Another Betrayal

 

 

My family and I left Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution on November 8th, 1956. Hungary was the very first Soviet satellite state to fight back, and the entire revolution was remarkable for that reason alone. Hungarians were the only ones with the courage to do so.   

We lived in Szenttgothard on the Austrian border. During the revolution of 1956, it was easy for us to leave. The border was open, and we just walked across. My brother, who was fourteen then, carried me, and my father carried several suitcases. My mother and grandmother carried down quilts and pillows.  I remember wearing woollen shorts and always being cold.  My father, an engineer, was forced to shovel gravel for work as he was at loggerheads with one of the members of the communist party. 

Others all over Hungary also fled, fleeing communist oppression.  For many, it was an arduous journey because they feared the borders closing again quickly and were terrified the border guards might begin shooting.  Several hundred thousand left the country during those terrifying couple of weeks.  They became important citizens of other nations, such as Canada, the United States, and Australia. In many cases, they were the cream of the crop of Hungarian society, scientists, doctors, and entrepreneurs who went on to achieve greatness abroad.  Most fled oppression and the constraints of the communist dictatorship, which they could not tolerate.  They wanted freedom. 

We left Hungary and came to Canada, but we brought Hungary with us.  We have brought our language, culture, and consciousness, and we will always be Hungarians in our hearts.  But we are also now Canadians and proud of the incredible freedoms we now enjoy.  We are forever indebted to Canada.  

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 failed.  Thousands of Russian soldiers, many from Mongolia, poured into Budapest, and The freedom fighters in Budapest, young men and women, and children were later tortured and killed by the Kadar communist regime.  Three weeks of freedom ended abruptly.  The cries from Radio Hungary to the free world for help were not heeded.  Soldiers patrolled the borders again, and Hungary went into darkness for another thirty-five years. 

The young freedom fighters, whose bodies piled up each day at the Janos hospital, remained silent as their parents came to see their dead children and wept at their feet. 

Today, Hungarian politicians such as Balasz Orban, an advisor to the fascist mafia government of Victor Orban (no relation), say the young freedom fighters died in vain.  They should not have rebelled but put down their weapons in defeat, surrendering to oppression with joy and willingness.  They say the same about the Ukrainian people whom Russia invaded.  The Hungarian government thinks it is acceptable for Russia to invade its neighbour. 

Of course, the Hungarian government is now a proxy for Russia, supporting all things Russian.  The prime minister is a Russian informant and a Trojan horse within NATO and the European Union.  As we contemplate today’s Hungary, the freedom fighters of 56 are raising their fists from out of their graves.  One of Hungary’s most courageous initiatives, ingrained in the nation's consciousness, is simply folly according to the current Hungarian government.  Victor Orban and his friends have no right to speak of freedom.  They care nothing for the Hungarian people save for stealing their dignity, pride and wealth to enrich themselves and their families. 

Shame on them.