Among these European #train lines to be improved, notice Vienna-#Budapest-Western Romania. Why not to #Bucharest?
It turns out that 20% of the population in Oradea is of Hungarian origin, and 8% of that of Arad.
This improved train line, proposed by the Hungarian Ministry of Transport, aims at better connecting Budapest with the #Hungarian communities in Romania.
1.1 million people living in #Romania are Hungarian. Welcome to "Hungarians in the Carpathians"
How was it to grow as a Hungarian in #Romania? I talked with Gabor, 40, from #Transylvania
His grandparents never moved, they were born in #Hungary. But borders did, and that area is now Romania
As a kid, Gabor spoke better Romanian than his grandparents, who struggled to learn. However, the majority of the population of Transylvania has been Romanian since the 19th century
"As kids, we learned each other's language just by playing together. Sports clubs were mixed"
How to explain the conflict between #Hungary and #Romania about #Transylvania? As an outsider, I think of it as a cycle
Hungarian populations in Romania complain
Romanian law says that a minority above 20% is entitled to special language rights. This is not always implemented
Hungary intervenes.
It has a national plan to support Hungarians abroad. Hungary pursues "unification of the nation" (beyond borders). It funds churches, sports and media outlets for Hungarians outside Hungary. They issued passports for the Hungarian minority abroad, and with them, the right to vote.
At this moment, we have "a system in which Hungarians can live their life as it would be in Romania, but in Hungary" (quoted from researcher Tamás Kiss).
Romania gets suspicious
Romanian law is in favour of minorities. Some of the Hungarian-speaking venues are even funded by the Romanian state (e.g. the Hungarian theatre of Cluj). Isn't it sufficient?
Romania is concerned by the rhetoric of "unification of the Hungarian nation".
Hungarian players in the Romanian football league are insulted. The Romanian president once accused Hungary of wanting to reclaim Transylvania. From Hungary, they retorted: "we never said Transylvania was Romanian".
Politicians behaving undiplomatically create a snowball effect in society. This reinforces step 1: Hungarians complain that their situation is not good.
@rafa_font Orbán doesn't behave "undiplomatically", he full on spews out irredentist propaganda towards all neighbours, not just Romania, feeding failed empire nostalgia in an impoverished country he robbed blind.
@Veza85UE On the draft, I received 2 pieces of feedback
That I was being too soft with Orbán, downplaying his intentions.
That calling Hungarian policy "irredentist" was incorrect: there was no intention to alter borders
Then, I checked the official policy. Found: "unite the nation (despite the borders)". I find it ambiguous and provocative, while conveying a real feeling of (part of?) the population: "unite all Hungarians"
Haven't fully addressed your comment, though. What do you think?
@rafa_font I'm honestly no expert, but it's enough to see how he's been treating one neighbour (Ukraine) to understand what role his post-imperial nostalgia politics play in his kleptocracy. It's grift all the way down which is the angle under which I agree with criticism no.1. Of course, his problem re: no. 2 is that even if it were more than pure LARP, his cronyism and corruption have led to most EU neighbours leapfrogging Hungary in wealth and standing in the EU.
@rafa_font His once poorer (MUCH poorer in Romania's case) neighbours now laugh at him. He's going to change borders? Him and whose army? His wealthier neighbours have not only better economies but also powerful friends, some of whom have troops stationed nearby. They're at the table, while Orbán goes for potty breaks.
His impotent sabre-rattling for domestic consumption isn't all that impressive seen from abroad, is what I'm saying, though it's toxic in its own right for Hungary itself.
@rafa_font OK, but "he doesn't really mean it mostly because he can't do shit about it" doesn't mean that his Greater Hungary map bs is any less irredentist or acceptable in the EU towards EU neighbours.
@Veza85UE About Ukraine: continuously, Orbán makes it difficult for the EU to unanimously support Ukraine.
Many times, the excuse is "how Ukraine treats the Hungarian minority".
