Even the St. Elizabeth Hungarian Catholic Church fell victim to the riots in Calgary. Who will own Canada? Is reconciliation or civil war awaiting the world's most livable country? Interview with Zsolt Bede Fazekas, owner of Hungarian Radio in Toronto.
There have been recent events that have caused great upheaval in Canadian society. It started with immigration, continued with the actions of the Black Lives Matter movements, then came the movements of the LGBTQ groups and now the indigenous Indians also thought that the time had come and they would take revenge on the colonizers, but at least they try to make the most of the situation and demand back everything that it was once theirs. Is it possible to see a connection between the emergence of different movements?
I think yes, they come together somewhere. Now that these mass graves have been dug up, there have been some pretty violent protests in Canada. Statues fell, churches burned. I talked to a police officer and he said that he noticed that even though the natives showed up at the demonstrations, the violence was largely provoked by the same anarchists who were also at the BLM demonstrations. They appeared and tried very hard to knock down the statues of the founders of the state. This thing comes together somewhere.
I am a first-generation Canadian, my children were born here, but I talked to a second-generation Canadian Hungarian who was also born here, who said that the tragic thing about this is that the essence of Canada is being taken away. And the essence of this country is that it is diverse. We have finally reached the point where all kinds of people live, or have lived side by side, in happiness and peace. Now it turns out that actually a significant part of Canadians are not even proud of their past, maybe they don't even know their history, they have never dealt with it. I always bragged at home about how patriotic they are, how much they love their country, and then here is this year's Canada Day, July 1st, the country's birthday. I go down to the Ethiopian cafe here and argue with the little girl working there about why I miss the celebration. Because this year the Trudeau government decided not to celebrate the country's birthday. It is as if in Hungary, on the pretext of a historical event from the past, we suddenly do not celebrate the founding of the state, do not fly the flags and act as if the Hungarian state does not exist. This is how I felt here in Canada. An older Canadian lady also came into the cafe, and from then on, together with the seller, the two of them scolded me for being ashamed, because we have no reason to remember, because what hogwash happened and let's hang our heads and be ashamed. Now then, should we forget that we live in one of the most livable countries in the world and forget what this country has achieved and reached in the past centuries?
The Egerton Ryerson who created these residential schools, after whom a university is named, also created the country's elementary school system. Like Kúnó Klébersberg , a very big name in education. But the statue was taken down in Toronto, and perhaps the university will be renamed. These schools were ravaged by epidemics, the children often went hungry, but we lived through a period of history when they were deprived not only there, but everywhere in the country.
What did these children die of? Was evidence of violence found?
Of course, there were beatings, physical violence, and punishment, because there was an army of children to keep under control. One hundred and fifty thousand children attended these schools! I guess there was also sexual violence, unfortunately. However, many Canadians, like this Ethiopian girl, believe that they were taken there and had their throats cut to write off the natives. That's not true. A local bishop in the suburbs of Toronto commented that we should try to see the good in the operation of these schools, and there has not yet been a study or a demonstration as to why exactly these children died. By the way, this bishop is no longer a bishop, he was forced to resign! He's right somewhere though.
Before 2015, 3,200 deaths were reported, and in recent weeks this number has risen to 4,100. So, out of the hundred and fifty thousand, 4,100 children died. That's a lot! But in 49 percent of deaths, the cause was not documented. It is certain that tuberculosis claimed the most victims, followed by influenza (Spanish flu) and pneumonia.
We know of only six suicides, fifty-seven drowned, forty in school fires, thirty-eight in various accidents, and thirty-three died while running away. They could bury children in mass graves because the epidemic came, there were many corpses, and many families were so poor that they could not even transport the dead home. The accusation that they have been dishonored is also being floated over the church there. Yes, there may be some truth in this as well, but I have not yet seen a study where there are any specific figures for this. What there is something about is epidemics and accidents. They don't want to talk too much about these, because it would soften the edge of the accusations a little. Epidemics took their toll in every school in the country. Seems. they want the Canadian to live with guilt. Of course, this is not a beautiful chapter in Canada's history, but somehow the rightful pain of the Indians should be approached differently and alleviated. By no means, by breaking the citizens' pride, trying to erase the country's history, overthrowing World War II. of Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and the explorer Captain Cook , as well as ministers, governors and influential public figures. They are trying to erase everything from history. which led to Canada becoming accepting, livable, beautiful and good.
