The 2007 Annual General Assembly of MCSMSZ

 

The Association of Csángó-Hungarians in Moldova held its Annual General Assembly on 21 April 2007. Similarly to previous years, all MCSMSZ members were invited to this year's general assembly as well. The participants met the representatives of the Association in the small room of the cultural centre of Bákó (Bacau) County.

After greeting the attendants, Róbert Petrás Chairman asked the managers of the Association to give account of their activities in the previous year one by one.

Szilvia Róka President said that last year's results could be measured by the fact that the activities of the Csángó Association had become more appreciated, and the leaders of the local organisations were also more open to the work of the Association. These results are due to the regularly held events and the programmes, which have international reputation. Besides, everyone who attended the assembly received a printed report of last year's activities of the Association.

Tinka Nyisztor and Ilona Nyisztor could not be present at the general assembly, because they had to attend an event due to their official duty.

Attila Hegylei Educational Officer reported the results achieved in his area of activity. He said that they managed to take ca. 600 students to 30 camps during the summer holidays. Even the number of educational platforms was extended, and Hungarian lessons started in Lujzikalagor (Luizi Calugara) and in the city of Bákó. The Association intends to continue this work and to start mother tongue programmes at as many platforms as possible. He found it important to emphasise the parents’ responsibility too. He expects attention from them at the children camps and with students who intend to continue their studies. He added that they would like to pay more attention to children at kindergarten age. Even the idea of a private kindergarten, or a "baby-sitting service" was mentioned. The Association expects political help from RMDSZ in their educational plans; among others the necessity of a Hungarian educational supervisor in Bákó County was mentioned and help was asked for the renovation of the schools in Csángó-land.

Mária Solomon Social Affairs Officer reported the results of her last year’s activities, and she also talked about the currently running programmes and plans.

Pável Benke Vice-President talked about the partnership of the Csángó Association and the RMDSZ and shared his experiences at the RMDSZ congress.

Adrián Solomon Financial Officer outlined the report made by the censor and the financial report.

He also summarised the progress made on the construction of the school centre in Rekecsin (Răcăciuni) and added that unfortunately the construction had not started yet on the site bought by the Szent Ferenc Alapítvány (Saint Francis Foundation). The reason for this is that there are some difficulties in obtaining the necessary licences for the construction and there is not enough money for the execution of the project either. Despite these difficulties, the MCSMSZ has not given up on this plan and the Association continues to support the efforts of the DSZFA (Saint Francis Foundation of Déva).

Then the general assembly voted for the admittance of 24 new members and went on with the modification of the Statutes. After a long debate, the participants managed to agree and the majority accepted that the general assembly would operate as a meeting of delegates in the future. (There will be at least one delegate from each village. In those villages where there are more members, one delegate can represent 10 other members.) The Statutes of the MCSMSZ were modified with regard to the mandates as well. It was decided that mandates of the management would be held for 2 years.

Szilvia Róka President announced that she could not take any further mandates until she finished her studies. The participants, colleagues and acquaintances thanked her for the work she did in the past three years and appreciated her enthusiastic and devoted activities as president. It was emphasised that due to her efforts the MCSMSZ is considered now as a serious negotiating partner not only in Bákó County, but also in Hungary.

Adrián Solomon Finance Officer will hold the presidential mandate for the next two years. The General Assembly has voted him for this function without abstentions or votes against him. He will be supported by Vice-Presidents Valerika László, previous Competition Officer and Felicia Szarka, Teacher at Külsőrekecsin (Fundu Racaciuni). The rest of the mandates will be held by: Attila Hegyeli - Education Officer, Ilona Nyisztor - Cultural Officer, Mária Solomon - Social Affairs Officer, Tinka Nyisztor - Ecclesiastical Officer, László Pógár - Youth Officer.

We thank everyone for the attendance and the interest showed for the activities of our Association and the participation in our programmes. We hope that we will manage to meet the expectations in the future as well.

