Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1979. január-június (33. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1979-02-08 / 6. szám
Thursday, Feb. 8. 1979. SEVEN PENNIES (cont. from p. 9.) be. For three (lavs I had been preparing; to pilfer it but never dared. I should have bought candy for it, though, had I dared. — Well, we have four pennies already. Cheer up, my little one, we have got the hjorger part of it. We need onlv three more. As we have found this one in an hour, we shall find those three by teatime. Even so I shall be able to wash a good deal till evening. Quick, perhaps there will be one in each of the other drawers. If only there had been one in each drawer! That would have been much! In its youth the old cupboard must have served at a place where there was • much to hide. But at our house the poor thing was not overburdened: no wonder it got so decrepit, worm-eaten and full of holes. Mv mother delivered a little sermon to each drawer. This one used to be a rich drawer - once! That one never possessed anything! And this other one always lived on credit! Oh, you wicked, miserable beggar, haven’t you got a penny either? This one will never have anything because it is guarding our poverty. You are never to have anything if you don’t give me something now, the only time I ask something of you! Look, this one has the most - she exclaimed with a laugh, pulling out the lowest drawer which did not even have a bottom left. She hung it on mv neck, then we collapsed on the floor with laughter. — Stop - she said suddenly - we shall have money immediately. I shall find some in vour father’s clothes. There were nails in the wall, on them hung the clothes. And wonder of wonders, as mv mother puts her hand into the first pocket, she immediately catches a penny. She scarcely believed her eves. — There - she exclaimed - we have got it! How many have we already? We can’t even count them! One, two, three, four, five... Five! We need onlv two more. What are two pennies? Nothing. Where there are five, two more will turn up no doubt. She searched the pockets with great ardour, but - alas- in vain. She did not find a single one. Even the best jokes could not entice two more pennies to come forth. My mother’s cheeks were bv then flaming red from excitement and work, like roses. She was not allowed to work as it made her immediately ill. This, of course, was exceptional work: nobody can be forbidden to seek money. Tea-time came and passed. Soon it would be night. Mv father needs a shirt tomorrow and one can’t wash. Water from the well alone will not wash out the oily dirt. And then mv mother slaps her forehead. — Oh, what a fool I am! I did not look into mv own pocket! But now that 1 come to think of it, I shall look. She looked and lo, she found a penny there. The sixth. We became frenzied. Now onlv one more was missing. —Show me vour pockets too. Perhaps there will be one also! Mv pockets! I could well show those. Thev contained nothing. Evening came and there we were with our six pennies which were as good as none. The storekee10___________________________ AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO. HUNGARY-US TRADE The US-Hungarian trade agreement based on most-favoured-nation treatment took effect and this act has removed the trade obstacles that have existed between the two countries for the past three decades. As a result, the high tariffs imposed until now have been abolished and Hungarv can trade with the US on the same terms as other GATT- member countries. Trade between the two countries is rather low and growth is slow. It reached the value of 130 m dollars in 1974, 165 m dollars in 1975 and 1976, and in 1977 topped 200 m dollars. Despite the growth, the trade turnover still lags behind that with other major capitalist countries. Hungarian exports to the US are behind imports. 71 % of Hungarian exports to the US are light and food industry products, canned ham, canned meat, bottled wines, handicrafts and Herend porcelain. Eighty percent of Hungary’s imports are raw materials, agricultural produce - especially soya beans, breeding animals, hide and skin. The remaining 20 % of imports are machinery. High level technology trade is very low, due primarily to the previously imposed high tariffs. Hungary plans mainly to export industrial consumer goods and spare parts. However, a lot of marketing work is necessary on both sides before this plan can be realized. • 5b8 companies control over 300 million acres of United States land — more than 11 percent of the total land area of the entire country. • __________ . ' J per doesn’t grant credit. The neighbours are just as poor as ourselves and sure we can’t ask for a pennv! There was nothing left but to laugh from our innermost heart at our own misery. And then a beggar entered. In a chanting tone he uttered a long pitiful lamentation. Mv mother nearly fainted with laughter. — Let it be, mv good man,-she said -1 am idling here the whole afternoon because I am in want of one single penny. It is missing from the price of a half pound of soap. The beggar, meek-faced old man - stared at her.— One penny? - he asked. — I give vou one. — That would be the limit; alms from a beggar! —Never mind, my girl. I shall not miss it. What I miss is a shovelful of earth. With that, everything will be alright. He put the penny into my hand and with great thanksgiving tottered awav. — Well, thanks to God - said mv mother - there, you can go... Then she stopped for a moment and uttered a big, big laugh. — A lot of good this money does us! It’s too late for washing. It is dark and I have no lampoil! She choked with laughter. It was a terrible, murderous choke. And when I supported her while she was stooping, with her face buried in her palms, something warm poured over my hands. It was blood, her dear blood. The blood of mv mother who could laugh as very few are able to laugh even among the poor. Dom Hélder of Recife A Brazilian vision of the Church's worldly mission This interview with Archbishop Dom Helper Camara, by Jose Maria Andrade, is excerpted from the newsweekly “Veja” of Sao Paulo. Can the Church assume some sort of political leadership during Brazil’s transition to a democratic government? The Church does not concern itself with assuming leadership. Its role is to serve the Lord by serving its neighbor. With more than two-thirds of mankind living in misery' and hunger, enormous changes are necessary, both in Brazil and in the rest of the world—structural changes which would transform the lives of almost every living soul. What kind of political system would be able to end the injustices of which you speak? All varieties of capitalism put profit above humanity. It is important that the Church let Christians develop a socialism which, without falling into the illusion that heaven can be constructed here on Earth, will avoid a world of oppressors and oppressed. Many people accuse the Church of disseminating Communist propaganda. You, for example, are frequently listed as one of the “Red bishops.’’ Anyone who has an interest in preserving the present system will come up with the worst possible names for those who seek to change it. After all, Christ was called Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Isn’t the Church responsible for some of the social injustices you have denounced? The foundation of the Church is divine, but its human members are weak. The Church must recognize its guilt (at least in sins of omission) for the situation in which humanity now finds itself. It does not and should not let either left- or right-wing dictatorships confine it to the sacristy, under the pretext that the Church should worry about spiritual issues only and wait for eternity. The Church knows that its work is with bodies and souls, not disembodied spirits. Is the Church undergoing an internal crisis, with reduced attendance at mass and fewer people entering clerical life? If you go to a youth mass, you will find the church bursting with young people praying, singing, and even taking Communion. As for priests and nuns, today, with a growing appreciation for the potential of the lay ministry, a smaller number of clergy is capable of attending to the needs of the faithful. In your youth you were linked to fascism. How did you come to your present opinions? . I have written a book called Conversations with a Bishop. In it I tried to describe the errors into which I had fallen, and how God helped me free myself from them. We all need to be converted, and will need to be until the last days of our lives.