In whose interest is it to change history?
We live in a country where political correctness is pushed to the limit. When the BLM movement started, we were right in the middle of the epidemic. Our Prime Minister, Trudeau, did not move from his apartment and the first time he came out, he knelt in public on the street. It is the same with the LGBTQ movement and the gender issue. This country is very careful not to offend anyone or anything, but at the same time it tramples on the souls of the majority. I spoke to a parent who went to the nursery with her children. Each of the pictures on the wall of the corridor depicted a family. One shows a father with a child, the other shows two fathers, and the third shows two mothers. All kinds of families are there, but there is not a single traditional family on the wall. In such cases, you have the opportunity to complain, but the parent did not say anything because he thought so. this can be a problem. The Canadians are waking up, speaking up here and there, but don't end up like the United States! There, the parents were taken away in handcuffs in Virginia because they dared to speak to the school board. For what the Hungarian law has now said: parents should be allowed to raise their children, the school or the school board should not decide what kind of education the child receives. We are also not far from the pot suddenly spilling over, peaceful Canadians start shaking their fists and saying that it is not good that while the majority is infinitely tolerant, a minority is not at all tolerant towards them. And if we see something differently, we are immediately homophobic.
Do they have the same tolerance for Indians?
If you're wondering if we Canadians are tolerant of Indians, I'd have to say yes. But if you go to a reserve, you see that they live in terrible conditions, even though the government gives a lot of money to the reserves. Indians seem unable to change their destiny, even though the opportunity is in their own hands. Years ago, I took a theater group from Toronto to Győr, which was created in order to bring plays to the reserves on the orders of the bosses about the problems they are struggling with there. Drug use, suicide, alcoholism, family violence, etc. These plays were performed for the Indians, trying to convince them not to blame the white man for all their troubles, but to try to regain their self-respect and pride. And it doesn't work! And now there's this "back the land" thing. But if the lands are returned, what happens? At most, a few people start hunting and fishing. But the Indians also did not accept that fishing should be regulated. A film was made about this, which I also took to Hungary. If I saw that there was a strong Indian nation full of talent, artists, politicians, lawyers, and so on, I would say okay, they are right. Unfortunately, I don't see that, but I'm really sorry, because since my childhood I have looked at them with special reverence, who embodied freedom, pride and courage. I don't see that here at all.
How does this get to the point where the Indian minority attacks the Hungarian minority's church and damages it?
This is nothing but blind hatred, which is also fueled by others. They didn't look at what kind of church that nationality was, there was the St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Calgary, there was a cross on the tower, and they threw in the windows and poured red paint over its walls. There were churches that were burned to the ground and it didn't matter which community's church it was. Eastern European immigrants have nothing to do with what happened to the Indians. The Poles raised II. of János Pál in Edmonton, and that statue was also desecrated.
Although the government is helping, many lawsuits have taken place and the Indians have won compensation. For example, even a few hundred meters from us live Indians and Eskimos, natives who were picked up from the street and received housing, state support, and help. When Tamás Cseh visited us, I took him down, we knocked on the office, God forbid, the office manager was a Hungarian lady whose husband is Indian.
We don't even really understand what they want, what should happen?! To rewrite the history of Canada, to erase everything that is the past of this country? The Indians now want to settle these issues using the old method, they set fire and destroy. But we don't know exactly who is committing this vandalism, as I have heard of a case where it was clear that the Indians were incited or another group committed the crimes. The chiefs told the Indians not to do it, not to try to take revenge like this. But the genie is out of the bottle, this thing is unstoppable.
Just like gender and LGBTQ issues, it will tip over at some point and it won't end well. At one point, someone hits back and guns fire on both sides. Now the Indians should stand up and show that they still have the old pride!
László B. Németh
Image credit: Calgary Sun
