Fraternity-Testvériség, 1998 (76. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1998-10-01 / 3-4. szám
FRATERNITY Page 7 Gézát, hogy vagy formálisan lépjen be a kommunista pártba, vagy írjon alá egy engedelmességi nyilatkozatot. Mivel Soós Géza ezt visszautasította, elfogató parancsot adtak ki ellene. Ismét menekülnie kellett. Sikerült Svájcba jutnia, majd családját is kihozatnia magához. Svájci megbízatással, mint “Field Director” a München mellett berendezett amerikai egyházi menekültügyi hivatalban sok más nemzetiségű protestáns menekült mellett magyar menekültek ezrei számára is biztosított nemcsak anyagi (élelem, ruházat, szállás, stb.) segítséget, de kivándorlási lehetőségeket is. Közben többek között megszervezte a menekült magyar protestánsok lelkigondozását, segített megalapítani az Új Magyar Út című színvonalas, kulturális folyóiratot, a Magyar Szellemi Munkaközösséget és a Németországi Magyar Lelkészek és Szervezetek Munkaközösségét. Mrs. Ilona (Helen) Soos at the Kossuth House on the occasion of a reception given in memory of the 45'h anniversary of the passing away of her husband Dr. Geza Soos. THE FLOOD CATASTROPHE IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN A theological student, Erzsébet Gabor, summed up her visit to the Carpathian Basin during the November floods as follows: "Record of a journey in Sub-Carpathia (the region with Hungarian population of Ukraine). During a period from 5-10 November 1998, more than 100 villages were severely flooded. This was caused by the sudden inundation of four small rivers, the absence of adequate flood prevention measures and weak dams. More than 3,000 buildings (homes, schools, and institutions) were affected by the flood disaster. A group of theological students visited a village called Visk, which is very close to the Romanian- Ukrainian border. Although the distance from the border to this village is only 50 kilometers, we now had to travel more than 100 kilometers to get there, because the bridge has been washed out by the inundation, and the road was destroyed. We passed by many villages with collapsed houses; the people were either standing in front of their homes or had just received food and clothing from trucks. We finally arrived at our destination before midnight. The people told us that the week before the water had been 1,5 meters high on the road where we were standing. They had run out from their houses and spent many nights in some buildings which were on a hill. One young man died during the rescue operation. We could hardly get to the Reformed vicarage because of the mud and water. The pastor told us that the flood destroyed the dam on the morning of November the 5th. The water came so rapidly that they could not save anything. The electricity and the telephone connections were interrupted. On Sunday, they could not go to the church, because the water blocked all access to the church. In Visk, 88 houses were in a state of collapse, 15-20 were semi-collapsed, and 100 houses were in an unlivable condition, because they were completely wet. While some of the homeless went to their relatives, 500 people were given small rooms in the local hospital and in the school. Most of the domestic animals were killed by the water, and the vegetables from cellars were also destroyed. After one week we went back to Visk with some more help. We were told that many people had come to bring help. They could now feed the people who remained homeless from the food they had received from different countries. They received some help for construction work, but that was just enough for two houses. The rest of the work will have to wait until spring for the weather here is very cold now. We brought them clothing and food. But we know that they need more. The government has allowed the tax-free transportation until December 10. We do not know how they will survive after that date. The food allocation crisis can be solved only by financial support. Without it, we as students cannot do more than what we were able to accomplish with our two deliveries." The Federation has joined the ethnic Hungarian community in collecting financial aid for the flood victims in the Carpathian (Ukraine) basin. Anyone wishing to contribute to this cause is requested to send his or her check to the HRFA, 2001 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20036- 1011. Checks should be made payable to the Student Aid & Loan Fund, marked "Flood." All donations are tax- deductible.