 

Management of MCSMSZ

 

Pictures

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Two wheel protest for Hungarian mass in Csángó-land

 

Budapest, Friday, 27 April 2007 by Marianne Tharan-Trieb

 

After numerous petitions, letters, and visits to the Pope, a young Hungarian, Zoltán Ferkó has decided to cycle 3000 km, leaving from Budapest, to the Vatican and from there to the Csángó-land, Romania, to call for Mass to be celebrated in Hungarian.

He left Budapest on the 22nd April and expects to reach Csángó-land in about 40 days. On his way several voluntary cyclists and cars have escorted him and different clerical and secular organisations have offered him hospitality.

The ethnically Hungarian and Catholic Csángó have been settled east of Transylvania for over 1200 years, preserving their Hungarian culture outside of Hungary's historic borders. In the 1800s the Vatican tried to use this Orthodox surrounded Catholic enclave to propagate Catholicism. As a result they were compelled to use Romanian in their churches. However, the Vatican's plans backfired, Romanians did not convert and it meant that the Romanian language became normalised in church services. The situation worsened after the 1920 Treaty of Trianon where Hungary lost large swathes of its territory and population to Romania.

Several requests were forwarded to different Pope and the Bishop of Iasi, the Episcopal seat of the region who visited the Csángó recently. While the Vatican promised that he would come with the permission to celebrate mass in Hungarian, the Bishop instead offered a compromise saying that "the Rosary can be recited in other languages in the church."

In a 2001 Report the Council of Europe said that "there should be an option for Roman Catholic services in the Csango language in the churches in the Csango villages, and the possibility for the Csango's to sing hymns in their own mother tongue." (Eurolang 2007)

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Pilgrim on bikecycle for Hungarian Mass in Moldova

 

3000 km. This is the distance that Zoltan Ferko (31) will make on his bicycle to call attention to the fact that the Csango Hungarians living in Moldavia can not exercise their religion in their mother tongue that is in Hungarian. This pilgrimage was initiated by the Csango Hungarians themselves, among them by Tinka Nyisztor who paid a visit last year to the Vatican in the same issue. A Tour de France distance on bicycle could of course be a sport performance but in this case it is definitely not. It is a religious undertaking, a pilgrimage.

The Moldavian Csangos whose mother tongue is Hungarian, are only allowed to attend Romanian language mass in their churches which does not suit neither the message of the Pentecost (Acts 2:7-8) nor the human rights of modern democracies. In the last 17 years the Csangos have asked for Hungarian mass and religious services many times by the Bishop of Iasi, and a Csango delegation led by Tinka Nyisztor has visited the Vatican but nothing changed. There are about a quarter of a million people in Moldavia whose religion is Roman Catholic and though Romanian historians tend to deny it, according to standard historical theories they all are of Hungarian origins and got to Moldavia in multiple waves between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although they never had Hungarian pastors and only for very short periods Hungarian teachers, around 60 thousand of them still speak the most archaistic dialect of Hungarian.

They have been asking for Hungarian pastors for centuries but they never got one.

On April the 22nd at noon in the Saint Stephan Cathedral in Budapest the holy mass will be said for the Hungarian mass of Moldavian Csangos then around one o'clock after a small party with authentic Csango music and dances Zoltan Ferko and his friends will start the pilgrimage. The pilgrim first rides to Rome and the Vatican through the main ecclesiastic centres of North-Western Hungary, Eastern Austria and Northern Italy. Then he continues the pilgrimage from Zagreb via Pécs, Szeged and Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia) to Csíkszereda (Miercurea Ciuc). He is going to take part on the open air mass attended by hundreds of thousands of people at Csíksomlyó and then rides further to Moldavia to the episcopate of Iasi and Csango villages. He plans to deliver a letter to leaders in the church on the main stops of the route in which he asks for support for Hungarian Mass in Moldavia.

 

You can follow the pilgrimage on the websites www.csango.eu or www.keresztszulok.hu.

If you decide to write us, please send your e-mail to zarandoklat@glia.hu

We have opened a blog for the pilgrimage: www.zarandoklat.blogol.hu

If you prefer to call, please dial +3670-771-9767.

