Zsolt Jakabffy answered God’s calling twice: first, when he became a pastor, and then when he moved to California from Transylvania, with the mission of helping the local Hungarian community preserve both their Christian faith and their Hungarian identity. An interview with the reverend who is also the principal of the Hungarian Sunday school,

‘It’s very interesting to see to what extent we can acknowledge the fact that diaspora life automatically implies linguistic and cultural assimilation. There’s a growing geographical dispersion; mobility is very characteristic in North America…In 2018 we finally started to talk…about how we see the community, what our strengths and weaknesses are, what we can learn and what challenges we face.’

An in-depth interview with German teacher Gergely Tóth, who went to the University of Berkeley, California 26 years ago for a doctoral program, then soon became immersed in local Hungarian community life. Since then, his voluntary work has extended from making oral history interviews to photographing objects and markers on four continents and collecting archival material of the Hungarian diaspora.

‘We’ve been approached much more often by local American organizations to present Hungarian culture to various schools or other groups as part of a larger, multicultural performance. These collaborations have been so invigorating for our whole team that we’ve come to the conclusion that this could be the path for us. This was one of our missions in the first place: to open up to others.’

In October 1951, Zoltán Vasvári, a.k.a. ‘Zolibá’, a former Hungarian military officer, gathered the sons of many Hungarian families in his New York apartment to introduce them to Hungarian scouting. Viktor Fischer joined the first patrol in the spring of 1952, and, as he puts it, ‘the scout bug has remained’ in him ever since. A conversation about a long and fruitful life, dedicated to teaching and to the Hungarian American community of the New York area.

Vadrózsa Dance Ensemble is the most prominent non-professional folk dance ensemble in Hungary. With 40 dancers and five musicians, the main mission of their American tour, which included five stops (New York, Washington, DC, Cleveland, Boston, and New Brunswick) was to showcase the diversity and virtuosity of the Carpathian Basin’s folklore through a fresh, youthful approach.

An in-depth interview with Katalin Petreczky, originally a German teacher, who, after moving to the United States, first led an international playgroup and preschool, then through her children became involved in the life of the Hungarian community by becoming the principal of the Arany János Hungarian School and by co-founding and leading the American Hungarian Schools’ Association.

The online conference presenting the varied and numerous activities of the organizations of the Hungarian American community in North California was held on 25 October, following up on the first part of the event that took place on 27 September.

An in-depth interview with Zsolt Molnár, who emigrated from Transylvania, Romania to the United States, where he ran a successful business until a tragic accident happened. He fell from a roof and broke his spine, after which he had to find a new occupation: he ended up taking over the Bocskai Radio in Cleveland, Ohio, which he turned into a radio station for the local Hungarian community.

‘The diaspora mentality finds the meaning of Hungarian identity in the traditional folk values ​​and advocates these throughout the world. It doesn’t isolate itself either from the world or from present-day Hungary but nurtures contacts with both; builds and maintains relationships everywhere. The idea of ​​a “borderless homeland” means “Wherever there is a Hungarian, there is Hungary.”’

‘Family, school, church, scouting. The combination of these four elements is the only way the Hungarian diaspora can survive in North America. Despite the lack of a perceivable enemy today, we give up ourselves,’ 1956er Gyula Varga, former principal of the Széchenyi Hungarian School and Kindergarten in New Brunswick and an active scout, said in an in-depth interview.

An in-depth interview with Zoltán Vass, son of a Transylvanian minister, who emigrated from Transylvania, Romania to America, initially to New York, then Hollywood, ultimately settling in Toronto 29 years ago as the minister of the First Hungarian Reformed Church. He also serves on the Board of the Hungarian Diaspora Council.

An in-depth interview with Franciscan Friar Barnabás G. Kiss, Pastor of the Hungarian Parish in Detroit, who has been serving in the U.S. for 40 years. While trying to keep various church communities alive in the Great Lakes region, he also strives to keep the Hungarian priests in the North American diaspora together and advocate their cause.

Father Imre serves a congregation that has many elderly Hungarian parishioners who look to him not only for their spiritual but also logistical needs. He also helps the local Hungarian institutions by baking and cooking meals as well as with the coordination of events of the Hungarian community. Father Imre also caters to a Hispanic community, so he celebrates Mass in three languages.

In 1989 scouting became again legally permitted in Hungary. Consequently, the émigré Hungarian Scout Association changed its name to the current one: Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris. Nowadays it comprises more than 70 troops on four continents, in 14 countries, organized into five districts (Western Europe, South America, USA, Australia and Canada), with a total of 2,950 members.

