Magyar Hírek, 1984 (37. évfolyam, 2-26. szám)
1984-11-10 / 23. szám
Students and teachers in the camps of the World Federation of Hungarians The gates of this year’s summer camps of the World Federation of Hungarians have closed. Interest in the camps for children, secondary school pupils and teachers was as great as in previous years. The camps were ready offering a wealth of cultural, sports, and recreation programmes. Between June and late August 180 children between eight and fourteen spent two weeks each on the shores of Lake Balaton at Fonyódliget, Boglárlelle and Zamárdi. There were fewer of them this year, than in the past. The children spent four hours a day learning Hungarian, and familiarising themselves with Hungarian literature, folk-music, so there was plenty of time over for tun and games and swimming. The summer college at Sárospatak catered for young people aged 15 to 18. Unfortunately room was restricted and only 52 of the many more showed an interest could be accommodated. Mornings they attended classes with German and English as the language of instruction, in the afternoons they joined 20 Hungarians of their age group in sight-seeing and music making as well as outdoor and indoor sports. This arrangement gave a good opportunity to lads and ^assies living abroad to deepen their knowledge of Hungary and to the locals to practice their English and German. Things were much the same at Baja, in the Hungarian— English camp, where ten youngsters of Hungarian parentage who are residents of Britain spent happy days in the company of their local coevals. The Debrecen further training course for teachers reached a milestone this year: this form of training started ten years ago. On this occasion the Federation invited all of the participants of the first course to come back at the Federation s expense and took them on a tour of the children's camps around the Balaton, then on to the summer course, which they attented together with the new arrivals. As many as 42 teachers, engaged in teaching Hungarian abroad, came to Debrecen this year, 24 of them from Sweden. The reason behind the evident interest is that the Debrecen course is officially acknowledged in Sweden as a further training course. These teachers were given lectures on the methodology of teaching Hungarian and brought up to date concerning Hungary’s economic, cultural, and artistic life. Later the participants called on a cultural centre, then a kindergarten, and were taken sightseeing. An interesting point is that the popularity of the Debrecen summer university has greatly increased among young people of Hungarian parentage enrolled at various universities in other countries. The Federation offered 14 scholarships this year to students recommended by their respective universities, making it possible for them to attend the lectures of the summer course. In conjunction with the club of zither-players the Federation also organized a music course for Hungarians abroad who are interested in folkmusic at the zither camp of Tiszakécske. A ten-member zither combo came to Tiszakécske from the Burgenland and other zither players from Britain and Canada also attended. The subject is Hungarian culture A pretty girl with impish eyes stands on the beaten earth floor of the yard of a white-washed peasant cottage at Táp, a village hidden amongst the hills near Pannonhalma. There is a peasant skirt of bluedyed calico in her hands, a similar sleeved vest, and a loose-fitting, linen shirt. And as Judit carefully puts on the old finery brought out from the best room of the centuries old house hiding under them her fashionable sweat shirt and Bermuda shorts, taking off her wrist watch, and putting on a kerchief to cover her hairdo, the modern girl metamorphoses into a dainty young woman in front of our eyes. Judit Gneiss lives in Lutzmannsburg, in the Burgenland in Austria. The place has also a Hungarian name Locsmánd, and some of the inhabitants are Hungarians. Judit is the daughter of one of them: she came on this trip with her mates at the native language reading camp organized at Sopron by the Patriotic People’s Front and the Society for the Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge. What is the reading camp? It is a place, where interested children, usually of secondary school age, spend a few weeks together hearing lectures, discussing many subjects and, naturally, also reading. Most of the subjects discussed are questions outlined in various reading matter. The boys and girls, ten each from Slovakia, the Burgenland, Slovenia in Yugoslavia, and Hungary listened to history lessons, talks about the Hungarian language, literature, folkart, and also viewed the movie based on the rockopera hit. Stephen, the King. Free lively discussion followed the lectures. Trying their hands at wood-carving, weaving, singing folk-songs together, and going on were not only good fun. They went to Sopron and the Western regions of Transdanubia, the Burgenland and the Mura region, to explore historic and cultural relics. “My mother’s native language is Hungarian, and my father’s German. His parents were Transylvanians”— says Judit. “We always speak Hungarian at home. I should like to learn the language even more thoroughly—I may even profit by it: I enrolled with the Kindergarten Teacher’s College, but I might become a travel guide. The fact that I can make myself understood by the people of another country is very important to me.” Judit’s family thinks of this much as many others do in the Burgenland : they come across the border to Hungary each week. But one also has to note that precisely those campers who come from Austria do not see eye to eye with Judit on everything. When we asked them about their impressions of the camp, they generally explained: “My connection with Hungary became stronger. I know more about the country, its history, but this does not mean that I consider myself a Hungarian. I live in Austria and I am an Austrian.” Lívia Kovács and Hargita Dragosics, two secondary school pupils of Lendva, Slovenia, enjoyed the folkdancing the most. “We have a Hungarian dance group at home, we practice each week, and our leader comes over to us from Hungary.” “We received the programme in advance, but still did not think this camp was going to be of such a high standard,” say Zsuzsa Boros, Eva Ibolya and Ildikó Szabó, who came from Nagymegyer, Slovakia. There are many things that we came to really understand here, even though we watch Hungarian television broadcasts at home, and learn Hungarian history. When I have a good book, the news spreads, so I lend it, and the whole village reads it...” “What does it mean to me that I am a Hungarian?” muse Anita Élő and Katalin Sáros, two secondaryschool girls from Győr-Sopron county. We were born here, all our relations live here, this is where we understand everybody, and can make ourselves understood by everybody, this is where we are at home. It is difficult to answer this question —perhaps because we are at home.” Finally, here is a quotation from the opinions the campers wrote, when the teachers asked them to sum up their impressions. “I feel it is my native language, in which I am able to express my thoughts, and personality. I want to keep my mother tonque, and this is now not only a matter of pride, but also a matter of duty.” TIBOR MUCK 30
