It was unsettlling to see two photographs from the camp at Auschwitz used as illustration in an article about Eastern Europe [and mainly about Hungary] where we live and do mission work in Gypsy/Roma communities. The author decries the prevalence of “old prejudices” which he noticed while travelling in Eastern Europe on a mission trip. Which is all the more surprising because this mission trip took him to sites where, in the face of countless hardships, the local church, together with other civil organizations, has established and maintains schools, kindergartens and church communities specifically for the benefit of the members of Roma communities. This is not to say that such “old prejudices” no doubt rear their head here or there every now and then, but it would be grossly unjust to outrightly declare such apparitions to be the norm and widespread in Hungary [see http://www.reformatus.us/2011/02/03/churches-reach-hungarys-struggling-roma/].
The result of national elections in Hungary in the spring of 2011 gave rise to a new majority conservative government which has included as a main item on its agenda a multitude of programs specifically designed to challenge the Gypsy/Roma community and assist their members to gain a better foothold in their quest to become better integrated within the majority community. Having assumed the chairmanship of the European Community for the next six months, Hungary hopes to motivate other European countries to initiate their own programs with a similar purpose in mind.
David and Anna Pandy-Szekeres
Hungary
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