Hungarian American Coalition News, 1993 (2. évfolyam, 1. szám)
1993 / 1. szám
Public Radio Examines (Continues from page 9) or three countries — without ever leaving the place of their birth. This distinction is crucial to understanding why they insist on passing the Hungarian language and culture on to their children, and why the U S. model, where ethnic communities were formed by immigrants, cannot simply be applied to Eastern Europe. Furthermore, the national governments of Rumania, Slovakia and Serbian-controlled Vojvodina have demonstrated that they lack the acceptance of and respect for ethnicity which is evident in the United States. An extreme, but all too real, example was provided in an interview with Mayor Gheorghe Funar of Cluj (Kolozsvár), Rumania, who still maintains: “We have no Hungarians in Rumania.” One exception in the region is Ukraine, where ethnic minorities now enjoy a tolerant policy that includes minority language education and the possibility of a high degree of local autonomy. However, the program also pointed out that good relations between ethnic groups are common in the day-to-day contactamong neighbors in ethnically mixed areas, including Cluj (Kolozsvár). Nationalism, it said, is not a problem at the local level; rather, it has been used by former communists to divert attention from the real social problems. The program also commented on the ways in which some Hungarian politicians express Hungary’s concern about the minority populations. Their success in expressing concern without making Hungary’s own policies chauvinistic depends on whether they take interest simply as fellow members of the Hungarian nation or, more broadly, on the basis of democracy and human rights. Their definitions of the Hungarian nation also reveal different approaches. It is those approaches which do not distinguish between ethnic identity and civic identity, that contribute to the nervousness of Hungary’s neighbors. While the series made an effective case for the protection of Hungarian minority rights, it did not isolate their concerns from those of the region’s other inhabitants, and rightly so. The freedoms espoused by the Hungarian minority are cherished by other ethnic groups as well, and the series concludes: “The challenge is to create civil societies based on ideas that can translate equally well into the different languages and the varied cultures of Central and Eastern Europe.’’ Transcripts and audio cassettes of the series, which aired on April 30 - May 2, 1993, are available from National Public Radio for $12.50 and $10.00 respectively. Call (202) 822-2323 U.S. Austria Hungary An unusual educational program came to my attention when I found myself seated next to Dr. I Elemer Balogh at the American Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Budapest. The Webster/Balogh Management Training Seminars provide young Hungarian managers with American management training in marketing, finance and human resources. This special program underwrites the expenses of Webster University professors (from St. Louis, MO) and of American businessmen who reside in Vienna, to travel to Budapest and offer seminars at Í the International Management Center on four consecutive weekends. Dr. Balogh, who is a former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Austria, I established the Webster/Balogh Seminars in 1989; since that time the program has trained 60 young Hungarian managers. (E.L.) MALÉV BEGINS Mr. György Borsos, General Manager, Malév USA, visited Cleveland on May 21, 1993, to announce the introduction of Malév’s direct flights I between the U.S. and Hungary. The schedule of the flights: □ MA003 departs Newark 7:30 pm arrives Budapest 1:30 pm the next day. □ MA002 ' departs Budapest 9:00 am arrives Newark 3:55 pm. Both flights operate during the high season I six times a week, except Tuesday. The flights make one stop in Rome, with no ! aircraft change. The May 21 reception, organized by Ivan j Novak, Hungarian Commercial Counsellor from j Chicago, also featured Mr. Tamas Teglassy, Director of the Hungarian Tourist Board, who stressed the great appeal of Hungary as a tourist destination. Financial, Legal Services Provided to ‘C’ Coupon Holders Duna Capital Investment Corporation (DCIC) is a U.S. based firm comprised of professionals providing financial and legal services to coupon holders of Hungarian Compensation Coupons as related to the management and investments of those coupons. Under current Hungarian compensation laws, coupon holders have a variety of investment alternatives from which they can receive the best value for their coupons. Duna Capital has carefully researched the Hungarian Compensation Coupon Program and has developed an investment outline which could be of interest to all coupon recipients. Coupon holders can contact Catherine E. Bocskor, Esq. or Ilona S. Lang at Duna Capital Investment Corporation to leant more about how to participate in this comprehensive investment program. DCIC, 1133 15th St., N.W., 12th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005; tel. (202) 785-8323, fax (202) 543-8998. DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM THE U.S. In Memóriám Members of the Coalition were saddened by the recent deaths of two friends. Reverend Mihály Hogyc, one the Coalition’s founding members, passed away last December. Throughout his life he served Hungary in a variety of capacities, including as a minister in the Reformed Church in Budapest and France, as First Secretary at the Hungarian Embassy in postwar Paris, and as an advocate of Hungary’s struggle for freedom during his 27 year long tenure with the Voice of America’s Hungarian Service. His 1985 book. Utolsó Chatlós? (The Last Satellite?) described his wartune experiences. Dr. Gabor Szent-Ivany, a native of “Felvidék", passed away this April. He was active in Washington as Secretary General of the National Committee of Hungarians from Czecho-Slovakia, which represents the Hungarian minority of the Czech and Slovak Republics in the United States as well as at international forums, promotes their cultural and educational endeavors, and fights for their human and minority rights. They are sadly missed, but their leadership and commitment to Hungary will remain an inspiration to us. 10 • Hungarian American Coalition News • Summer 1993
