Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1989. július-december (43. évfolyam, 27-48. szám)
1989-11-23 / 44. szám
Thursday, Hov. 23. 1989. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZÓ 11 Full of Possibilities Gorbachev the Man of the Century Bilateral trade between Hungary and Israel could triple itself from the present level of USD 33 m to USD 100 m in two years. This was declared by Dan Gillerman, President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce and Gad Propper, Chairman of the Israeli Export Institute. Mr. Gillerman and Mr. Propper were leading the first trade delegation ever to visit Hungary in which 45 businessmen participated. This June visit was a follow-up to the visit last November of a Hungarian trade mission to Israel. The Israeli mission was endeavouring to further strengthen commercial and economic ties between the two countries. During the 7 day visit, seminars on trade, technology, agriculture and bilateral relations were organized by the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, the Israeli Export Institute in cooperation with the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and the Skála Marketing Agency. The delegation met leading figures and officials to discuss ways and means of increasing bilateral trade.. Bilateral trade between Israel and Hungary reached the USD 33 m in 1988 as compared with USD 18 m in 1987, an increase of almost 80 percent. During the first two months of 1989 exports to Israel totalled USD 4 m, imports from Israel USD 3 m. Hungary imports from Israel, in the main, chemical products, metals, machinery and equipment, foods and textiles. Hungary exports metals, agricultural products, chemical products, machinery electrical apparatus. SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR U.S. ARE AVAILABLE IN HUNGARY BUDAPEST. Small business opportunities between the U.S. and Hungary was the chief topic of concern for members of a U.S. trade mission visiting Hungary recently. Ralph S. Blackman, President of Public Access, (nc. Washington, D.C., and a member of the trade mission, met with U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, Mark Palmer and members of the Hungarian government to discuss how U.S. small businesses could begin expanding their markets while at the same time helping to develop the Hungarian economy. According to Blackman, "Economic growth in the U.S. is due in large part to the dynamic and innovative small businesses that have flourished in recent years. Transferring this expertise to our Hungarian counterparts, U.S. small businesses will share the responsibility for new Hungarian economic growth, while at the same time continuing to develop their own skills at international trade." Blackman continued by noting that "The climate in Hungary for developing their own private sector is at an all time high, and that opportunities for trading with other Eastern Bloc countries are within reach." In addition to Budapest, members of the trade mission traveled to Székesfehérvár, Veszprém, Győr and Debrecen where they met with representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Hungarian State Bank, Ministry of Trade and Finance, economists and large manufacturing cooperatives and enterprises. The U.S. trade mission concluded in Budapest on November 3.. FROM MODERN HUNGARIAN POETRY FOREWORD BY WILLIAM JAY SMITH How account for the magnificent and varied concentration of poetry in so small a nation as Hungary? Situated in the center of Europe, Hungary has maintained for over a thousand years the integrity of its language and culture. Whatever else it has been, Hungary in a sense has constituted an island in Central Europe and it is the nature of islanders to turn inward - to seek in themselves the roots of legends, tales and songs centuries old- and in this seeking, there is always poetry. The writing of poetry in this instance has meant not only purifying but literally keeping alive the words of the tribe. A people living surrounded by other languages and cultures learns to listen more carefully to the sound of its own voice, to probe more keenly its tragic depths to allow black humor, with its crystal surface, to bubble up from the deep. Islanders not only turn invard, they reach out and poetry is the most enduring of bridges. ....................... j There is a buoyancy in the air of Budapest which must have something to do with the creation of its poetry. The city's concentration of mineral springs working their way through cracks and cavities in the bed of dolomite on which the city rests, may have something to do with it. The Romans certainly found it a fine place to be, as did the Turks. There is immediately a feeling of great activity in the city; everybody is on the move, rushing about in an intent and determined way. One expects this in any great capital, but in Budapest it seems ingrained, an inner buoyancy that demands expression. It is said that the inhabitants of Budapest stop for only two reasons - for an accident or when someone asks the way. Perhaps the third reason is when compelled to put down a few lines of poetry. Wherever in the world one meets Hungarians of prominence, in any profession, one quickly discovers how passionately they feel about the poetry of their country. "So they blew the trumpets, and when the army heard the trumpet sound, they raised a great shout, and down fell the walls." Joshua 6:20. Just as the Jericho wall came tumbling down 33 centuries ago, so the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. Just as Joshua was the symbolic trumpeter in the famous old Testament story, so Mikhail Gorbachev is the symbolic trumpeter who brought down the wall which has symbolized the Cold War for 28 years. What this modern trumpeter has done to change the world is almost beyond comprehension. A little over a year ago, in a speech to newspaper editors in Washington, Richard Nixon observed that Gorbachev had just been named Time magazine's "Man of the Year". Nixon indicated approval of the choice, but went on to add that if Gorbachev achieves what he had set out to achieve, "he will be the man of the century." Granted, Nixon's "if" is a big caveat. Gorbachev is still a long way from reaching what he set out to achieve, and indeed it may well be that he has set an unattainable goal for one individual. But in our view, Nixon's expansive view of the Soviet leader has already come to pass. Who else in this century has had a greater single-handed impact on remaking the face of the Earth? Lenin, perhaps? Churchill, who saved Britain but not the British Empire? Roosevelt, who saved America from the excesses of capitalism? All of these men, to be sure, have made a lasting impact in our century. But to find parallels for Gorbachev, one must go much further back into history - to Charlemagne, to William the Conqueror, to Feter the Great, to George Washington. Given the velocity of change loose in the world today, only a madman would predict what is yet to come. And it may well be that change becomes so dangerous, so out-of-control that Gorbachev ultimately may be forced to take steps, steps necessary to preserve an orderly framework for change, that will appear a throwback. But regardless of what comes, what Gorbachev has set into motion is clearly irrevocable. There no longer seems to be any question that as of Thursday, he fulfilled Nixon's prophecy and became the Man of the Century. (Editorial that appeared in the Baltimore Evening Sun.) IBUSZ Hungarian Travel Company follows fashion in many respects though fortunately not in complaining. There is nothing to complain about, for it closed a good year. Ibusz organized the visits by 553.000 guests to Hungary in 1988; many more people came from Switzerland, Finland, the USA and the United Kingdom compared to 1987. Last year 232.000 Hungarians chose to travel abroad with Ibusz; the numbers traveling to Austria and Turkey almost doubled compared to 1987.
