The Eighth Tribe, 1981 (8. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1981-10-01 / 10. szám
Page 4 THE EIGHTH TRIBE October, 1981 Little Freedoms Blossom In Hungary FRANK T. CSONGOS United Press International The Author's first visit to Hungary since he left his native land in his childhood years. By FRANK T. CSONGOS Budapest (Upd - The restaurant near Budapest offered roast lamb, chicken prepared in paprika sauce and white wine from the Lake Balaton region. The place was crowded. “I hope you enjoyed your dinner,” the waiter said. “Please come back again. Perhaps you’ll taste our palacsinta (a form of pancake) for desert.” It was time to pay. The meal, including wine, came to the equivalent of about $3 per person. “It’s nice to have pleasant service and good food,” a fellow customer said. “It shows that this place is privately owned.” The restaurant in the town of Szentendre, near the Danube, was one of hundreds of private enterprises permitted by the communistruled Hungarian government. In Hungarian, a business not owned by tbe state is called “masxek” — private sector. “It took us 35 years to realize that permitting private ownership of small restaurants and other ventures has nothing to do with building socialism in Hungary,” said a Hungarian journalist. “You’ll see plenty of changes since 1956.” I have spent about a month in Hungary this summer, my first extended stay in my native land in nearly two decades. The journalist was right. Things have changed. ★ ★ ★ My earliest memories of Hungary are of the 1950s during the rule of communist leader Mátyás Rákosi. He was a dictator. Businesses were nationalized. Peasants were forced to form collective farms. Rákosi ruled Hungary — a nation of 10 million in central Europe — with an iron hand. His political enemies were purged and executed. People vanished. Nearly everything from the West was banned — movies, plays, consumer products. As a child, I remember his pictures everywhere. In school we were taught songs to praise him. The West, led by the United States, was portrayed as the enemy. In 1953, after the death of Stalin, Rákosi began to lose power. Then came 1956: The uprising that began Oct. 23. Fighting in the streets of Budapest. The Soviet tanks. Buildings ravaged by gunfire. The exodus of thousands of Hungarians to the West. Janos Kadar, a victim of Rakosi’s purges, who was tortured and imrisoned, took control with Soviet acking in the winter of 1956. At 69, he has been in power 25 years. Hungary had been devastated for a second time in 11 years. It was nearly destroyed in World War II by the fighting between German and Russian soldiers. Kadar put money into consumeroriented enterprises. Farmers were encouraged to grow more food. Our family stuck around for a few years. Then we were permitted to leave for the West. ★ ★ ★ “Welcome back to Hungary,” said the customs officer at the Ferihegyi Airport outside Budapest. “Anything to declare?” “Not really,” I said. “Just a few gifts.” “You may go then,” he said. Within minutes, a cab was taking me into the heart of Budapest. I remember a burned-out tank near a main avenue in 1956. Today there is a small booth there with a sign on it: “Hot Dog.” It was selling for 12 forints — about 40 cents. Business was brisk. The Hungarian Radio station is on Sándor Brody Street I had a two-hour private visit to chat with Vilmos Gáti, a senior editor of Szülőföldem (My Native Land) which beams programs in Hungarian and several foreign languages to dozens of countries. “Our definition of news is different from yours,” Gati said. “We try to educate people. Your motto is ‘Get it first, but first get it right.’ Speed and accuracy — both equally important for you. Here, speed is less important.” The news media are controlled by the Hungarian state. Hungary has only one wire service. Newspapers carry many dispatches translated into Hungarian. Western publications generally are not available at newsstands, but one could buy the International Herald Tribune, for example, at hotels. Gati said Hungarians were worried about the Reagan administration’s plans to spend billions more on new weapons systems. “Once you get more sophisticated weapons,” he said, “the temptation will be there to use them.” In private conversations, many Hungarians express concern about the Polish situation. “We have no shortages in Hungary,” a young locomotive engineer said. “Our life is relatively good here — all the meat you want to eat. American cigarettes, French cognac, Japanese stereo — you name it, it’s all available at the stores if you have the money. “But Poland is a different matter. The Poles are nearly starving. It
