The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1983 (10. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1983-03-01 / 3. szám
March, 1983 THE EIGHTH HUNGARIAN TRIBE Page 7 Eagle atop the “Freedom Fighters of 1956” Monument with only a single bed for four adults. The children were bedded down on the living-room floor. We lay down, sardine-style, two on each end and slept all day,” Emma recalled the scene. “A knock on the door woke us with a start, and we heard the woman say it was time to leave,” Dómján explained, “as her husband was due home shortly.” She gave them some bread and cheese and they started out, leaving some of their heavier bundles behind. A short distance from the house, a mustachio’d peasant met them. He was to be their guide to the Austrian border. He knew a shortcut in the wooded, unfamiliar area. Again, there was a large fee demanded by the guide. He quickly put the money into his boot and led the way. “It was dark and snowing heavily as we walked along through the woods. No one was around,” Emma related. Soon, we came to a clearing and an oxcart driven by a young farmer came along.” Emma and her exhausted mother climbed in and were driven ahead, while the sister and the girls followed on foot. “I was given a green apron and a bicycle by driver — to appear ‘local’,” Dómján explained. “In the heavy snow, I promptly fell off the bicycle and started pushing it up-hill, in plain view of the border patrol! He asked me to produce my identification book. I must have looked suspicious in my work apron; he probably knew all the local people. I tried to look nanchalant,” the sculptor laughed, then continued: “My wife had wisely placed a 500- forint bill in my red ID booklet. I handed the booklet over with the money inside. “He opened it and said joviaUy: ‘That’s a very impressive ID, sir,’ and pocketing the bill, handed the booklet back, motioning me to pass.” They were now outside the Hungarian border, in no-man’s land. The guide and the family appeared again and he pointed out the direction in which they were to go. Austria was still about 5 kilometers away, and it was dark and cold. “Please, how much will you charge for leading us across the border?” Emma asked. He told her and she paid him. Their savings were dwindling rapidly, but their anticipation heightened. Silently, they kept on walking. Once, they passed about a hundred yards from a Russian guard house. Everyone was near collapse as they walked up the steep incline, discarding most of their belongings. At the top of the ridge, they looked down into a deep ravine and the small river which they had to cross into Austria. “We pulled each other gradually down the slope and slid to the edge of the frozen river. Our guide went ahead to test the ice and motioned for us to follow him, single file. As we got to the other side, our 12 year old, Eva, heard some cries in the darkness,” Dómján explained. Nearby, a young Hungarian couple w as also trying to cross the ice. The woman was pregnant
