“We must all be friends of Hungary”

The Friend of Hungary Award will be presented for the fifth time in 2022. One of the winners is the Hungarian-American Coalition, the largest umbrella organization of the American Hungarian community, founded 31 years ago by, among others, Edith Lauer, who unfortunately could not attend the conference. The award went to her daughter Andrea Lauer Reiss, president of the Hungarian-American Coalition, whom we asked about their activities and goals.

What are the main goals of the coalition?

When we were founded, we had a very specific set of goals, but I think some of them have evolved over time. We continue with some of our original goals. For example, monitoring the human rights of ethnic Hungarian communities in surrounding countries. We are also very active in finding ways to strengthen our community so that we can better strengthen ties and build bridges with Hungary and with the ethnic Hungarian communities around the Carpathian Basin. Our scholarship and internship programs serve one of our most important goals: providing leadership training and opportunities for the next generations of Hungarians, not only from Hungary but from across the region, to come to the U.S., gain experience, build its network. It also remains a big goal to bring Hungarian leaders to the US to share their stories in their own words with US decision makers, and to bring our leadership to Hungary and the Carpathian Basin so they can see it with their own eyes. This can make a huge difference.

One of your big projects right now is a fundraising campaign for refugees from Ukraine. How it works?

The aim of this campaign is to provide humanitarian aid to refugees coming from Ukraine to Hungary. We were among the first to launch such a campaign in the US. Almost hours after launching the Facebook campaign, I got a call from several of our member organizations and they said, “I was just about to do this, but can we just link to yours?” It was a really great example of what we can accomplish , when the whole community works together. We’ve raised about $120,000 now since we launched and the projects are fantastic. We work together with the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service, Hungarian Inter-Church Aid, local governments and also the Rehabilitation Hospital in Odessa, as a mobile pediatric inpatient unit manufactured by the Hungarian company Continest has been transported there.

You mentioned in your speech another big project that was your personal dream.

A brand new statue of a female freedom fighter by world-renowned American sculptor Stan Mullins will be unveiled on October 23rd in downtown Atlanta, a beautiful location. 14 feet tall, made of Georgia granite. We will have a plaque that is dedicated to all the donors who contributed to this. We will have a QR code in front of the statue that will lead to a website with the full history and personal stories of the donors. We will have a multimedia exhibition, grand opening, speeches. It will be a very big and exciting event. I was truly honored and fortunate to be able to record the stories of so many people. I think this is a huge moment in history globally, but also personally for all these people. Now, through the statue, through the website, through the multimedia exhibition, we can show these stories to a much wider audience.

What is the story behind the unique gift you brought to President Katalin Novak?

Stan Mullins had this brilliant idea to make trophy-sized bronze replicas of the statue and give them to major donors. It is very symbolic that the first one I gave to someone was the one I brought with me to Budapest and gave to President Katalin Novak. The first female president of Hungary, the youngest president, mother of three children. It was an honor to meet her and present her with this statue.

You mentioned in your speech at the conference that of the approximately 1.4 million people with Hungarian roots in the US, one million do not speak Hungarian. Is reaching them just a matter of using English instead of Hungarian, or does it require a different approach as well?

This is a key question. The majority of people with Hungarian roots in the US are second, third, fourth generation. How do you get to them? We have great programs that focus on a part of the Hungarian speaking community, they already have basic interests, knowledge and experience. But I want to remind people and organizations again and again that we cannot forget the people who do not speak Hungarian, because they are the vast majority of our community. ReConnect Hungary, for example, is a fantastic program that one of our member organizations, the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation, does. He takes young Hungarian Americans to Hungary and Transylvania, tours them and helps them make connections and deepen their understanding. In addition, there are many opportunities for scholarship and internship programs. The coalition organizes the Hungarian Festival in Atlanta, where thousands of people show up and celebrate their heritage. Anyone can learn about Hungarian cuisine, folk dances or inventions without speaking Hungarian.

What are the things in your experience that US decision makers don’t understand about Hungary?

I think historical context is always important, especially when dealing with minority issues and human rights for ethnic Hungarians. For example, before the war, describing the problem of the language law in Ukraine required several levels of conversation. There is a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to Hungary right now because the political culture in the US is pretty toxic right now. You’re either on one side or the other.

How can you navigate this landscape?

Our challenge in the Coalition has always been to remain independent and bipartisan. This is extremely difficult and important because we are working with eight different US administrations and six different Hungarian governments. We have to walk the fine line. I think our biggest role is to provide the context and maintain the lines of communication.

How do the Coalition and the Friends of Hungary Foundation cooperate? What do you think of the annual conference?

This is a fantastic networking opportunity for anyone. I love that this is such an international group. I would like us to find ways to work better together. We talked about contacting the members of Friends of Hungary to do interviews with the 56. It didn’t take off right away and then COVID hit. So it’s not something we’ve done yet, but I’d like to try to do it, especially with so many wonderful people gathered together. This would be a great opportunity to try and get some stories. It provides context and provides connection. And these are all things that we can build on together to help friends of Hungary get the word out and do what President Katalin Novak mentioned: to amplify the voices of friends of Hungary. We must all be friends of Hungary.

Photos from Hungary Today