An in-depth interview with Zsuzsa Csajkás, co-founder of both the South Florida Hungarian Kids Club and the Hungarian Chamber of Business and Commerce in Florida. Born in Csíkszereda (Miercurea Ciuc, Transylvania), she moved to the States for better opportunities and later to pursue a business career, only to then become deeply involved in the life of the Hungarian American community after the birth of her son.

An in-depth interview with Anna (Panni) De Cheke Qualls, co-founder of the Hungarian Folklife Association, who moved to the States as a child with her family in the 1980s, then became actively involved in Hungarian folk dancing after her son, Leó became passionate about it. Now mother and son dance together in the Tisza Ensemble and Bátori Folk Dance Ensemble, where Panni also volunteers.

On 27 September an online conference organized jointly by the Diaspora Project Network of the University of Pécs and Kerko Media Ltd. featured Hungarian communities in San Francisco and its vicinity. The livestreamed discussion, followed in more than ten countries, was an impressive presentation of the diverse voluntary activities and exemplary cooperation of Hungarian organizations.

Both Emese and her husband, László Kerkay have been cultivators of the rich Hungarian historical and cultural heritage and overall active contributors to the life of the Hungarian community of Passaic, New Jersey, having served at the Hungarian school for over 30 years: Emese as teacher and principal, László as treasurer. Emese has also been an active scout since the age of six and was a founding member and for 25 years curator of the American Hungarian Museum of Passaic.

Éva Voisin is an accomplished lawyer, founder of the Hungarian American Chamber of Commerce and the Honorary Consul of Hungary for Northern California since 1993. She was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary in 2013, and is also the 2003 recipient of the Pro Auxilio Civium Hungarorum prize and numerous other awards for her pro-bono legal and civic activities.

An in-depth interview with Enkő Gorondi, founder and headmaster of the Aprókfalva Montessori Preschool and learning pod, a unique Hungarian daily educational institution in Piscataway, New Jersey; and her daughter, who, as a teacher, scout leader and folk dance teacher is also an active member of the local Hungarian community.

An in-depth interview with Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Programme scholars Ágnes and István Vámosi, who undertook the responsibility of teaching Hungarian folk dance in Los Angeles for two years with their little son, Pityke in tow.

Professor Puskás is a highly accomplished researcher, engineer and university professor living in the United States, who is still active in her field of chemical engineering. She has not only excelled professionally, but has also been an active member of the Hungarian Diaspora in America.

An in-depth interview with pianist and choir director Zsuzsánna Balla, who has lived in the United States for more than twenty years, and yet she and her family have preserved and continue to foster their Hungarian heritage, and are active and enthusiastic members of the Hungarian American community.

An in-depth interview with Erika and József Megyeri, former and current presidents of the Hungarian Communion of Friends, about their families’ emigration to the U.S., their involvement in the life of the local Hungarian community as teenagers, and how and why they decided to play a leading role in community building.

An in-depth interview with Eva Kazella, a prominent member of the Hungarian American community, about the deportation of her family from Communist Slovakia, the vicissitudes before starting a new life in the United States, her family, and the vibrant community life of Hungarian Americans.

‘After all these years, I’m in a phase where I really enjoy my work…I also feel that I’m well known in the local community and that many people come to see me, so my work is a success every day. If only two out of twenty patients thank me for changing their lives because, for example, they can work or because their migraines have stopped, that’s a very good feeling for me. I am also on good terms with my colleagues. My secretaries have learned how to make Hungarian espresso, for example, and when I go to the office, they wait for me with it.’

The documentary presents the most successful ever Hungarian national water polo team that won three consecutive Olympic golds and whose most iconic figure, team captain and then coach Tibor Benedek, passed away at a tragically young age.

‘After being rejected several times in Rome, Cabrini insists on meeting the Pope. While no woman before her has ever founded such an order, Leo the XIII is persuaded by the nun’s determination and allows her to set sail. However, he directs her to New York (instead of the Far East), where at the time two million Italian refugees were chasing the American dream. On their arrival to the Five Points neighborhood of New York, the six nuns are confronted with the reality that most of the immigrants there are victims of crime, prostitution, poverty, and disease.’

‘The movie thus comes to a happy ending for the family involved (apart from the horrors experienced by the minors), but we are not relieved after watching it. Not only because we know that this is a true story, which makes it even more harrowing to follow. But also because by the end of the movie, we also learn (if we were not already aware before) that child sex trafficking is a huge global social issue, and one of the fastest growing businesses (comparable to drug trafficking) affecting millions of children, with millions of abusers and the U.S. authorities not seeming to be truly committed to eradicating it.’