Slovaks and Hungarians

In two of my classes here this fall, we have looked at diversity issues -- especially national origin, race, gender, and religion. I have learned a great deal about the two major challenges in Slovakia -- the Roma ("gypsies"), an issue across central Europe, and the Hungarians.

I can understand the latter intellectually when I look at the long history of Hungarian rule over the Slovaks and the numerous disputes over national borders and property which continue to this day. Some 50,000 ethnic Hungarians live in Slovakia, especially south of Bratislava. The simmering tensions between the governments of these countries, both admitted to the EU in 2004, are regularly covered in the Slovak Spectator, the weekly English-language newspaper I read cover-to-cover to understand local issues.

I got a reminder of the visceral tensions between these two countries in Budapest when I noticed this poster for a temporary exhibit at the House of Terror on "Hungarian Fate in Czechoslovakia." The subtitle at the top reads "Banished from Home-Hungarian Tragedy-1947."

One faction in Slovakia urges that these tensions be addressed and that they not be exacerbated for short-term political gain. But this is not the Balkans or northern Ireland. As one politician quoted in the Spectator said: "We might spit on each other, but we won't shoot at each other."

As a U.S. citizen, I don't pretend to understand the intensity of these ancient tensions, and I certainly don't presume to give anybody advice on what should be done. I was heartened, though, in one of my classes to hear some students argue that the younger generation does not share the intensity of anger of their parents and grandparents, and I hope that is true.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.