Fraternity-Testvériség, 1958 (36. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1958-05-01 / 5. szám
FRATERNITY 9 cedure for finding a position in his profession in this country. The scientist who is a regular immigrant usually is able to make arrangements in advance. The objective of the Academy’s program is to enable the newcomer to become integrated into his local and professional community as rapidly as possible, in order to enable him to contribute his special talents to our society at the earliest possible time. The sooner that the newcomer becomes familiar with the nuances of his profession in this country and the sooner that he establishes contacts with colleagues in his field and in turn is evaluated by them, the sooner he becomes integrated, happy, contributive and able to compete for normal opportunities. How the newcomer fares during his first months probably constitutes the impression which he gives his scientific colleagues abroad of the prospects for talented immigrants in the United States. It may be worth observing that of the some 330 Hungarian refugees who decided to return to Europe, none had been placed by the Academy. Several special problems have been encountered in the program. Medical doctors, doctors of veterinary medicine, dentists, teachers, in fact all those who require licensure by the various states, are often confronted by varying requirements, such as graduation from an American university and citizenship. The parolee status held by most of the Hungarian refugees in the United States naturally was unforeseen by those who drew up the various states’ licensure requirements. As a consequence, most of the refugees in this category are not yet eligible to apply for the various examinations, successful completion of which would enable them to practice their professions and contribute their special talents in this country. In addition, the foreign trained physician finds it exceedingly difficult to sustain himself and his family on an intern’s salary keyed to the requirements of the young American graduate who is usually free of family responsibilities and who may have other sources of income. Although one objective of the Academy’s program is to help the newcomer become competitive with his American colleagues for normally existing opportunities, it has become apparent that a very limited of fellowships are available to permanent resident aliens and virtually none for parolees. Yet these persons are presumed future citizens. The parolees are ineligible for the fellowship opportunities which exist for both American citizens and visitors from abroad. Except for the temporary opportunities especially created for the Hungarian refugees, virtually no fellowships exist for parolees and permanent resident aliens. This situation militates against the best interests of the country, because many promising young scientists among the refugees who look forward to becoming citizens, will be unable to continue education which would prepare them to contribute their special talents to this country. Those staff members who were immediately concerned with the Academy’s Hungarian Scientists Program formed certain conclusions as a result of their experience. Among these is that the major technical universities of Hungary, although under Communist domination for the last decade, continue to turn out very well-trained young scientists. For example, allowing for individual differences, it has been estimated that the graduate from the Polytechnical University of Budapest or the Science Department
