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Showing posts from June, 2014

Hungarians Beyond The(ir) Borders

by Gyula Zsombok Once a Hungarian, always a Hungarian? Nothing would appear to suggest this interpretation more eloquently than the expression “ határon túli magyarok ”, whose most straightforward translation in English would probably be ‘Hungarian disaspora’, i.e. individuals of Hungarian origin living abroad. However, as we shall see, much would be lost in translation by jumping from “beyond the borders” to something as vague and general as “abroad!" Hungarian Diaspora in the Carpathian Basin ( Source ) “Hungarians beyond the borders” are Hungarian-speaking ethnic minorities living in neighboring states that have acquired two brand new rights regardless of where “beyond the borders” of Hungary they are actually located: they have been on the fast track for naturalization as Hungarian citizens since 2011 and they have legally participated in the Hungarian parliamentary elections in March 2014. This unified legal picture viewed from “within the borders” of Hungary, howeve...

Reflections While Waiting on a Bus in Riga

by James Fleener A product of the profit motive: Trilingual menu in Riga. “If you feel to be a cat…” (source: author’s personal collection, picture taken in Riga) On a cold and snowless February dusk, I found myself in Riga with a couple of hours to spare while waiting for a bus to Tallinn.  I had been making rather brisk progress through the cities of Eastern Europe in my attempt to be a proper flâneur in Balzac’s sense of the word.  I started in Prague where I immediately bought a train ticket for the latest night train anywhere else.  With ticket in hand, and therefore lodging determined for the night, I spent the next 14 hours feasting my eyes on the streets of Prague.  I strolled up and down Wenceslas Square dozens of times, imagining the events of the 1968 Prague Spring with sadness and the 1989 Velvet Revolution with consolation.  After walking around Prague late into the night in snow bathed by the yellow street lights, I boarded the train t...