto, it was
only as a safety school as far as I was concerned. Of course, I was
accepted. I also received a Queen Elizabeth scholarship. (High honor it
was.) I didn't go there. On the other hand, I applied to about ten different
American universities. I was accepted at all of them. The question was only
where to go and although I recieved more money at many other places, I
decided to go to Yale University.
        Before I left, my landlord (I was actually subletting a second-floor
apartment from a former professor of mine for the summer) said to me: "Oh,
you are going to the United States to study!" "Yes," I said. "Oh," he
answered, "you will never come come." "Oh, why are you saying that? Of
course, I will come back." Well, I had the opportunity to come back but I
didn't. The reason was at least twofold: professional and personal.
       In any case, the provincialism of Canada, I think, which was the
deciding factor. As soon as I got to Yale, it was like a different world in
spite of the fact that New Haven couldn't be compared to Ottawa. But both
the faculty and the student body were part of an international scholarly
world--very different from Carleton University.
        I am not sure whether this is what you wanted to hear but this is
how I saw it then and now.
        Eva Balogh

E.S. Balogh wrote:
>
> At 09:19 PM 4/25/97 GMT, Agnes Heringer wrote:
>
> >Eva, actually why were you so unhappy in Canada?  My only problem is the
> >climate....
>
?!
> and although she had only high school education she was an
> intelligent woman.
!?
Sic? We could quarrel now!

the
> United States had a bad billing in Hungary in 1956. Most Hungarians blamed
> the United States for Hungary's misfortunes (Yalta, Roosevelt, etc.), but my
> decision about avoiding the United States wasn't that. For some strange
> reason I felt that I didn't want to live in a "superpower," however stupid
> this sounds today. (And for Miklos Hoffmann here: I didn't want to stay in
> Europe because I was afraid of a third world war!!

When the head of the German delegation selecting 1500 students
on an extra quota - due to an intervention of Konrad Adenauer -
asked me, where I wanted to settle, I looked at the map to estab-
lish, WHICH university was most far from the direction of a
potential Russion thrust. It was Karlsruhe, so I went to Karlsruhe.
Also Karlsruhe and sorroundinge were full of US Army and Air Force.
It wouldn4t have been an easy wolt to Karlsruhe...

However that stupid it
> sounds today!)

It wasn4t that stupid back than...

 And
> I must admit here that if I knew anything about French- versus
> English-Canada I don't remember. It never occurred to me there was this
> little problem: Quebec and the rest of Canada.

The raising of a daughter : she never reads Fenimore Cooper and
Jules Verne...

> a place called *European Delicatessen* ran by a Polish family where you
> could actually get decent bread. Otherwise, the only thing which was
> available was "Kleenex" bread--as we called it.
>snip >
and
Apologia pro vita sua...

Miklos

Miklos writes:
>But speak a letzteburger ( Luxemburg ) duetsch.
>MKH

That has to be a tenuous connection. I have never seen french fries served
with pizza in Transylvania.

Regards,Jeliko

jeliko wrote:
>
> Miklos writes:
> >But speak a letzteburger ( Luxemburg ) duetsch.
> >MKH
>
> That has to be a tenuous connection. I have never seen french fries served
> with pizza in Transylvania.
>
> Regards,Jeliko
Just be patient a little bit, they will come. Not only to Transylvania,
and not only to the Saxons, but to Baragan or Dobrugea, too.
Regards
Miklos

This the sixth  in the series "Transborder Hungarians" summarized from the
HTMH's 1996 report.


F. ROMANIA

1.DEMOGRAPHICS. Practically the entire Hungarian population lives in
Transylvania (Erdely). According to the 1992 census 1624959 considered
themselves Hungarian, or 7.1% of the overall population. Some other
counts, e.g. from church membership, put the number close to two million.
Over one third of this population is concentrated in Szekely-land, in the
counties of Hargita, Kovaszna and Maros.  Almost another third live along
the Hungarian border, the rest in mid- Transylvania and scattered in
"Romanian" territory. The total Hungarian population has shrunk somewhat
since WWII (primarily due to emigration), while the Romanian population
has increased in Transylvania, due to planned settlements.

