Fraternity-Testvériség, 1977 (55. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1977-04-01 / 2. szám
TRANSYLVANIA During the first week of June most U.S. daily newspapers published a 3 to 5 inch column of United Press International news release concerning the extension of the Rumania trade status. The news release was buried in the New York times June 5, Sunday issue on page 39. Other papers followed the same policy. The UPI news release states that the State Department and the White House already gave its consents to the extension of granting to Rumania the most favored nation status. Seeking the final approval of Congress, President Carter stated that he will “monitor closely” any repressive emigration tactics by the Communist Bucharest Government. To our astonishment and great sorrow not a single word was said by President Carter about the human rights of the 2.5 million Hungarians living in Rumania. This is contrary to the Carter who at his second television appearance with President Ford gave us the impression that he will be the champion of human rights to all the people. Most of the Hungarian papers published in the U.S. on first page headlines requested the State Department to investigate the oppression of the 2.5 million Hungarians living in Rumania before consenting to the extension of the most favored nation status to Rumania. Losing the first battle, the Hungarian Societies are presenting memorandums to the Congress to investigate the situation in Rumania before voting for the approval of the 12 month extension of Rumania trade ties. Transylvania was a part of Hungary for 1000 years and the basic human rights were granted to the new Rumanian settlers for the past hundreds of years. It is difficult for us to understand the ruthless denial of human rights to the Hungarians in the XXth century making 2.5 million people not only 2nd class citizens hut condemning them to a slow hut certain genocide. Through the news media we were informed that the earthquake caused great damage in the Bucharest area. Front the latest news leaks we are informed that great damage was made by the earthquake in Transylvania also. It seems to us that the Communist Rumanian government closed the hard hit Transylvania area to the Western visitors for a considerable period of time. From the experts sent to Transylvania from Holland, West Germany and Switzerland we expect to learn in the near future the exact real and true damage caused by the earthquake and the deplorable oppressive conditions the Hungarians are discriminated to suffer as a minority in Rumania. In the Calvin Synod News Dr. John Butosi, Bishop writes about our fellow Christians living in Transylvania of the Socialist Republic of Rumania who suffer because “they are Christians in a communist country, reformed in a predominantly orthodox environment and Hungarian in a chauvinistically Rumanian state.” Information was given by the government concerning the damage caused by the March 4, 1977 earthquake in the Bucharest area. Not a word was said in the official report about the damages suffered by the reformed church and parsonage buildings in the Transylvania area of Rumania. We now know that 60 of the 75 reformed church buildings were damaged in Kovasna county; 5 buildings totally demolished; 6 bell towers damaged beyond repair; in 15 churches the congregations cannot hold worship services; 2 parsonages suffered heavy damages. The amount of damage is estimated to be $2 million. Bishop Dezső Abraham in his circular letter “Aid Appeal” writes that news reports of the March 4 earthquake are being trickled out slowly from behind the “iron curtain”. According to the reports 92 churches suffered extensive damage. The cost of renovation will run into millions of “Lei” which the people by themselves can hardly afford. Miss Maria Fenyes in the June 10, 1977 issue of the California Hungarians writes that according to the latest information she received in Transylvania 125 roman catholic, 72 reformed and 6 Unitarian Hungarian church buildings suffered damage by the earthquake. The cost of damage is estimated to be over $4 million. The Rumanian government condemned many church buildings which were precious Transylvanian historical landmarks to be completely and totally demolished. Financial aid from the West must be channeled through accepted international church organizations. Learning from the past the church organizations endeavor to aid the congregations by shipping construction material directly to the churches which need renovation. There is a deep concern for the totally demolished church buildings as well as for the heavily damaged buildings condemned by the government to be completely demolished because the congregations may not receive building permits to rebuild their churches. We ask our members to channel their contributions designated toward the Earth Quake Fund to: 1) Calvin Synod, Rev. Zoltán Király Treasurer, 220 Fourth Street, Passaic, N.J. 07055. 2) The Hungarian Reformed Church in America, Mr. Sándor Kiss Treasurer, 6624 Skyline Court, Alexandria, Va. 22307. 3) Our branch managers will forward the donations to our National Treasurer, Mr. Joseph Molnár. (CE) 9