 

You will find the 9078 Report of the Council of Europe on the Csangos here: http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc01/EDOC9078.htm (English), http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc01/FDOC9078.htm (French).

Further reading for the history of Csangos: http://www.hi.is/~maurizio/csango/links2.htm or www.csango.hu/en/rend4.html.

 

If you feel so, do not hesitate to join the pilgrimage for a day or two or even more! The pilgrim and his friends will be available on the whole route so we can keep in touch and find time and place also for an interview.

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Regular club afternoons of the Association of Godparents

 

Since January the Association of Godparents holds regular club meetings on the second Saturdays' afternoons of each month. Detailed programme will be available on the following website: www.keresztszulok.hu. Through our representatives we will try to inform godparents living in the countryside, with no internet access, too.

 

The first godparents' club afternoon

 

The first club meeting of the Association of Godparents took place on 13th January 2007, in the assembly room of the HÁLÓ Catholic Community. The number of participating godparents and sympathizers was over 50. In the first half of the club afternoon a brief and overall review was given on the Association's programs, activities and the common excursion to Csángóföld, as well as on the present stand and difficulties of the Moldavian educational program.
Dóra Hegedűs, vice-president of the Association of Godparents presented the operation of the Godparents' Club, said the ideas of the directorate on the meaty and useful programs of the club meetings, to which they expect further ideas from the godparents. She spoke about the actual tasks of the Association, emphasising the importance of establishing organisations in the countryside. The aim of the Association is to gain more godparents, supporters and sponsors on behalf of individuals, civil organisations, firms or local governments. She presented the website (www.keresztszulok.hu) compiled by her, that is regularly refreshed and updated with new information. She expects contributions to the content of the website gladly. She also informed the godparents sending present for Christmas about the safe arrival of the packages.
Réka Pávai Mrs. Ferkó spoke about the present situation of Hungarian education in the state schools and in the extracurricular lessons. Great joy is the increasing number of students, but there is a tough problem of the lack of teachers. To solve this, further financial sources need to be found. She informed the participants on the completion of the Hungarian House in Pusztina. The students celebrated Christmas and New Year already there. She said, that the Children's House in Lábnyik has reached a completion of 90%, and the children have already seized it. The official opening of the house, that was built with the support of Hungarians living in the Motherland and in Canada, is planned to take place on 6th May. She also had the great news that in the past two years the Association managed to buy house in Frumósza and Csík, too. The land of the future Children House in Külsőrekecsin waits for the start. The Associations seeks further notable financial supports for it.
Mr Ferenc Herczka on the part of AMMOA (Foundation for the Moldavian Hungarian Education) said that our Association will get the opportunity to write articles in the periodical of Moldvai Magyarság (Moldavian Hungarians) in order to inform Godparents. It is issued in Transylvania but is also available in Hungary. We suggest the subscription to the periodical for Godparents having no internet access, in order to gain true news from Csángóföld. Mr Herzka also reported on the financial situation of the educational program, emphasising that the support of Godparents keeps the Hungarian education in Moldavia alive. Agreeing with Dóra Hegedűs, he also finds it indispensable to draw companies and local governments into the backing of the program, along the individual supporters.
Mr Lajos Gyöngyössy, the president of the Godparents' Association demonstrated the plans of the three Moldavian trip, taking place in April, May and June. The longest trip includes the participation in the Wake of Csíksomlyó too. He mentioned the trip (3rd - 8th May) organised to the official opening of the Children's House in Lábnyik tpp, that trip is organised by Mr. Tamás Raj on behalf of Új Forrás Association (Gödöllő), that association bear lion's share in buying the land and starting the building of that house. Further details on the trips is available here.
Reports were followed by unbound conversations, during which important questions were brought up, urging to be solved. The shortage in school-books, the very bad conditions of the college of Csángó-Hungarian students studying in Csíkszereda, the still existing assimilating process and the difficulties of sending packages were all mentioned. Some good ideas were brought up concerning the organisation of the club afternoons too.
The next club afternoon will be held on 10th February. We welcome all present and future Godparents, and everyone who is interested in our program.

 

Réka Pávai Mrs. Ferkó, secretary