2.LEGAL SITUATION. In spite of its numbers, the Hungarian minority's
situation continues to be disadvantageous; the Romanian constitution
considers the country a "nation-state", recognizes only the Romanian
language and does not recognize use of other languages. While the
constitution does suggest minority rights in education,  parlamentary
representation and the availability of  translation services, these
paragraphs are not specific enough to guarantee practical results. Recent
legislation in education, in government administration and affecting
political parties have further curtailed minority rights: in some respects
even more than under Ceacescu. Since 1991 the country's ethnic
minorities have demanded the acceptance of  rights legislation and even
though the government has promised such to the European Community (in
preparation for membership) such has yet to be enacted.  The recently
signed bilateral agreement with Hungary seems to create a climate for
recognition of minority rights, it makes these subordinate to the general
body of law and does not spell out means for monitoring. The 1996
elections have brought changes: 177 towns had elected Hungarian
mayors and with the election of parties closer to the minorities, two
Hungarian cabinet members had been appointed in the national
government.
Political parties. The RMDSZ (Romaniai Magyarok Demokratikus
Szovetsge- Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) is both a
political party and a socio-political organization for minority rights 
and is supported by other Hungarian political parties as well.
 After its 1995 convention, the RMDSZ undertook a structural 
reorganization and a program for international cooperation,
 such as with the European Union, the Council of Europe,etc.

3. ECONOMICS The changing trend towards market economy has caught
the Hungarian minority at a disadvantage. Lax regulations have given the
Romanian-controlled authorities sundry ways to put them at a
disadvantage. Compounding their problem is the lack of capital among
Hungarians. Encouraging is the entrepeneurial trend, often involving
partners from across the border (i.e. Hungary)

4. EDUCATION Instruction in Hungarian is below the proportion of pupils
attending: 6.6% in kindergarten, 4.5% in "middle schools", 1.9 % of
vocational school students receiving Hungarian instruction vs. 7.1% of
their share in the overall school population. University level instructions
also below norms, as the Bolyai university- closed in 1959- has not been
reconstituted. Professional training particularly suffering. Some 
relief from parochial schools, which however do not receive 
government help. Also helping are scholarship students attending
 programs in Hungary: some 1000 currently. An education law
 enacted in 1995 has put Hungarian
instruction at a new disadvantage, in fact it contradicts the Romanian
constitution, flies in the face of the Council of Europe's requirements,
which Romania had pledged to observe.

5. CHURCHES. Roman catholics are split between four Hungarian
dioceses, the Moldova and the Bucharest diocese. As a result many
Hungarian catholics (who constitute the majority of all catholics in the
country) are under Romanian church direction, 70% of the leadership
being Romanian. The protestant churches (reformed, unitarian,
evangelical) are all under Hungarian direction.

All of these churches have economic concerns, have not been
compensated  for axpropriated properties. In August 1992 the State
undertook the restitution of properties for the greek catholic church, but
omitted considering all others. This may be derived from the 1923
consitution which considers Orthodox the reigning religion, with the greek
catholic enjoying priority over all others. Thus a total of 1300 Hungarian
parochial schools are still government owned. A difficult situation was
created thorugh the elevation of the Gyulafehervar bishopry to archbishop
status, which further increased the share of Hungarian catholics under
Romanian leadership and indeed prohibited the use of the Hungarian
language in the Iasi and Bucharest dioceses.

6. CIVIL INSTUTUTIONS. The 1989 system change saw the establishment
of a number of Transylvanian Hungarian organizations and foundations.
Their number exceeds 300 and scopes range from cultural, traditional,
artistic, educational , social to research, professional and economic.
Some are of local interest. To partially compensate for lack of financial
means, many of these have gone the route of sister city associations.

7. MEDIA. While the end of Ceucescu's rule has brought with it freedom
of expression, the State-controlled media (esp. radio and TV) do not have
adequate minority language programming, as they seem to continue to
adhere to the policy of assimilation. Partially compensating are the new
non-government radio and TV stations.
There arfe about 60 Hungarian language publications. State assistance
means to some continuous threat to their editorial policies. Many are
depnedent on the assistance of the Hungary-based Illyes foundation. It
also helps in journalism schooling. A significant factor is the Hungarian
journalist's league (Romaniai Magyar Ujsagirok Egyesulete).

