Amerikai Magyar Reformátusok Lapja, 1936 (37. évfolyam, 1-47. szám)
1936-02-22 / 8. szám
6-ik oldal AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Defending of Migrating Birds”, was that all civilized people took their share in caring for the fate of mig- grating birds. All the cultured nations have signed the mentioned defence law, Italy being the last, after the others. We can say that on paper — the life of those birds which by nature are forced to migrate twice a year is protected today by all nations whose lands would be touched by the wandering flocks. There arises the question that, in reality, are the lives of the migrating birds, which by international agreement are so humanly cared for, secure? — We may say no. The movement to safeguard the migrating birds started, when I as a horse herdboy at Ecseg which is situated at the Nagy Sárrét of Central Hungary, through my observation I called the scientists’ attention to the fact that those migrating birds which flooded Hungary and those, too, which have the inclination to go further for their summer stay in the Northern countries of Europe (Norway, England, Germany, etc.) stay for a short while, about 10—12 days, on the large swampy territory of the Sárrét before they move to reach their goal. In reverse, when 'the birds wandered back to Asia or Africa, the same thing happened. In the Sárrét where the birds found plenty of rich food, they were unmolested and got new strength for their long tour which they still faced. More fish than water — fat frogs, billions of water snakes —etc., and weed seeds — offered the proper and richest nourishment for the birds. The people who lived in the surrounding of the largest swamp of Hungary not only loved with fanatical fervor the migrating birds but helped them in their nestling by putting old wheels and worn out utensils on the top of their houses as an invitation to the migrating birds to settle there. There were peasant houses where six or more storks built their nests, and lived in harmony with the house owner and with the neighboring birds. It happened that drought season made it hard for the mother storks to feed their babies with reptiles. The peasants cooked daily large bowls of food made of mixed bran, flour and corn for the birds — until they got strong enough to start on their long journey to another country. And the peasants were happy in the springs, when their birds came back. The days of. happiness to greet the migrating birds at their arrival are gone for both the Magyar peasants and for the birds. No old tree remained, no swamp which may shelter birds. You can see only homeless ones there. After the World War, with the Treaty of Trianon, heated by hatred and not inspired by intelligence, the peace makers broke up and mutilated thousand-year-old Hungary so mercilessly that she was reduced to an economic incompetency. Two- thirds of her territory and almost one-half of her population were severed from Hungary; her coal, iron, silver, brass and all other minerals — and more than 98 per cent of her woods, too. He best wheatfields were torn away from her. So systematic was the destruction of Hungary — so cruel, and inhuman was the punishment meted out to her, that this act and its results stand unparalleled in the history of the civilized world. The pitiless mutilation of her territory and cold-blooded destruction of the economic competency of Hungary resulted in more misery than what the “Peace Makers” intentionally wanted to impose upon Hungary. Their farflung hatred created such a situation in Hungary that all the signers, those flint-hearted, stubborn delegates, whose ignorance and limited knowledge and respect of the economic life of the whole world caused this, may be covered with irreparable shame before history. Robbed of the best wheatfields and of their forests, and fighting for their existance, the Magyars, to produce more wheat and some com- bustives, were forced to dry out all the large swamps in Central Hungary, which from the beginning of human history served as a resource of existance for the numberless migrating birds — which trans- passed Hungary. The millions of acres of swamp territory on the lands, which since a thousand years the Magyars had occupied (and this territory enclosed a perfect geological unit and constituted Hungary under leadership of the Magyars,) which served and housed the migrating birds like a real sanctuary — fell under the plows of the Magyar peasants who, driven by needs and poverty with absolute logic, grabbed the best sanctuaries from the migrating birds. After the inhuman and illogical treaty of Trianon the billions of migrating birds, whose existences were granted on paper, in the way the Magyars were driven into their misery, lost gradually their food and resting places. I read an article in the "Pest; Napló” of April 14, 1935, by Zsigmond Móric, one of Hungary’s foremost writers and publicists, who recently visited Central Hungary, where one of the largest swamps, the Nagy Sárrét, (Great Muddy Prairie) was situated — and where I lived fifty years ago as a horse herdboy. Here about one-half a million acres of swamps served with choicest foods the billions of migrating birds. Mr. Móric says in his article; “Today the whole territory is dried out. I passed fifteen villages with my