Over a thousand protesters took to the streets of Budapest on Sunday, to protest the Orbán regime’s proposed amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary (the new constitution introduced by Fidesz in 2011), which give sweeping powers to the government and completely sideline parliament, whenever authorities decide that a “state of terror” is imminent. According to the proposed amendment, Prime […]
Proemcards by Montreal author Endre Farkas – a combination of prose, poetry and reflections on a journey to Hungary after having fled decades ago – concludes with this final installment, which is a continuation from Part 4, Part 3, Part 2 and Part 1. * 14. It was 38 degrees Celsius today, hot enough to make you hallucinate. It was […]
The Orbán government’s misinformation industry is alive and well and reached a new level. Generally, fake news is manufactured in Budapest by well paid professionals at the Hungarian News Agency – MTI. Not anymore–they are also made right here in the United States. Hungarian Minister of State for EU Affairs Mr. Szabolcs Takács recently visited Los Angeles and the M1 […]
Dear Mr. Christopher Adam, First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for offering me a space to respond to your piece in the Hungarian Free Press. I was delighted to read your review of my article about the global phenomenon of religious persecution. I am especially happy that your comments fueled a constructive dialogue on the Mandiner blog, […]
I last wrote about Zoltán Harangi four years ago in Hungary’s Élet és Irodalom weekly magazine, as well as in a publication entitled Beszélő, arguing that Mr. Harangi’s despicable activities during the Second World War deserve special attention, even within the context of the many inhumane acts committed during the conflict. As a member of the Swedish Red Cross in Budapest, […]
Immigrants to the United States and Canada often sing about the homeland left behind. Mexicans sing corridos, or ballads, the Irish have songs about the Emerald Isle they left and Vietnamese immigrants pass their traditions down from generation to generation through song and dance. How about Hungarian immigrants? Thanks to József Baki in California, we have a Hungarian example of […]
Congratulations for the Golden Globe award won by the Hungarian film – Son of Saul. (The film has since also been nominated for an Oscar.) The drama is about the Sonderkommandos, the Jewish units of the death camps who were forced to clean the gas chambers and crematoriums. It is based on a collection of testimonies entitled “Voices from Beneath the Ashes.” Some […]
Hungary’s governing party has long been concerned with the country’s demographic decline–and Hungarian political leaders have good reason to worry. In 2005, Hungary’s population stood at 10.1 million. A decade later, at the end of 2015, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) estimates the total population at 9.8 million. The fact that 67% of Hungarian students told pollsters that they would want to […]
Hungary’s diplomats in the US generally don’t respond to criticism coming from the Hungarian-American community. They expect that Americans of Hungarian origin will hold back their critique of Prime Minister Orbán’s policies. Now, Mr. Ferenc Kumin Consul General in New York has gone one step further, he has insulted those who offer differing views. In a recent interview with Inforadio […]
Proemcards by Montreal author Endre Farkas – a combination of prose, poetry and reflections on a journey to Hungary after having fled decades ago – continues from Part 3, Part 2 and Part 1. * 11. In the 1970s, when I was just starting to write poetry seriously, (seriously, as only a young writer starting to write can) I returned to Hungary. While I was […]
