Diaspora

…and this is what they did not see. Turnout was low.

Tricky photo angles hide low turnout at the dedication of the Hungarian Chapel in Washington DC

Ambassador Réka Szemerkényi, Hungary’s top diplomat to Washington wanted to make the dedication of the Hungarian Chapel in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception a major event. She invited all Hungarian-Americans and passionately urged the 1.5 million strong community to be present “regardless of religious affiliation” what will certainly be an inspiring and memorable event. “Let’s […]

by György Lázár · November 19, 2015 · Diaspora

Rep. Kaptur (left) with Amb. Szemerkényi (in striped jacket) - Kaptur is the Honorary Patron of the Hungarian Congress.

Boycott Sándor Szakály at the 55th Hungarian Congress in Cleveland

One good thing about 59 year old Hungarian historian Mr. Sándor Szakály is that you don’t have to guess where he stands. He is not only a right-winger, a historical revisionist, and admirer of pro-Hitler dictator Miklós Horthy and his gendarmerie but also a Holocaust denier. Mr. Szakály speaks at events sponsored by Hungary’s far-right party, Jobbik. For example Szakály’s […]

by György Lázár · November 17, 2015 · Diaspora

Working with diversity – Thoughts on the Hungarian Forum of Ottawa

We are ready to join a community. We share the love of Hungarian culture, its history and language but we are even more different than the same. Some of us like reading fiction and some like non-fiction, some have a good ear for music and some just don’t get classical. Some love the traditional dances and dressing up at folk […]

by Hungarian Free Press · November 16, 2015 · Diaspora

Lighting candles. Left to right: Áron Gábor, Rózsa Tóth, Bálint Mészáros and Judit Petényi. Photo: C. Adam.

Commemorating the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in Ottawa

Democracy is not a right. Democratic values must be fought for and protected every day, sometimes in seemingly small ways, and even in Canada. This was the overarching message of this past Sunday’s commemoration of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in Ottawa’s Beechwood Cemetery, organized by the Ottawa Hungarian Forum. The Forum is a fledgling grassroots community group in the Canadian […]

by Christopher Adam · October 27, 2015 · Diaspora

My grandfather in Vancouver, in the fall of 1960.

My grandfather’s letter to János Kádár

My grandfather fled Hungary in January 1957, never to return, but his young family stayed behind. Between 1954 and 1956, he was a prisoner sentenced to hard labour at the coal mine near the village of Csolnok, in northwestern Hungary, after having been found guilty of conspiring against the state. He fled to Canada in 1957 and from his new […]

by Christopher Adam · October 23, 2015 · Diaspora

Mr. Turcsány at Lake Hope State Park at the Hungarian Communion of Friends event in August 2015.

Far-right publisher and Hungarian diplomats at Lake Hope “Itt-Ott” event

At the end of September Péter Turcsány suddenly passed away in Hungary, he was 64 years old and a well-known figure in Hungary’s far-right circles. His Pomáz-based publishing house, Kráter, is the distributor of pro-fascist and anti-Semitic literature. In August he was in the US, at Lake Hope State Park, as a guest of the Hungarian Communion of Friends, also […]

by György Lázár · October 22, 2015 · Diaspora

Some of the Hungarians in Ottawa who showed up at the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre to oppose membership in the National Alliance of Hungarians in Canada.

Is it possible to build an inclusive, democratic Hungarian diaspora community?

First off, I should explain my silence on these pages over the past several days. In addition to a very busy period at work, I have also been involved in a new grassroots movement taking off here in Ottawa, within an ageing and–for many of us–not especially welcoming Hungarian community. On October 18th, 2015, the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre (OHCC) […]

by Christopher Adam · October 21, 2015 · Diaspora

A monument commemorating the 1956 Revolution and refugee crisis, as well as Canada's decision to accept 38,000 Hungarian refugees, on Maple Island, in Ottawa. Photo: ottmem.blogspot.com

Inclusion and pluralism: Transforming Ottawa’s Hungarian community

Last Thursday, fifteen local Hungarians in Canada’s capital met at a “neutral” location to chart a course that would transform the small, but active local Hungarian community into one that is much more inclusive than it is now, welcoming a plurality of people, backgrounds, life experiences and views. This past Sunday’s Hungarian-language radio broadcast on CHIN 97.9 FM was a […]

by Christopher Adam · October 13, 2015 · Diaspora

A screen capture from a Hungarian-language video produced by Elections Canada.

Transylvanian Hungarian and Elections Canada

It’s not very nice to look a gift horse in the mouth; especially not on Thanksgiving weekend! But considering that some of HFP’s readers are from Transylvania, the northwestern half of Romania that is home to 1.4 million ethnic Hungarians, I wanted to share with you two videos from Elections Canada, produced in advance of our federal vote scheduled for […]

by Christopher Adam · October 10, 2015 · Diaspora

Viktor Király performs in the NBC talent show The Voice.

Nationalists attack Viktor Király – the popular contestant of The Voice

My wife and another 15 million Americans regularly tune in to the NBC television show The Voice where four pop stars, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams and Adam Levine, try to find America’s next “Voice.” The talent show is open for everyone, there is no age limit, amateur singers and professional performers may try their luck. The Voice is […]

by György Lázár · October 9, 2015 · Diaspora