8. MAJORITY ENVIRONMENT. The 1989 changes had signaled new hope
in minority relations, however the years since have proven otherwise, as
Romanian nationalism has put pressure to reverse the promises made.
Leading the anti-Hungarian attack was the Vatra Romaneasca, formed
largely by ex-Ceacescu adherents. Hungarian autonomy aspirations had
been labeled "revisionist", "separatist", etc. Press policies have ranged
from the histerical extremism to "moderate" anti-Hungarian attitudes- with
notable exception of a few , led by the leaders of the country's
intelligentsia. The 1996 elections have brought bbeneficial changes
however. Whether the new, tolerant spirit is to prevail for long
 is a good question.    
A.J. Vadasz
5743 Pignut Mtn. Dr.
Warrenton VA 20187
USA T:540 349 1408

This the sixth  in the series "Transborder Hungarians" summarized from the
HTMH's 1996 report.


F. ROMANIA

1.DEMOGRAPHICS. Practically the entire Hungarian population lives in
Transylvania (Erdely). According to the 1992 census 1624959 considered
themselves Hungarian, or 7.1% of the overall population. Some other
counts, e.g. from church membership, put the number close to two million.
Over one third of this population is concentrated in Szekely-land, in the
counties of Hargita, Kovaszna and Maros.  Almost another third live along
the Hungarian border, the rest in mid- Transylvania and scattered in
"Romanian" territory. The total Hungarian population has shrunk somewhat
since WWII (primarily due to emigration), while the Romanian population
has increased in Transylvania, due to planned settlements.

2.LEGAL SITUATION. In spite of its numbers, the Hungarian minority's
situation continues to be disadvantageous; the Romanian constitution
considers the country a "nation-state", recognizes only the Romanian
language and does not recognize use of other languages. While the
constitution does suggest minority rights in education,  parlamentary
representation and the availability of  translation services, these
paragraphs are not specific enough to guarantee practical results. Recent
legislation in education, in government administration and affecting
political parties have further curtailed minority rights: in some respects
even more than under Ceacescu. Since 1991 the country's ethnic
minorities have demanded the acceptance of  rights legislation and even
though the government has promised such to the European Community (in
preparation for membership) such has yet to be enacted.  The recently
signed bilateral agreement with Hungary seems to create a climate for
recognition of minority rights, it makes these subordinate to the general
body of law and does not spell out means for monitoring. The 1996
elections have brought changes: 177 towns had elected Hungarian
mayors and with the election of parties closer to the minorities, two
Hungarian cabinet members had been appointed in the national
government.
Political parties. The RMDSZ (Romaniai Magyarok Demokratikus
Szovetsge- Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania) is both a
political party and a socio-political organization for minority rights
and is supported by other Hungarian political parties as well.
 After its 1995 convention, the RMDSZ undertook a structural
reorganization and a program for international cooperation,
 such as with the European Union, the Council of Europe,etc.

3. ECONOMICS The changing trend towards market economy has caught
the Hungarian minority at a disadvantage. Lax regulations have given the
Romanian-controlled authorities sundry ways to put them at a
disadvantage. Compounding their problem is the lack of capital among
Hungarians. Encouraging is the entrepeneurial trend, often involving
partners from across the border (i.e. Hungary)

4. EDUCATION Instruction in Hungarian is below the proportion of pupils
attending: 6.6% in kindergarten, 4.5% in "middle schools", 1.9 % of
vocational school students receiving Hungarian instruction vs. 7.1% of
their share in the overall school population. University level instructions
also below norms, as the Bolyai university- closed in 1959- has not been
reconstituted. Professional training particularly suffering. Some
relief from parochial schools, which however do not receive
government help. Also helping are scholarship students attending
 programs in Hungary: some 1000 currently. An education law
 enacted in 1995 has put Hungarian
instruction at a new disadvantage, in fact it contradicts the Romanian
constitution, flies in the face of the Council of Europe's requirements,
which Romania had pledged to observe.

5. CHURCHES. Roman catholics are split between four Hungarian
dioceses, the Moldova and the Bucharest diocese. As a result many
Hungarian catholics (who constitute the majority of all catholics in the
country) are under Romanian church direction, 70% of the leadership
being Romanian. The protestant churches (reformed, unitarian,
evangelical) are all under Hungarian direction.

