We hang the petty THIEVES, and appoint the great ones to public office. AESOP
Disclaimer: In my new world I am searching for answers to make sense of government with very naive eyes. THIS POST IS NOT FOR EVERYONE!
Of course it bothers me how Hungary is viewed from the outside world. And of course I try to understand why people think the way they do about my new country.
What I have found may surprise you….
Every moment, and every word of every speech is analyzed by all sides of the political spectrum, hyper dissected by the public and spun back to the people through the media to suit their causes.
It is all amazing and worrisome.
Everything is about politics; where you stand, what party you are for and how you feel about the current leaders of Hungary and the world.
Maybe this is how grown ups talk… but for this Canadian girl, it is all hard to take. I want to be like Switzerland; neutral, standing behind a good person not a party!
What I am searching for is a hero…
My biggest surprise since moving to Europe is that not everyone wants to buy into the ‘American’ dream.
I am including Canada in this ideology as we, Canadians, also have the freedoms that America stand for.
The American Dream is a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and to be able to climb the ladder of life through hard work. You wake up and chose, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.
That includes freedom of religion, freedom to love who you want, and to become who you want…
America was built on a melting pot of different cultures living together on one giant continent.
Everyone was welcome.
Everyone was equal. (At least for the last 60 some years)
And every one was loved.
With Trump winning the election, the fabric of what we thought America was made up of is now in question.
Is it truly a dream this land of equality, multiculturalism and freedom?
Growing up so close to the US, I have to worry about bad decisions made south of the border, as they are far too close not to be affected.
But why is Hungary getting such a bad wrap in the media?
OCTOBER 2nd was the first referendum vote of its kind on mandatory refugee quotas in Hungary.
Hungarians voted 98% against…
At first I reacted much like the public, not really asking why this little country wants to stay Hungarian… why wouldn’t they want a multicultural society? After all, if it was good enough for me, and I turned out all right!
“If any EU country was going to vote this strongly against accepting the Brussels imposed quota for accepting refugees, then Hungary was a prime candidate. One of the most ethnically homogenous (89% of Hungary is Hungarian), linguistically difficult, and, more importantly, because of its geography, the most affected by displaced people crossing Europe in 2015.”
Interesting facts,
France is only about 40% French yet no surprised at how loyal citizens are to their state, that they want to preserve their language or that they want France to stay French.
The most common consensus among my friends and family throughout the world is to help Syrian refugees find stability back in Syria so they can continue living in their own country.
The truth is that refugees and migrants from third world countries don’t want to live in countries like Hungary, Poland, Czech, Slovakia if they have the choice. They prefer to go where wages are higher. These countries have not come to par with the rest of ‘Westernized’ European nations in the EU.
But let’s go back a bit… The people of Hungary expected big things to happen and change once joining the union. Wage increases, bringing in the Euro currency, government grants, education advancements, technological funding. And in some ways they are progressing.
That aside…
Are the Hungarian leaders farming their people out?
On the other hand businesses from other parts of the EU are opening shop in Hungary because labour is far cheaper compared to their home countries.
Average wages in Germany or France run between 2200-3000€/month. By bringing in large corporations, profit margins dramatically increase which creates jobs for Hungarians but has not substantially increased wages.
Hungarian citizens make around 183,000 HUF per month on average, about 590€
EU countries provide a monthly income and accommodation for refugees to resettle. Anywhere from 143-340€/month per person can be expected in countries like Germany, France, and Denmark. They also receive free housing, food vouchers, clothing and health care pushing their welfare income past monthly earnings in Hungary.
Hungary’s 9 million citizens that live inside or the few million just outside their borders claim that they have the same desires as most of Europe to stay ethnically European. The media labels countries like the UK, America, Hungary, Poland, France Xenophobic for not wanting mass migration.
Have we pushed political correctness so far East that now we are on the verge of bringing Europe to extinction?
In my opinion Xenophobia is the wrong word. It is far too easy to label an entire country with such a harsh term for such a complicated situation, especially when they have an equally complicated history.
The term Xenophobic could easily be incorrectly used to describe the Middle East. Why so? They have the same desire to hold on to their culture, and traditions. I don’t know too many who come to Europe to try Christianity on for size.
Which leaves us with two very different cultures, European and Middle Eastern cultures, living side by side. Can they learn to live without conflict, especially if both want to stay true to who they are?
It is hard not to notice how the world perceives countries like Hungary. Yet they are not the exception to the rule against the mandatory quotas, they were only the first to give their people a choice.
Trump winning the election means the US is also in fear of what mass migration might mean. Brexit is another example of how mass migration instills fear.
Some Westernized countries throughout the world are playing the moral card, saying it is the obligation of countries like Hungary to openly except migration from these struggling countries along with the refugees. Some go further to say letting in a few terrorists to save the majority of the people affected by war is still worth it. Further still, some blame the problems migrants are having in the refugee camps on not giving enough money for them to start a life on a fair playing field with access to benefits, schooling and jobs once landing in Europe. This theory says if we could give them more money, they would flourish in our societies and not attack each other or us. Which is an honourable stand point and maybe has merit, but it is not only about ethics, but about power within the EU, who has it and who clearly does not.
