William Penn Life, 2007 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-07-01 / 7. szám
Magyar Matters Ambassador claims visa program treats Hungarians unfairly WASHINGTON -- Hungarians feel the U.S. is treating them like "secondclass citizens" when it comes to visa requirements, according to the Hungarian ambassador. Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Europe subcommittee in May, Ambassador András Simonyi said his country's citizens are angered at being excluded from the Visa Waiver Program which allows select foreigners to visit the U.S. without first obtaining restrictive visas. "Hungarians feel that they are unfairly treated as second-class citizens," Simonyi said. "These are the same Hungarians who have served shoulder to shoulder with American soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans." "The Hungarian public gets a feeling that our citizens are not welcome to visit the USA based on the mere assumption that they cannot be trusted to return to their homelands," he told the subcommittee. U.S. officials should not be concerned, he said, about Hungarians staying past the expiration of their visas in order to take jobs here illegally, since they have plenty of employment opportunities in Europe. By not exempting Hungarians and citizens of other Eastern European nations from visa requirements, the U.S. is losing favor with those people, Simonyi said. The current Visa Waiver Program includes 27 nations, mostly from western Europe. Hungary has joined the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and the Slovak Republic in seeking inclusion in the program. Hungarians celebrate their heritage at annual festival in New Brunswick, NJ by Endre Csornán, Fraternal Director NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - The city's annual Hungarian Festival was especially enjoyable this year because of the beautiful weather. The WPA table was well-attended, with Chairman of the Board Stephen J. Varga and National Directors Frank J. Radvany, Anthony C. Beke and William J. Bero. My wife Arlene and I traveled from Pennsylvania to supply the table with WPA promotional items. Especially popular were the WPA balloons given out by our sales representative from Connecticut, Sandra Stasko, and Director Bero. Donna Varga, Elsie Radvany and Marguerite Beke were attractive additions to our table and have been faithful workers for many years. The presentation of many Hungarian exhibits was again outstanding. Dancers in Hungarian costumes performed for the crowd throughout the day. Of course, the food was the main draw. It was hard to choose between the stuffed cabbage, pecsenye, palacsinta and gulyás. Sitting in the air conditioning of the Hungarian American Athletic Club was a real treat. The Club is a beautiful facility and a tribute to the Hungarians of New Brunswick. Of course, the twilight concert in the courtyard of the wonderful American Hungarian Foundation was one of the day's highlights. Prof. August Molnár continues to be the heart and soul of this Hungarian community. It was wonderful to see so many old friends: Aladar Kovács from Ózd, Hungary; Jack Tokár from Pennyslvania; Arthur Barillo from New Jersy; new sales rep Ed Straka from Pennsylvania; and many others. As always, the WPA will continue to support such affairs, along with our sister society, the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. In Brief One of three climbers reaches top of Everest Hungarian climber Attila Jalinkó successfully conquered the top of Mount Everest May 30 at 3:00 a.m. with an oxygen mask, the Independent News Agency reported. Jelinkó started his expedition on March 29 and spent almost two months in Nepal to get “mentally and physically prepared” for the challenge. Jelinko originally started his ascent with Dávid Klein and László Várkonyi, who tried to reach the top without the help of oxygen masks. Klein and Várkonyi got within 250 meters of the summit on May 28, when Klein developed a stomach infection and had to descend. Várkonyi continued on but could not reach the top due to strong winds. The first Hungarian climber to conquer the peak with an oxygen mask was Zsolt Erdős in 2002. Hungary reclaims couples kissing record BUDAPEST -- Hungary has once again captured the official Guinness world record for “the most couples kissing simultaneously,” after an estimated 12,800 people gathered in Kossuth tér in front of parliament to tangle tongues on June 9. The record has become something of a tug-of-love for Hungarians and Filipinos, who have exchanged it several times. The previous record was set in the Philippines on Feb. 10 with 6,124 couples. Participants were given a countdown and asked to kiss for 10 seconds so that the record could be verified. William Penn Life,July 2007 13
