Transsylvania - Erdélyi Tájékoztató, 1998 (39. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1998 / 1. szám
In 1992, after I finished college, I moved to Hungary and spent a few years working for the parliamentary faction of one of the political parties there. The experience of campaigning with them gave me insights into Hungarian politics that the news media, both here and in Hungary, do not always cover. Because I received Hungarian citizenship, I had to learn to live by the rules, not to mention taxes, set by the new government there. And because I met a native Hungarian who has since become my husband, I felt that my ties to Hungary had not only gotten stronger, that my Hungarian identity had not only been validated, but that it gave me a sense of responsibility that goes beyond singing folksongs and eating gulyás on Sundays. But I also learned a difficult lesson during my years in Hungary, and that is that the country my parents left in 1956 and the country I successfully ”re-emigrated” to in 1992 are separated by a cultural hiatus. And it isn’t a small one. Hungarian-Americans of my parents generation and older seem to have lost touch with events and popular feeling in Hungary to offer advice and assistance, they often think that they can continue where they left off 40 years ago — when in fact things have changed drastically. On the other side, Hungarians who have come to the US have often made little effort in getting to know Hungarian-Americans, usually dismissing the entire group with general stereotypes such as ’’nationalistic” and ’’xenophobic”. Tensions arise between Hungarians there and here, just as siblings quarrel when they haven’t seen each other for awhile. But both sides claim to be Hungarian, and rightfully so. This is where we come in, that is, the young Hungarian-Americans. We can most successfully act as a bridge between the two countries. I refer again to the privilege which we enjoy, of being bi-lingual and bicultural, which our parents struggled to provide us with, and which, I’d like to emphasize, comes with a certain responsibility to be politically and culturally aware citizens in both places. Unfortunately, my parents were not able to travel to Hungary as frequently as I can now. They didn’t have the Internet, where you can read all the major Hungarian dailies and weeklies, and where you can even watch Hungarian television. They didn’t have our mobility, our ability to win scholarships to study in Budapest. Most importantly, until the 1980’s, they weren’t able to have open contact with relatives and friends who were living behind the iron curtain. But this is vastly different for us today. For this, I am a lucky woman. I am both American citizen, with all the freedoms and self-confidence that this country has to offer its people, and at the same time, I am Hungarian, able to enjoy my ethnic background just as those who never left Hungary. Many people have asked me, ”so what are you, Hungarian or American?” My answer has been that we don’t have to choose, and that, actually, the question is phrased incorrectly, because it isn’t an either/or situation anymore. This doesn’t mean, however, that I am not 100% American, nor does it mean I am not 100% Hungarian, for I believe a person can be more than 100% — if he or she is willing to put in the effort being bicultural takes. Not to mention that being bicultural is a useful endowment in a country where, as I mentioned before, diversity seems to be approaching the norm. As the US establishes itself as the leader in the global economic market as well as the post-Cold War political and military environment, it has an increasing need for people with language skills, foreign affairs knowledge and a sensitivity to foreign political and cultural systems. It needs to send out leaders who are comfortable with the international playing field, more specifically the expanding European, including Eastem-European arena. With our Hungarian background we have just those skills, and as Americans, we have 200 years of democracy behind us. And we have great examples to follow, Hungarian men and women, like Kossuth, who came to this country and contributed to it greatly. Just look at what immigrants and their offspring have achieved in this country: Andrew Grove, Time’s ’’Man of the Year” and Intel’s CEO, Kati Marton, journalist and author, George Soros, the billionaire who has donated more to the development of Central and Eastern Europe than any other philanthropist, and, of course, we cannot forget to mention the governor of New York, George Pataki. And who knows, maybe even mayor Giuliani has a Hungarian ancestor or two. Naturally, being Hungarian-American is different than Hungarian-Hungarian. Today in Budapest, there have been official celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the 1848 revolution. But most likely, the majority of Hungarians are et home, resting up from the massive demonstration held yesterday, protesting the unfavorable agreement concerning the hydroelectric dam between Hungary and Slovakia. I’m sure, many of you have been following this story. So, it seems, Hungarians on this same weekend, have also chosen to demonstrate, albeit for a different purpose. Why this difference? The answer, I believe, defines who we are as Hungarian-Americans. We are here today, as those before me have said, to celebrate the spirit of Lajos Kossuth and his fight for democracy and freedom; but we are also here to celebrate the celebration of 1848, symbolized by this 70 year old statue put here by the state of New York — which symbolizes our right to organize such events in honor of hour past and with pride about who we are. We are here to reconfirm our presence as Hungarians living in and being integral to, the United States. We are here to reassert our dedication to bridging the distance between our two countries. And we are here to celebrate that fact that we can be Hungarian and American. In closing, I would like to remind you of Theodore Roosevelt’s words: "If you bring into American life the spirit of the heroes of Hungary, you have done your share. There is nothing this country needs more than that there shall be put before its men and its future men — its boys and its girls, too — the story of such lives as that of Kossuth ”. 2 Supplement of Transsylvania Vol. 39, No. 1