Magyar News, 1998. szeptember-1999. augusztus (9. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1998-10-01 / 2. szám
Krisztina, age 4, having the first American meal on the plane tion, my one-year old little girl was screaming at the top of her voice, so the Russian soldiers just gave us a very easy checking. They were just looking for guns. Despite the fact that we were on an open truck in the middle of November, we still shed quite some sweat. The travel was not an excursion but we managed to reach a Protestant parsonage in 10 minutes and that is where we finally stopped. Naturally the Reverend questioned us and after I told him that I am a close relative of an outstanding scholar, a Hungarian bishop, he seemed to have thrust in us. We only asked accommodation for one night and for the following morning we would like to have some information on the closest way to get to the border. To make sure everything was OK, Reverend asked a few more questions. He was pleased with my answers, gave me a friendly hug of a sort. He assured us that the assistant minister next morning will transport us to the border giving us a ride on a tractor. We were happy to understand that the Russians are not active in the area and the Hungarian soldiers are unorganized. But one can not really trust the situation. For the afternoon next day the tractor arrived, making much noise, and the assistant minister was in the saddle. With our few belongings we mounted the open trailer and in our excitement we did not have time to feel the cold. We all cuddled together and wrapped the little girl into a blanket and held her in my lap, I tried to protect her from the snowy drizzle that we were getting. After an hour of rough ride, the the assistant minister asked us to dismount and he pointed out the exact direction that we should take. He warned us to keep the shortest distance to the border. We had no trouble doing so while we had daylight. After dark I had to use my compass. It was very difficult because I only had a cigarette lighter as a light source and I had to do it under the blanket. We had a rough road ahead of us because of the constant rain. We were up to our ankles in the mud and it was veiy difficult to get it off our boots. We really were not under the pressure of time because we only had 3-4 miles to reach the Austrian border. Unfortunately the ladies in the group were getting tired and were taking a rest every ten minutes. Also my little daughter who was in my back-pack was ciy ing if I stopped walking with her.. I had to use every trick in the book to get our people moving. After a good half-hour I saw some lights and I also heard noises of the tanks. Then we heard machine guns, saw the flashes, and figured that they were shooting in a different direction. Still, we had to lay down on the wet ground and wait till everything went silent. Having my problem with my little girl. To keep her quiet I had to move around on my fours. Finally we started out again towards the West. I myself was getting very tired but noticing a stronger light to the left, I gave in to the idea that this light could be Austria. I turned in that direction, not being sure, but the light was veiy inviting. As we were approaching, we heard voices, but we could not figure out what language they were speaking. Leaving the group, with my daughter still on my back, I went to explore the situation. Ón my way I came across a guard’s booth. In the dark I couldn't make out the colors painted on it. Walking around it I was able to see that they were red, white and green. Then going back to my friends I gave them the disappointing news. The guard’s booth was a good indication that we are close to the border. I tried to check my old tom map and came to the conclusion that we were on Austrian land prior to seeing the hght. I decided to mm north-west in the hope of getting on to Austrian territory again. Only a half-hour passed when we stumbled down to a paved road and noticed a milestone. Under the blanket with the light of my cigarette lighter, I was able to see what was written on it. I immediately told everybody that it read "Österreich". The group held each other's hand. There on the spot we fell on our knees and said the Lords Prayer. We still were not sure of how deep we were into the Austrian territory. Slightly to our right we noticed the lights off a village. We have been on Austrian territory for some time, but we have never ran into a border guard. Only when we were very close to the village did we meet two guards. They were very pleasant to us and they escorted us to the barracks. There they gave us coffee and food. I figured that it took us six hours to reach the land of freedom. My first exciting experience was when my wife offered me a glass of coke. Tasting it, I thought it was medicine. I was used to drinking the wine of Tokaj. What a difference. Next day after we went through the formalities, we were transported to a town on the northern edge of the Fertő lake where I finally was able to get to a telephone. It was already late evening when I called my friend István in Kismártoa He wasn't really surprised, he said he was waiting for our call. He immediately got into his Volkswagen and came to pick us up. It was a eight o'clock in the evening when we reached our destination. The doctors office and his home was in a renovated building belonging to the Eszterházys'. The view from their window is on the huge Eszterházy Castle where at this time government offices were situated. This area called Burgenland used to be Lajtabánság in Hungarian originally. One could find many ancient Hungarian fortresses and they are in very good condition. István kept busy finding proper accommodations for the rest of the members of the group. A friend of mine arrived three weeks later and was happy to embrace his wife. They went to Switzerland and we stayed hoping that the West will be able to do something smart and couraging, so we could return to our free country, Hungary. The years went by and nothing happened. Losing hope we decided to have the United States as our adopting country. We arrived here at the end of October, 1959 with the help of the Methodist Church. We settled in Washington, DC. Here we live as Hungarian minority. Established 1032 Frank S. Pac III VICE PRESIDENT INVESTMENTS / INSURANCE FOR THE HUNGARIAN COMMUNITY 1-800-295-7568 JANNEY MONTGOMERY SCOTT, INC Darien, Fairfield, Hartford, New London Gabriella Rácz “Realtor” BUYING, SELLING OR RELOCATING? Call me at your convenience 203-374-9451; Voice mail:203-319-2881 Specialist in HUD houses. I speak Hungarian Scala & Clark Co. 3850 Main Street Bridgeport, CT; Tel: (800)722-0187 E-mail: c21scala@aol.com Onlu^i Page 7
