Photos of my community

After the Second World War, several of the Russians liberated countries of eastern Europe, such as Hungary, and became part of a Communist bloc. These countries had their territory, border, and government but were controlled by the Soviet Union. On 13 October 1956, the Hungarian Revolution started in Budapest against the USSR’s domination of Hungary. University students began the protest, and thousands of the civil populace joined them. Because Hungary did not get any support from the Western Countries, the Soviets could put a brutal end to this revolution. More than 2700 people were killed in Hungary after the revolution, and 200,000 refugees fled from capital punishment or prison. More than 200 refugees came from the Sopron Forestry University of Hungary to Vancouver and went on to influence the forestry sector in British Columbia by revolutionizing forestry concepts in B.C. The commemorative arch at the UBC in front of the Forest Sciences Centre is a memorial to the 200 refugees who helped to build the Forest Faculty at UBC.

The Hungarian emigrants and their descendants established many community centers after fleeing the 1956 revolution, including a Catholic and a Calvinist Hungarian Church, the Hungarian Cultural Center, and the Szent László Hungarian language school. Both churches are more than 60 years old, provide Hungarian language classes 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. I joined the Szent László Hungarian School in September 2018, after two months that we arrived in Canada. To find and join this community was important to me because I felt lost in July 2018 when we moved to Canada. I was a teacher and member of the school staff community in Hungary. After we arrived, I had to start everything – my career, friendships, and community – from the beginning. Being able to teach in Canada reminds me of my life as a teacher back in Hungary. In May 2022, I became the Principal of the Szent László Hungarian School.

The Szent László Hungarian school is run voluntarily and offers a cultural program teaching Hungarian families on weekends. Before Covid-19, we met weekly, on Sundays mornings from 9 to 11. We have kindergarten, elementary, and teenage groups in Hungarian reading and writing. The school also provides language classes for adults based on skill level, from beginner to university level. Regarding teachers, only a few living in Vancouver hold master’s or bachelor’s level teaching degrees from Hungary; thus, some of the volunteers do not have teaching degrees, yet they would like to help students to improve their Hungarian language skills. During and after the pandemic, Hungarian Schools faced challenges worldwide. Because meeting in person was impossible; we had to turn to online education to keep our language learning community alive. After the pandemic, fewer children joined the classes in person. Online education is more comfortable for them, and children from farther communities, such as Abbotsford, can join the classes and learn Hungarian. We try to encourage families to attend in-person classes by organizing some art programs. With these art classes we can teach our tradition, customs, and culture too, which is very important for children who never visited Hungary and had cultural exposure. The picture above was taken after a summer art event. 

The students of the Szent László Hungarian School give two performances a year on the stage of the Catholic Church. They celebrate Christmas and Mother’s Day here. Why is this community vital to me? After a while, when we moved to Canada, I realized that to be Hungarian means something else here in Canada for me than in Hungary. I like living here, but every time I sing the Hungarian anthem in the Church, I am overcome by emotions. We wanted to move to Canada to see another lifestyle and allow the children to learn English. We did, and we started something else. My children speak Hungarian at home because I forced them. After they began to speak English, they enjoyed it so much that they wanted to talk in English at home too. They talk and read in Hungarian without an accent. Perhaps my grandchildren will speak and read in Hungarian too, but I am not sure that my grand grandchildren will do. I hope the Hungarian community will be alive and help my family to preserve our traditions. I am volunteering at the Szent László Hungarian School for the future of the Hungarian – Canadians.