The Hungarian Student, 1957 (1. évfolyam, 2-8. szám)
1957 / 7. szám
The Hungarian Student 19 In Exile, We Are More Than Just Students W hen WE crossed the Austro-Hungarian border in despair and frozen to death, the rattle of Soviet tanks resounding in our ears, we remembered the women in tears searching for the remnants of their possessions amidst the ruins of houses blown apart by the Soviets, and our minds were haunted by the spectre of Siberian cities, clustered around lead mines, composed of hundreds of thousands of deportees. The heroes have died, and the courageous have been imprisoned because they have stayed at home. The desperate have escaped. Some at home may even accuse us of cowardice. We have felt this, and the chocolate emerging from the gift par* cels made us think of our loved-ones standing in line for hours for a loaf of black bread. We have been aware of this when we were honored as the idols expressing the heroism of a nation, though in most cases the merit should go to the many thousands of youths lying in unmarked graves at home, whose memory it is prohibited to honor. Anybody coming from Hungary cannot become just a peaceful founder of a new home, “just” a student. We have other duties besides our studies. We have to make it clear to the world that in the Twentieth Century a slave-holding power, more ruthless than anything produced in antiquity, has drowned in blood a small nation’s desire for freedom. Never in history have so many of a nation’s students exchanged the pen for arms, and the arms for traveler’s canes once arms had been torn from their hands. Though our opportunities are few we have the strength and the honor to fulfill our duties. Even during the first weeks of their exile, students visited every part of the world, to study ; to ask for help ; to acquaint the world with the Hungarian cause, with one of the most significant revolutions of world history, with Communism and with everyday life under Communism. In many parts of the globe people perhaps heard of Hungary for the first time in their lives, and learned of a small people whose task for centuries has been to defend the West, Christianity and civilization from the barbarians. At the end of December, 1956, the Association of Free Hungarian University Students was founded in Vienna. It became the successor of the MEFESZ liquidated by Kadar. Some university students managed to smuggle out to the West their rosters, their jealously-guarded revolutionary passes and their letters of accreditation in gift parcels or wrapped in newspapers. Thus in spring, 1957, Hungarian student organizations were founded all over the world. We are proud of the fact that we have not been infected with the “emigration bug.” We were imbued with one task: to arouse the inactive West. István Laszlo lectured at 56 universities, and his collections netted $90,-000. This money was made available to the various charity organizations helping Hungarians. One of the leaders of the Association of Free Hungarian University Students traveled to Scandinavia, and as a result of his lectures the countries’ youth protested against the events in Hungary. Our representatives have also visited the Far East to bring the news of the emergence of a new type of colonialism home to the Asians and to help them to gain a picture of the true nature of the Soviets. The result of their trips may best be illustrated in terms of the declaration made by the Indonesian students’ association. As a result of our work the youth of many nations have sent their protests to the Kadar government, and to its Soviet masters. We are gradually facing greater indifference all over the world, and in the UN building the traitors, bred by the Soviets, are trying to make the world believe the opposite of what they did in Hungary. They will not succeed, however, for their deed is written on history’s pages with the blood of 35,000 Hungarians. Télégramme adressé le Lundi 24 juin 1957 - Ref. 542/413 Janos Kadar - Budapest EXPRIMONS VIVE EMOTION ETUDIANTS FRANÇAIS DEVANT CONDAMNATION A MORT INTELLECTUELS HONGROIS DEFENDONS DROIT FOUR INTELLECTUELS DE TOUS PAYS D*EXPRIMER LEUR OPINION DEMANDONS REVISION DU JUGEMENT UNION NATIONALE DES ETUDIANTS DE FRANCE
