William Penn Life, 2002 (37. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
2002-10-01 / 9. szám
Magyar Matters Damage assessment, clean up continue in aftermath of August flooding from The Budapest Sun BUDAPEST — Flood waters which spilled from the Danube swamping riverside neighborhoods in the countryside and several districts of Budapest subsided after peaking in late August, leaving the capital's city council with an estimated clean-up bill of 500 million forints ($18 million) and Pest county council with estimated costs of up to 1.5 billion forints ($54 million). Several other counties also suffered damage costing hundreds of millions of forints. Council workers spent several days cleaning and disinfecting the worst hit areas, which included Budapest's District XXII, from where approximately 700 residents had been evacuated. Most have returned to their homes, although some residents of the riverside Romai Part (Roman Shore) neighborhood in the same district were not permitted to return, their homes having been extensively damaged. Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy promised that all affected by the flood would "have roofs over their heads by Christmas." By the end of August all riverside public transport routes and roads were open and operating normally and the flood wave had swept out of Hungary and on into Yugoslavia. Budapest Mayor Gábor Demszky said an estimated one million sandbags had been used in Budapest alone to stem the flow of water from the swollen river. But Tamás Deutsch, deputy chairman of the main opposition party Fidesz, later attacked the government's handling of the emergency, stating that the sums of money offered to Nógrád and Borsod-Zemplén county councils were "ridiculously small". Hungarians observe anniversary of terrorist attacks with services, concerts from The Budapest Sun BUDAPEST — On the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, 500 public officials and private individuals attended a solemn U.S. Embassy-arranged memorial service in Budapest, held under tight security. U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Nancy Goodman Brinker paid tribute to the victims of the attacks and all who had rushed to their aid in their aftermath. She also expressed America's appreciation of the solidarity shown by its allies. "I am extremely grateful for the support and assistance we have received from close friends such as Hungary-it humbles me as a representative of my nation to know we have such friends and allies," she said. Police said they were stepping up security measures around foreign embassies, although the National Police Headquarters' head of public security József Hatala said no evidence was apparent of any particular security risk. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary held an evening memorial concert performed by the MATAV Symphony Orchestra at Pesti Vigádó concert hall in District V, which was attended by Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy and Brinker. The Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute staged a memorial concert by the MAV Symphony Orchestra the evening before the anniversary, and in remembrance of the victims, Budapest City Council shone two giant searchlights into the sky from Gellért Hill. In Brief Coalition announces scholarship winners WASHINGTON - The Hungarian American Coalition has selected three students as this year’s winners of the Dr. Elemer Kiss Scholarship Program. Receiving $1,000 grants are: Eszter Gulacsy of Békéscsaba, Hungary, who is pursuing her masters degree in engineering at the University of California at Berkeley; Marta Murvai of Bucharest, Romania, who will study violin at the Lynn Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Fla.; and Zoltán Nagy of Budapest, who is in his second year in the masters of fine arts program in dance at the University of Maryland. Event to recreate Transylvania STAMFORD, CT - “The Golden Age of Transylvania” will be celebrated with a day of special events and programs on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Italian Center of Stamford. The events will recreate the atmosphere of Transylvania of the 17th century through exhibits of artifacts and art, music, dance, fashion and—of course—the cuisine of that era. For more information, call 203-272-3345. Have news to share? If you have news and information about people and events in the American Hungarian community, please share it with us. Write to us at: William Penn Life, 709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. You can also call us toll-free at 1-800- 848-7366, Ext. 135. Or, you can send your story via an email to jlovasz@williampennassociation.org. William I'm Life, October 2002 13
