Magyar Hírek, 1984 (37. évfolyam, 2-26. szám)
1984-12-22 / 25-26. szám
ABOUT THIS ISSUE IK m fil V ‘ w Ml. ~ 1 Museum under the bridge In one capacity or an other, many of us have already been subjected to the experience of a compatriot of ours visiting the old country after long years spent abroad. He can usually hardly cope with breathing in and taking notice of all of the new things, all the changes that transformed practically our whole life—and those who live here are usually amazed, while acknowledging these impressions with some pride. That it that all that was built, developed, changed was done gradually, step by step (and it sometimes seemed too slow for us), and we became so accustomed to these things, they are so natural to us living in Hungary that we can hardly imagine our lives without them. A number of changes were introduced into the life of Budapest in recent weeks however which made the life of this metropolis more enjoyable from one day to the next: a new section of the Metro that connects Northern Pest with the city centre, the rebuilt, widened Árpád bridge, the Northernmost vehicular bridge of Budapest, the new fast-tramline that crosses the bridge, and the new subway-system of the modern Óbuda residential district built in such a way that it gives immediate access to the museum of the remains of a Roman bath excavated in the course of earthworks were opened to the public all on the same day. In addition, this was also the time of inaugurating the reconstructed Fő tér (Main Square) of Óbuda, in its original form, together with some old, adjoining streets, forming an island of hisfhe ruins of the Roman bath toric monuments in the midst of new high rise residential buildings, relieving their frequently lamented monotony. A pictorial report is published about the Árpád bridge and its environs in the Hungarian section and let us add here that the ceremonies marking the completion of the great work were attended by János Kádár, First Secretary of the HSWP and György Lázár, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. They walked along the streets, subways, squares first, then travelled on the fast-tram and the Metro, as tens of thousands of Budapest people did later, taking possession of all of these new things that now enrich the city. * The two-day conference on adult education, where teachers, librarians, education officers and other experts discussed the situation of Hungarian cultural life in the Congress Hall of Parliament House brought interesting data to the surface. Béla Köpeczi the Minister of Education, pointed out that in the course of the past ten years considerable results were achieved in democratizing culture in respect of arousing and meeting the cultural demands of the masses, and preparing young people for the reception of general culture and occupational skills. At the moment 95 per cent of the children of the appropriate age group complete the general schools curriculum, and 78 per cent of them complete secondary school, or trade school. The number of television subscribers has reached 2.9 million, and the radio reaches practically every home in Hungary. The value of private book purchases amounted to 3.100 million forint in 1983. which means about 7—8 books per head. The number of visitors of museums and exhibitions also increased, and already passed 18 million in 1983. However the number of theatre and concert goers, library subscribers, stagnated, while that of the movie audiences fell. People seem to be principally interested in watching television, listening to the radio and reading their own books, papers and journals. Progress is, therefore, undeniable —but the quantitative data do not always suggest quality—Béla Köpeczi said. We must not forget that many people do not complete the general school course, and some young people do not continue their studies. Pay and employment opportunities mean that the majority of the children of manual workers enrol in institutes training skilled workers, and only a few of them in institutes of tertiary education. This also indicates that we must put education into the focus of our cultural policy, the minister said. Not long after the conference on public education, the education committee of parliament discussed the findings of the national conference, and the matters arising from them. The daily press is taking increasing notice of the extremely interesting, informal debates of parliamentary committees, going into a deep analysis of a particular problem before it is submitted to plenary sessions. It publishes regular reports on them. (The data given here were taken from Magyar Hírlap). During the session of the education committee, Deputy-Minister Ferenc Rátkai called attention to the importance of humane values in course of the debates. He also called attention to the importance of the further democratization of culture. Representative Imre Varga objected to the practice that Hungarian art dealing does not pay sufficient attention to international market relations. Representative István Király was of the opinion that the report submitted to the committee painted an unduly rosy picture of the cultural situation, the loss of values was greater in reality. The minister, Béla Köpeczi denied this: what was taking place in Hungarian public education was not so much a devaluation of values, but a rearrangement of them, he said. * This issue will reach our readers around Christmas. József Bánk, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vác and Attila Kovács, Calvinist Bishop of Veszprém sent messages to readers on the occasion of the Feast of Love which are included in the Hungarian section. An article about giving gifts at Christmas also recalls the atmosphere of Christmas in Hungary to those, who live far away. When writing these lines it is still November here, that is how long it takes to get the paper through the printers, and through the mail, and even so some readers will get the journal only between Christmas and the New Year, or even later. Be that as it may, I really felt the spirit of Christmas editing this last 1984 issue of Hungarian Scene, since a very nice Hungarian—American family rang my doorbell a few days ago. They spent half a year in Hungary searching for their roots, and thought they should pass on their impressions, the experience they had gathered here, to similar second and third generation Hungarians. In a later issue I may write in detail about the Hungarian experiences of Carmen Karády and her husband, Royce Milaskey, now I will try only to recall the atmosphere of their visit: the way we were sitting around and talking in high spirits. Carmen, Royce, five years old Zachary, four years old Nathalie—and the one, who added only cooing noises to the conversation, the youngest boy of the family, born three months ago at Margit Hospital in Budapest given believe it or not—the Christian name of Zoltán, therefore my name-sake, and me. That was the last day of the family in Hungary, they were leaving the next day, first for Belgium, and from there back to the United States. I hope they are still enjoying good health globe-trotting. Wishing you Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year: ZOLTÁN HALÁSZ 60