There might be cases in which this mistreatment happens. I think we (as EU citizens) should be aware of this, know the reality of the Hungarian minorities, be sure there's no mistreatment, and thus remove this excuse for Hungary not to support Ukraine.
@rafa_font Thanks, that's a surprisingly interesting article for someone like me who can't stand stand-up. Ukraine is a candidate for EU accession, therefore undergoing the same process current EU members in the area did regarding minority rights. Romania manages to negotiate this topic with Ukraine without licking the Kremlin boot. I'd be wary of giving Hungarians a special totem in this respect because of "unity feels" across borders. That discourse doesn't appear organically, it has history.
@rafa_font Do the warm fuzzies uwu "unity" apply to my Hungarian friends in Belgium, Spain or Sweden who've had to flee a country Orban's made unlivable for them or is it reserved for his votes-for-passports (of what is now a poorer country than the one they live in) scheme for these types:
@Veza85UE In the research that led to the article I gathered info from 5 Hungarians, 3 of which living outside Hungary. This might well be a small and biased sample (due to the limitations of my own reporting capabilities).
Do you think we could gather the point of view of your Hungarian friends about my article? It would be very valuable feedback.
In #Slovakia, it's possible to attend Hungarian-speaking primary and high schools.
There's even one University: J. Selye University (SELYE JÁNOS EGYETEM), offering degrees in Teacher Education, Economics, and Theology.
Hungarians in Slovakia would like to have more independence when it comes to organise education and culture. We're entering now into politics (let's continue tomorrow).
Or you can read the full article at The European Perspective:
Is there any self-governed territory that would be a good example?
Miklós Krivánsky: “Not South Tyrol, that would be too much for what Slovakia might concede. But look at Valle d’Aosta. Something similar could work”
Valle d’Aosta is bilingual, French and Italian. It keeps 90% of the taxes it raises. It’s independent of Rome in many topics: tourism (its main source of revenue), water resources, and urban planning
Could #ValledAosta be a good reference for self-governed regions in Europe?
There might be a way forward: President Zelenskyy announced the upcoming introduction of multiple citizenship. This is aimed at Ukrainians living abroad, but it could benefit as well Hungarians at home.
About language: Ukraine, since 2017, wants to reduce the use of Russian, and mandates Ukrainian-only teaching from 5th school year. Hungarian was caught in the crossfire.
This aspect is a problem for Ukraine joining EU According to the accession rules, it has to be reversed.
#Ukraine is progressing, in 2020 a law was passed to gradually increase school time taught in Ukrainian, arriving at 60% in 12th year (leaving therefore space for other languages)
#Hungary takes a very strong stance on these issues, even mentioning the word "oppression", and it threatens to block #Ukraine's path to the EU on these grounds
"...threatens to block Ukraine's path to the EU on these grounds". That's unfortunate, as EU membership is the best hope to defuse these tensions - as e.g. the German-speaking region in Northern Italy (Alto Adige/Südtirol) shows.
Thanks to the "four freedoms" of the EU and the Schengen agreement, the border between Austria and Italy just lost significance. Südtirol is today a prosperous Italian region, actually benefiting from its bi-cultural identity.
Francisco's parents emigrated after World War II. They didn’t know each other in #Hungary: they met in Santiago de Chile
They were at risk in post-WW2 Hungary. His father had been condemned by a popular jury
When Francisco asked for the nationality, he discovered that his parents had actually lost it, because they had been born in territories outside the post WW1 Hungarian borders. He eventually got it, proving he could speak the language (which is not a minor feat)
Francisco's feelings about Hungary are unaffected by the tensions between Hungary and its neighbours, because of the distance
I have a similar feeling after having written this piece. I entered it with the angle of "minorities", "migration feelings", and I have found it deeply interlinked with regional politics and tensions
Writing it has been a bit of a ride, and a learning experience, and it continues to be while I promote it in social networks
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