I would like to say Thank You to gdraskoy to share with us his personal story!
(the photos published in the article are from gdraskoy, too!)
Many people wrote about the revolution, I would say only that much that I took part in it in Budapest, at the Széna tér. And because of this, I had to leave Hungary when the police was looking for me.
I chosed the hardest way to get out. I escaped to Yugoslavia, where I was put in a jail because there was no other place to keep us away from the population. From there, we went to a camp where food was good but we were not allowed to go out of the camp.
Soon it was time to move us again. This time it was to a well known internment camp, Gerovo, which is now in Croatia. At this place, beating by the guards was a daily routine. Fortunately nothing lasts forever, the Italian Red Cross took us to the Italian Alps where we were finally treated as humans.
(our guardian angel in the refugee camp)
Seven months later, after 8 days of seafaring we arrived to Montreal. I became a landed emigrant in Canada. Many people in Hungary envied us. They envied that we were in Canada and free, but this freedom did not came easy. As an emigrant, I was called many times a 'DP' (which means "displaced person"). Despite this, I considered myself very lucky because the Forestry University from Sopron escaped as a whole with students and professors. The University of British Columbia gave them a new home. I was amongst the lucky few who were allowed to join the Sopron University here in Vancouver.
Arriving to Canada and not speaking English closed nearly all doors in front of us. I was in Vancouver for a week when I tried to get directions in the city, and immediately I was told: "if you want to live in Canada you must learn English".
Upon graduation, looking for job was a nightmare. The first question was always: What is your experience? No experience= no job! At that time, my only job experience was dishwashing at the University cafeteria.
This lack of experience in my resume changed when I found a job in Newfoundland. I was working with '4-H Clubs' and it was from here that I could go to my final destination the Newfoundland Provincial Parks.
The salary was lousy but I loved my job and it gave me limitless opportunity to photograph nature.
()It was my job to produce park pamphlets for the Provincial Parks, so I was photographing interesting places where park visitors from other provinces can go to visit. Now you know why I loved that job!
Now looking back, looking back half a century later, most of us had forgotten the difficult times. We can only remember Canada gave us a new home and new opportunities.
In exchange, as a Hungarian Forester I paid it forward to Canada since Hungarian Foresters are widely recognized during the 50th anniversary celebrations.
As for Hungary, my contribution to the revolution was recognized. They had acknowledged me with the 'Hero of Freedom' medallion.
Today, I am 77 years old and retired for 20 twenty years, but I still would say proudly: I am a Canadian, who never forget that I AM also a Hungarian!
