I felt lost in July 2018 when we moved to Canada. I was a teacher and member of the school staff community in Hungary. In addition, I was a mother with two young children, so I belonged to the community of parents who raised small children. There existed an online platform called “baba-net”, to find other single mothers living locally. We supported each other and shared our challenges with bringing up children, so we felt that we were not alone dealing with such issues. We would occasionally meet for walks or organize playdates. At this time, I was an immigrant without solid English language knowledge, and I had to start everything – my career, building friendships, community – from the beginning. I followed my instinct to find a Hungarian community for myself. Regardless of the reason behind this emotion, I followed my feelings. Initially, this seemed challenging, since only a few Hungarian people live in Vancouver. According to the Government of Canada (Canada) official website, approximately 350,000 Canadians of at least partial Hungarian descent live in Canada. An article in the Hungarian Free Press provides more detailed data. For example, more than half of these live in Ontario, and only 6,570 live in Vancouver. (Diaspora) The Hungarian community faces certain difficulties that are now apparent to me since I have been a member of this society. During my four years of living here, I have noticed that the biggest issue for Hungarians is a lack of cohesion. This arises from competition between religious groups, the generation gap, and the influence of Hungarian politics.

One of the primary reasons for the cracks in the Hungarian – Canadian community is the Hungarian school system in Vancouver, which I familiarized myself with soon after we immigrated to Canada. On the 20th of August, 2018, we went to the Saint Stephen’s Day Picnic, a Hungarian national holiday. I started a conversation with a friendly woman who told me a lot about the Hungarian community and introduced me to a staff member of one of the Hungarian schools in Vancouver. This school is run voluntarily and offers a cultural program teaching Hungarian families on weekends. Two weeks later, I became a teacher in this school.

The issue faced by the Hungarian school system has historic roots. Both schools are more than 60 years old and are run theologically. One is Catholic, the other is of the Calvinist faith. These churches provide a place to teach children and adults. When I joined the Catholic school, I did not choose it because of my religion. I met them first, and I was ready to help them. If I had met representatives from the Calvinist school first, I am sure I would have joined them despite being Catholic. However, I am now a member of the Catholic school, and the schools celebrate, for example, Christmas and Mother’s Day in their respective premises.

During the past few years, I have realized that people either join one or the other school according to their religion. The first question that my prospective students ask is which school I work in, i.e.: the Catholic or the Calvinist school. The religious denomination quality is more important for them than the quality of education provided. For example, a very nice young woman offered Hungarian books for free on the Hungarian in BC Facebook group, and I contacted her. I asked her to donate the books to our school. The young lady’s priority was to ensure that they be given to the Calvinist school first because she would like her daughter to attend the kindergarten there. Therefore, she politely declined to donate them to the Catholic school.

The two schools compete for their students and the teachers. Regarding teachers, only a few livings in Vancouver hold master’s or bachelor’s teaching degrees from Hungary. This rivalry splits the resources – teachers – and increases the costs; for example, the community had to build two schools. One thing that splits the community is that the newcomers must choose one or the other school according to their religion. If somebody does not belong to either of these, they just pick one or skip the local Hungarian education options altogether. This competition does not help to build a solid Hungarian education within the community.

When I became familiar with the Hungarian school system, I joined the Hungarian Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver, hoping to find unity in this community that transcends religious divisions. My dream soon vanished when I was invited to the official inauguration ceremony for the new Hungarian Ambassador to Canada. The majority of attendees were elderly, and one of them introduced himself: “I am a Hungarian refugee from 1956”. I knew the historical background that after the 1956 revolution, more than 200 refugees from the Sopron Forestry University of Hungary came to Vancouver and went on to influence the forestry sector in British Columbia. (Kurucz) I had previously visited Sopron Street and the commemorative plaque at UBC, and was familiar with the history. However, I found it strange that instead of using his real name, he identified himself according to his immigration status. His participation in the Hungarian Uprising against the Soviet-imposed state continue to define him sixty-six years later. I realized the differences between the immigrant founders of the schools and Cultural Centre, and the new immigrants. The older generation had to emigrate; they did not have other options. It was either emigration or capital punishment.

The new immigrants did not flee from a communist regime; they moved to Canada for personal reasons. The new generation continues to identify as Hungarian in different ways. The older immigrants wanted to keep their customs and language, but the new immigrants wanted to assimilate quickly into their chosen country. They prefer to live according to Canadian traditions, and they sometimes express indifference regarding their children’s loss of the Hungarian language. As one of my interviewees, Gabriella, explained, “New immigrants come to Canada by choice, and their focus is on assimilation into Canadian society and communities, rather than clinging to their Hungarian roots.” These two cultural preferences that can be observed in original and recent immigrants represent a significant gap between the two generations. For example, the young generation do not care that their entertainment doesn’t relate to Hungarian culture, whereas, the older generation prefers to follow the old customs and tradition. These two different needs place the administrators of the Hungarian Cultural Center in a challenging position. However, these are not the only issues that they face.

The last time I visited an event at the Hungarian Cultural Centre, I realized that politics pervade the social dynamic. As Gabriella, my third interviewee, mentioned, “Hungarian politics infiltrated the life of these communities and alienated a large number of people, creating divisions and lowering membership and willingness to participate in events.” I know from my own experience that the Hungarian government implemented the international funding of Hungarian schools and communities several years ago. The government promotes Hungarian camps and programs, albeit using such programs and events for propaganda purposes. Without an avowed allegiance to the governing party, groups will not get money from the Hungarian government. However, this funding can be used to help preserve the Hungarian language and culture abroad. Those benefitting from this financial aid feel that to continue receiving it, they must support the governing party. The other side of politics is that Hungary rules with an aggressive political narrative and pits people against each other. As documented in the Hungary Country Report 2022 of BTI, the ruling party “exploits a populist narrative based on an existential“ us and them dichotomy between “the people” and the constructed concept of “public enemies” to maintain and deepen the conflict lines in Hungarian society.” (BTI) As a result, if people proclaim that they no longer consider Hungary a fully functioning democracy, as declared by the European Parliament on September 14, 2022, people of the opposite view stigmatize them as traitors or communists. They strongly consider each other to be enemies.

Although I have been a member of the Hungarian community in Vancouver for only four years now, I have realized that the competition between the different religious and political groups creates an appreciable gap between the people. More than 60 years ago, a handful of Hungarian refugees who escaped the communist regime, built a functional community grounded in religion, cultural norms, and values. I am very grateful to these refugees for building a Hungarian – Canadian community here. I encourage my family here in Canada to speak only Hungarian, because retaining our language is important to me. The Hungarian schools and programs help my family and me to preserve our traditions. If the political and religious rivalry continues, building the gap between the generations, more and more people will leave the Hungarian – Canadian society and forget the Hungarian language and tradition.

Works Cited

BTI. “Hungary Country Report 2022.” 2022. https://bti-project.org/en/about.

Canada, The Government of. “Canada-Hungary relations.” 2022. https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/hungary-hongrie/relations.aspx?lang=eng#a1.

Diaspora. “Are there really 348,000 Hungarians in Canada?” Hungarian Free Press (2017). https://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/10/27/are-there-really-348000-hungarians-in-canada/.

Kurucz, John. “The Hungarian refugees who helped shape Canada’s forests.” Vancouver Is Awesome (2016). https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/courier-archive/news/the-hungarian-refugees-who-helped-shape-canadas-forests-3041726.