car during the election and my biggest suprise was that there weren’t even symptoms of water on the whole Sárrét. It is a poor, dry, and crusty land. The Sárrét is dried out and it is claimed that even the rain is avoiding that territory now. In the past year it was so dry that the crusty land didn’t even bring in the seeds. This is what they call the transformation of culture. Man is interfering with nature — until he is doing good here — is spoiling there. Unfortunately this operation on the territories did not result well. The Sárrét was a fairy land once upon a time. Many thousands of acres of swamps covered with water, without any road — an unfathomable region. Immeasurable quantities of fish were there. So much fish and "esik” could be caught with bare hand and with trap. It was necessary to put in the tray only, and we had collected so much fish that we could fill several pails with them. And they were ready to bake or cook. Birds, There were as many as clouds. Wild-ducks, egron, heron, crane, water-fowl, covered thickly the nearby islands. Nobody molested them. It was possible to touch and pet the brown feathers of the wild- geese. We still have reed-covered houses when we haven’t any more reeds. But we are putting tiles on the houses to spare them from the storks... Even the storks can not live there. During this past dry summer, when there were no frogs, the poor storks carried away all our chickens and other poultry, so everybody threw the nests off the chimney; not only that, but they even put wire baskets in order to prevent the storks from making their nests on the chimney next spring if they returned. Like swarms, the poor women are gathering together from time to time. Fifty-sixty-hundred women are starting off to the village to ask for bread when they could not stand any more the cries of the children. The old Sárrét becomes a national problem to-day. It is necessary that the whole nation’s attention should be turned to this country, because it is impossible to leave this territory in the same estate.” Mr. Móric has an appeal to the Nation of the Magyars — to save the people who are losing the swamp’s last benefits to that land where they are living. And I have an appeal to all the nations of the world to save the life of billions of the birds which, with the disappearance of the swamps of Central Hungary are losing their existence. I wish to unite the desire of all human beings, who, through culture, have enough intelligence to be able to understand the needs of those “clouds of birds” which by instinct are searching every year for food under the Magyar sky — where their ancestors were so abundantly served during thousands of years. We, the whole world, must do something for those homeless — restless — hungry birds, who, not finding any more that friendly treatment from the deprived Magyar peasant, who covers with a wire the chimney of his thatched house, are turning towards cannibalism, and in their dire hunger they are forced to devour each other. A joint appeal of all intellectuals may convince the League of Nations about the necessity of the revision of the Treaty of Trianon with which they dismembered thousand-year-old Hungary and if they have no sentiment for the people who are struggling and living in the utmost misery in Hungary, they may have a better feeling towards the birds. Nem tudná a Reformátusok Lapját egyházában, ismerősei körében példányonkint terjeszteni? Kiadóhivatalunk szívesen ad felvilágosítást. INNEN-ONNAN írja: Laky Zsigmond BUDAPESTEN, az óbudai egyházrész urvacsoraosztásán külön kelyheket is használ a gyülekezet. A SOLTI EGYHÁZMEGYE Református Missziói Napokat rendezett a közelmúltban. Az egyházmegye összes anya, fiók és leány egyházközségeiben megtartattak e misz- sziói napok. Az egyházmegyei belmissziói előadó vezetése mellett konferenciákat tartottak prezsbiterek és nők részére, valamint fiuk és leányok részére. A missziói napok áldásos hatása évröl-évre szembetűnőbb az egyházmegye gyülekezeteiben. JUGOSZLÁVIA egyik kisebb községében a Keresztyén Ifjúsági Egylet tagjai úgy gondolták, hogy a bál és az urva- csoraosztás összeférnek. Karácsony első napján egy szin- előadást rendeztek, melyen egy vígjátékot adtak elő. Előadás után tánc volt. Karácsony másodnapján jött ki hozzájuk a református lelkész, hogy istentiszteletet tartson és úrvacsorát osszon, melyen részt akart venni a bálozó KIÉ tagok egy része is. Mikor a lelkész ezt megtudta, akkor Kálvin példájára gondolva, eltiltotta őket az úrvacsorától, ő nem tartotta összeférhetőnek a KIÉ bált az Úrvacsorával. PÁRIZSBAN egy csoport magyar gyermekkel két magyar pap van a fényképen. Az egyik református, a másik római katholikus. A kép egy magyarországi folyóiratban jelent meg. A kép alá, jellemzően, ez van nyomtatva. E kép nem Magyarországon lett véve. Itt katholikus és református papok nem ülnek egymás mellé lefényképezés céljából. Ez a megjegyzés azt engedi sejtetni, hogy a felekezetek közötti béke ,a szülőhazában nem olyan, mint amilyennek sokan szeretnék látni. Itt az Egyesült Államokban helyen- kint és egyénenkint más és más a helyzet. NÉMETALFÖLDÖN (Netherlands) van kálvinista politikai párt. A párt hivatalos neve: Anti Revolutionista Párt. Vezetője Hendrikus Colyn a holland miniszterelnök, aki nemzetközi mozgalmakban is vezető szerepet visz.
