The Hungarian Student, 1958 (2. évfolyam, 1-7. szám)
1958 / 6. szám
the Hungarian student 3 CWS Resettlement Work Church World Service (CWS) is a central department of the National Council of Churches. It is the relief and rehabilitation agency representing some thirty-five Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Churches in this Country. In the field of refugee resettlement it works closely with the World Council of Churches to Refugees with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This article is an excerpt from an article published in the Church World Service bulletin, and is used with the organization’s permission. Foreword T*HIS IS A STORY of people: who they were, where they came from, how they found new homes. It is difficult to say when this story began. Most likely it began when millions of people were uprooted and displaced in Europe, but it also began when more fortunate people and church groups turned their compassion toward those in need and gave them help, hope, and homes. In true sense, this story could not be told at all were it not for the response, the rewards of which were as great for the givers as for the recipients. Did it begin when in August 1953, President Eisenhower passed the Refugee Relief Act? No. This was just one more inevitable step along the way of America’s traditional welcome and was an effort to complete the work already begun for Displaced Persons by Presidential Directive and by special legislation. If it is difficult to say when this story began; it is equally hard to say when it will end. In addition to the almost 400,000 people who came to the United States under the Displaced Persons Act, some 190,000 refugees as well as others came to the United States under the provisions of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953, and more than 26,000 Hungarian refugees have been admitted on parole. The Stage In 1950, the World Council of Churches became the overseas “agent” of Church World Service in migration matters, just as Church World Service in this field was the World Council of Churches’ “agent” in this country. Field offices in many countries were responsible for registering and resettling refugees. For example, in 1953, the World Council of Churches resettled 8,881 people in various countries, only 750 of whom came to the United States. The Hungarian Resettlement Program Newspaper articles, official reports, and the present criteria for the admission of Hungarian refugees to this country have attributed significance to the date of October 23, 1956. This was the day when revolution broke out in Hungary. As suddenly and explosively as the fire lit the sky, the flames died down, and night, darker than before, settled again on the fertile plains and the once gay cities of the land between the Danube and Theisz Rivers. Thousands of refugees caught in the conflict between love of freedom and fear of oppression poured into Austria, starting from November 4, 1956, and, later, into Yugoslavia. At the end of November 1956, approximately 100,000 Hungarian refugees had arrived into Austria. On December 31st the number had risen to 150,000. As of this writing the total influx into Austria is estimated at 174,000, and 19,368 Hungarians took refuge in Yugoslavia as the Austro- Hungarian frontier controls tightened. It is beyond the scope of this report to record the measures undertaken by the governments of many Western countries, the United Nations, inter-governmental bodies, the Red Cross, voluntary agencies, and armies of nameless volunteers in the West, who, because their compassion and generosity was aroused, outdid one another in their desire to help the unfortunate. What about Church World Service and other voluntary agencies? As we now attempt to write a brief report on the most dramatic resettlement operation in modern times, we can justifiably say that neither government nor voluntary agencies were initially prepared for what was to happen. The pace of the operation, the sheer numbers of people, over-organization here and lack of co-ordination and understaffing there, the unparalleled desire of Americans to help, the restlessness of thousands of refugees who had not had enough time to recover their sense of direction and were caught between dynamic forces against which their own strength of soul and mind was utterly helpless, the language problem—all these factors helped to spread confusion and magnify the complicated task. |! I « I ’ ID • ' !M ’ !'Vl\ The unprecedented pace and nature of this resettlement operation led to underestimating the need for prompt and sufficient logistic support for an enterprise that, for all practical purposes, represented a duplication of the normal resettlement operation. Within a week or two the need was not for a few typewriters for CWS, but for at least twenty; several hundred master-cards and interview sheets would not do, there had to be thousands of them; two telephones grew into a switchboard with twenty extensions, but they did not grow fast enough; two small cubicles for CWS processing with inadequate space for all voluntary agencies became two separate barracks for CWS alone, each with two floors, a suite of offices and large spaces for interviewing and waiting. Desks, lamps, office supplies, typewriter tables, file cabinets, even wooden stands to regulate the traffic, had to be shipped to Camp Kilmer without delay. In the first weeks of operation at Camp Kilmer, there was no time for statistics. By mid-January, however, the Army and the voluntary agencies were able to produce daily statistics. Here is a breakdown of the CWS placements covering the period of November 21, 1956 through April 30, 1957: t Denominational Placement American Baptist Convention 405 Baptist World Alliance Brethren Service Commission 57 Congregational Christian Service Committee 14 Disciples of Christ 34 Evangelical and Reformed Church 1,001 Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief 251 Presbyterian Church, USA 1,417 Protestant Episcopal Church 451 Reformed Church of America 37 Seventh Day Adventist 18 Other 16 Total 3,701 Community Placement 818 Relatives and Friends Placement 1,380 Other Placement 193 Total Placement Departures 6,092 Conclusion The Refugee Relief Program is over. The Hungarian Resettlement Program continues but on a very small scale. From January 1, 1954 to July 31, 1957, no less than 38,303 people came in through CWS sponsorships; 30,024 under the RRA; 1,571 on regular quota; 6,708 Hungarians, visaed and paroled. These figures, although impressive, would be meaningless were it not for the people they represent: János from Hungary, and thousands of others who could not come. We must continue to hope and pray for those still trying to leave, that the welcome to the oppressed, which has helped make America great, may soon become a reality for them also.