All of these churches have economic concerns, have not been
compensated  for axpropriated properties. In August 1992 the State
undertook the restitution of properties for the greek catholic church, but
omitted considering all others. This may be derived from the 1923
consitution which considers Orthodox the reigning religion, with the greek
catholic enjoying priority over all others. Thus a total of 1300 Hungarian
parochial schools are still government owned. A difficult situation was
created thorugh the elevation of the Gyulafehervar bishopry to archbishop
status, which further increased the share of Hungarian catholics under
Romanian leadership and indeed prohibited the use of the Hungarian
language in the Iasi and Bucharest dioceses.

6. CIVIL INSTUTUTIONS. The 1989 system change saw the establishment
of a number of Transylvanian Hungarian organizations and foundations.
Their number exceeds 300 and scopes range from cultural, traditional,
artistic, educational , social to research, professional and economic.
Some are of local interest. To partially compensate for lack of financial
means, many of these have gone the route of sister city associations.

7. MEDIA. While the end of Ceucescu's rule has brought with it freedom
of expression, the State-controlled media (esp. radio and TV) do not have
adequate minority language programming, as they seem to continue to
adhere to the policy of assimilation. Partially compensating are the new
non-government radio and TV stations.
There arfe about 60 Hungarian language publications. State assistance
means to some continuous threat to their editorial policies. Many are
depnedent on the assistance of the Hungary-based Illyes foundation. It
also helps in journalism schooling. A significant factor is the Hungarian
journalist's league (Romaniai Magyar Ujsagirok Egyesulete).

8. MAJORITY ENVIRONMENT. The 1989 changes had signaled new hope
in minority relations, however the years since have proven otherwise, as
Romanian nationalism has put pressure to reverse the promises made.
Leading the anti-Hungarian attack was the Vatra Romaneasca, formed
largely by ex-Ceacescu adherents. Hungarian autonomy aspirations had
been labeled "revisionist", "separatist", etc. Press policies have ranged
from the histerical extremism to "moderate" anti-Hungarian attitudes- with
notable exception of a few , led by the leaders of the country's
intelligentsia. The 1996 elections have brought bbeneficial changes
however. Whether the new, tolerant spirit is to prevail for long
 is a good question.
A.J. Vadasz
5743 Pignut Mtn. Dr.
Warrenton VA 20187
USA T:540 349 1408

Freedom of Communications in Hungary
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To all Hungarians in Cleveland
> ------------------------------------------
Help Celebrate Freedom of Communications in Hungary
on Mother/s Day, May 11, 1997

Ameritech kindly requests the support of you or your association
membership to help Ameritech identify Hungarian individuals or
families who live in the Cleveland metropolitan area who have
relatives in Hungary who in the past year or two, may have
installed a phone in their homes.

Ameritech will sponsor a free phone call for each participating
individual or family to call their Hungarian relatives on
May 11, 1997, to celebrate not only Mother/s Day, but the
virtual elimination of a 13 year wait list for phone service in Hungary.

Ameritech would like to have 13 families or individuals
throughout Cleveland to participate this momentous occasion.
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING NAMES IS MAY 6, 1997.

For anyone who is interested, please call Margaret Densley
at (847) 534-9905 or facsimile at (847) 543-7752.

Submitted by Peter Soltesz

Miklos Hoffman wrote:

> George Antony wrote:
> >
> > Kristof wrote:
> > > I could not agree more about fast-food, but I have this feeling you don't
> > > know very much about the Mormon church, or you would likely not have said
> > > what you did.  There are about 10 million members of the church, and more
> > > than half of them are not Americans.  Spanish is the most commonly spoken
> > > language.
> >
> > Whoa, millions of Mormons in Spain ?  Never heard that one,
>
> ?! You never heard about Middle and South America? And the USA?
> ( Spanish being there the dominant language soon? );-)

In case you have not read it carefully enough, the original stated that "more
than half of them are not Americans.  Spanish is the most commonly spoken
language."

If most of them are Spanish speakers and more than half are not Americans,
this can only mean a few million living in Spain.  ?Claro?

George Antony

At 01:26 PM 4/27/97 -0400, Jeliko  wrote:

>[snip]I have never seen french fries served
>with pizza in Transylvania.

Sorry to disappoint you, there are several places in Kolozsvar/Cluj where
this is available now.

Gabor D. Farkas