In countries such as Canada, Germany, and Denmark the moral obligation is easy, everyone is well fed and their economies are strong. Supporters in the US and the UK being generous from this standpoint is not a stretch. They have already experienced living next to many different cultures. There is less fear.
Sweeping EU regulation across Europe are harder for smaller countries to accept without a say. One must consider their economy, stability and the history of each individual country otherwise these regulations feel too close to communism.
Brussels wants to force these sanctions and divide the responsibility of relocating, distributing and assimilating refugees to European culture and society. Sounds reasonable to my Canadian ears brought up in a nation built on these very principles.
However, without clear regulations, a system in place to process and screen possible threats to Europe, or a program as to how to help everyone to accept and understand new cultures; many Hungarians believe the crisis becomes about Europe’s safety.
If the 1300 Syrian refugees were to relocate to Hungary as planned, they would receive asylum, a passport, and a European life. They will send for their families, and as soon as possible they would likely migrate to greener pastures anyway.
The fear is that more terrorists will slip through the borders while the regulations are not yet clear and the potential of future terrorist attacks are coming closer to our homes.
Although Angela Merkel’s invitation to refugees came from a good place, what followed was truly a cluster disaster.
In 2015, a total of 211 completed, failed or foiled terrorist attacks were reported by EU states, resulting in 151 fatalities (of which 148 were in France) and over 360 people injured. As in previous years, separatist attacks accounted for the largest proportion (65), followed by jihadist attacks (17). The latter, however, caused the largest number of fatalities (150) and injuries (250). The United Kingdom reported the largest number of attacks (103), but did not provide statistics on suspected affiliation. Tackling jihadist terrorism threats has become an over-riding priority for security services, although many commentators express concerns that the risk of far-right terrorism is currently being underestimated.
In 2016 and 2017
| 22 Mar 2016 |  Belgium |
Brussels bombings | 35 killed (inc. 3 perps.), 340 injured[62] | Islamic State |
| 14 Jul 2016 |  France |
Nice truck attack | 87 killed (inc. 1 perp.), 434 injured[63] | Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel |
| 19 Dec 2016 |  Germany |
Berlin Christmas market attack | 12 killed, 56 injured[64] | Anis Amri |
| 22 May 2017 |  UK (England) |
Manchester Arena bombing | 23 killed (inc. 1 perp.), 119 injured[65] | Salman Ramadan Abedi |
| 4 June 2017 | UK (England) |
June 2017 London Bridge attack | 11 killed (inc. 3 perps.), 48 injured[66] | Under investigation |
Hungary has not evolved to excepting changing demographics. Nor do they want to buy what Westernized liberalism has to sell.
As a Canadian I would expect the world to want the ‘American’ dream, and the freedoms I grew up with in Canada.
Since living in Europe for the last seven years, however, what I see is that truly free people are not so easy to control, so the idea of freedom is what the West is selling.
Freedom is only a perception as American lifestyle leaves us little freedom at all. Working 9:00-5:30, stuck in rush-hour traffic for hours to and from, making just enough money to pay the accumulating bills, go shopping with coupons in hand, mortgage and credit card debt, trying to complete with the Jones’s, looking the part in designer clothes and 2.5 kids; does it really sound like freedom? Once out of the ratrace I can tell you that it wasn’t freedom at all, but preoccupation with overachievement
Are we not all slaves to the dollar? Hyper consumerism without classic traditions, or culture seem meaningless. The rapid paced North American lifestyle sends people running on that proverbial treadmill trying to get ahead. The view from Europe looking towards Westernized culture is one of being stuck peddling and not going anywhere.
Hungary doesn’t want the fast food version of American life to replace their rich culture, and traditional.
They are not alone. As McDonald’s takes Italy’s UNESCO city Florence to court for 20 million, the people sign a petition to try to stop the infringement and ‘vulgarity of American culture from ruining their traditional Piazza Del Duomo’.
Slowly American culture seeps in and takes over every street corner of Europe, replacing the individuality of the European countries. No wonder there is a backlash and a fierce will to remain European. It was bound to happen.
- Perhaps the rest of the world believes Hungary should be grateful to be part of the EU at all
- Does the rest of the world believe Hungary should shut-up and do as they are told if they want to stay a part of the EU?
Hungarians still want to have a Europe without borders. But the EU is now asking for third world countries to have direct migration routes to Europe, either through Turkey by joining the EU or wondering migrants claiming refugee status.
This poses many questions without clear answers and instills greater fear in the European people. From this fear develops extreme far-right thinking, and groups are popping up throughout Europe to counter balance liberal ideologies. The jump is far too great for most to embrace.
Although I am surprised at the Trump win, I am not surprised that Americans view the migrant situation here in Europe as a threat. The September 11 2001 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States. Trying to protect Americans from another such attack seems a normal reaction.
These questions should be contemplated by scholars and not inflicted on nations without thorough discussions and due process. By uniting third world developing nations with Europe, the results are unknown. With the unknown comes fear.It is simply human nature.
Interesting article from the Future of Working website
here is a blurb from the full article….
EU Serves The Interest As A Whole, Not A Country
The policies, decisions, and rules set in place by the European Union are not there to protect the best interest of each individual country. Instead, their goal is to advance the EU as a whole. This has caused many damages in smaller countries, that are often left unheard.
