Close and personal with Hungary's Revolution
by Susan Stein

On October 23rd, 1956, a group of young students started what became the Hungarian Revolution in Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

This was the first tiny crack in the stronghold of the Eastern Block, the first glimmer of hope for the people suffering under the tyranny of Communist totalitarian regime.

Brutally crashed by Russian tanks, invading Russian armies on November 4th, 1956, started the executions, persecutions, and jail sentences followed.

Seeking freedom, thousand s of young, single, older, married Hungarian citizens fled, seeking refuge in the West.

From refugee camps in adjoining country Austria, came requests for admittance to country's in the free world.

Canada was the first to open her doors to thousands, including the whole contingent of the Sopron University's Forestry students.

With members of my family living in Budapest, I was a frequent visitor and speaking and writing Hungarian, made many friends and kept in touch over the years.

Our calls and correspondence lasted until one day, the request came to

sever all contacts. Correspondence was censored, the receivers put under surveillance, often resulting in being jailed, hauled to Siberia, never to be seen again.

And then, months after the aborted revolution, calls and letters came: From Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg, from Australia. All old friends, all, after having arrived penniless, with little knowledge of English, with taking any odd jobs to survive, to study, became successful in their chosen fields, or starting a new career.

From dishwasher to working at the Hydroelectric dam project in

Quebec to a position as an engineer, from working in a logging camp to a job with a Pulp and Paper company, from cleaning houses, waitressing, back to being a pharmacist, from working as a lathe operator in a factory, owning a lucrative export/ business and so on.

I met the founder of the first Continental European style coffee house - The Coffee Mill in Toronto, the owner of the Hungarian restaurant, named Paprika after the Hungarian spice; the Pastor of the Hungarian Protestant Church St. Elizabeth; the owners of two Deli shops, specializing in Hungarian salamis, cheeses, condiments and pastries; Doctors, who opened their own hospital for patients, seeking a place to communicate in their native language; I met the owner of vast Real Estate holdings, who just a few years ago was a janitor in one. I briefly saw a young man by the name of Peter Munk (now known as billionaire/philanthropist, ), who lived above my parents modest apartment, and with his noisy parties disturb their sleep.

To the memory of those, who perished in the fight for liberty, to those, who have contributed with their talents, their loyalty to their new homeland, I conclude with the first line of the Hungarian anthem: "Isten ald meg a Magyard" - God bless the Hungarian".