"We shouldn't be afraid when it comes to the physical and mental health of our children, and in every war, whether it's a literal bloody or an ideological war, their future is at stake" - we talked to Kinga Szőnyi, president of the Women's Association, about the war, the LGBT lobby about its domestic rise and a cross-border initiative that cries out for peace.
You launched an initiative called the "Women for Peace" mission on the one-year anniversary of the war. Who was the mastermind, how did the mission start, and what do we mean by internationality?
The mission started completely by chance, at the initiative of Boglárka Bánné D. Gál, the president of the County Assembly of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, singer Kata Kiss and myself. Anyway, we are good friends, Kata and I have already had several events together, and she called me when she was in Transcarpathia and told me what was needed. And I replied that I would like to start the "Women for Peace" movement, which if they would join, perhaps we could unite not only our compatriots living in Hungary and the Carpathian Basin, but also those who are willing to stand by us - worldwide.
Photo: Péter Mészáros
Kata Borsodi, so the first press conference was held in Miskolc, and then with the chairman of the Fejér County Assembly, dr. We met Krisztián Molnár. He also expressed his intention to join, and this is important because from now on, the presidents of the general assembly can also turn to the mayors with proposals or ask for help, which I think everyone agrees with.
I doubt that there is a person in Hungary today who would not wish for a ceasefire and peace.
That's how this joint journey began. I admit, my original plan would have been the fourth of December last year, the anniversary of the women's silent demonstration of '56, but life had a different plan. However, during the fasting period, we pray for peace, and I think this is worthy of Hungarian women.
You can read more about the initiative HERE!
There are winners in this war, but the fact is that the vast majority are losers in one way or another. Can we believe that the real decision-makers will hear the voice of the majority?
You just asked about our end goal. Because that's what we want to achieve, so that our voice is heard. Hear the voice of civilians! Because we don't collect data, names or e-mail addresses, we only ask that as many people as possible follow, like, comment on the "Women for Peace" Facebook page, write that they agree with the initiative, because only the number of our followers will influence the in lat. We don't want to get anyone's data, let alone misuse it, I really want to emphasize that.
But in order for our voice to be heard, it is absolutely important that the page has a sufficient number of followers,
In addition, the desire for peace of many people should reach the decision-makers in Brussels. I believe in this, which is why I think not only in Hungary and the Carpathian Basin, but all over the world in people with the same way of thinking as us, civil organizations, companies, groups, and families who also join the initiative.
To be able to prove that it is not possible to send people to the slaughterhouse for either political or economic interests.
I always say that there are a lot of decision-makers with families in Brussels, so I ask: are they really not ashamed of sending husbands, fathers, and sons of other families to the front? While their relatives are sitting peacefully in armchairs!
Let's add that all this is done after two world wars, in the 21st century.
That's true. Mrs. Von Der Leyen has seven children, including two boys, so we would not expect this attitude from her! And this reminds me: contrary to the name of the mission, we are not only waiting for women to join, but also for men.
Have you visited Transcarpathia or met refugees?
Kata Kiss regularly visits Transcarpathia with the arrivals. We received the first big request, and we would like to buy this, above all, from the donations received: a water pump for a school. I would emphasize that we will only purchase equipment that is really needed in Transcarpathia, but if it comes to that, we will also help widowed mothers and half-orphaned children.
We are a public benefit organization, our work is strictly transparent, so the spending of donations will also be transparent. On the Facebook page, we will continuously indicate what we have spent the money on, of course, so that those who have donated cannot be put in danger because of us. I would also like to emphasize that the goal is not only to help Hungarian children studying in Transcarpathia, but also Ukrainian children living there.
To what extent do the Transcarpathian Hungarians react uniformly to the situation, how do they live with the fact that their husbands and sons are being taken away as soldiers in such a way that - to put it mildly - their lives were not easy even before the war?
Well, it really wasn't. Many people know our work, we have been supporting the people living there for a long time, together with several NGOs, we have been working together to help them for years, so we see the amazing difficulties in which they live. And then came this horror, you can imagine what a terrible situation they were in.
Isn't this a bit of a split consciousness?
Of course. Just yesterday we received a message from a teacher who, when she found out that we would grant what she asked for, cried and said that she was ashamed to ask. We didn't even understand. They can be under huge censorship, we know about things that, if we told them, the people involved would get into trouble. We have all seen the video recordings of the forced queues on the Internet, and it is already common knowledge that it is mandatory for schools to submit the data of boys who have reached the age of 16. And this is quite scary, especially in light of the fact that a soldier in Donbas lives for four hours after being sent to the front. What are we talking about?
What does a believer do with the fact that the warring parties, especially their relatives, the women, parents, and children who stayed at home pray to the same God?
I have a very profane opinion on this, I think it can't be otherwise. We accept refugees, regardless of their native language, because it is our duty to help.
It's no coincidence that the slogan "Women for peace" appears in 15 languages on our Facebook page, including Ukrainian and Russian.
There can only be one goal before us, and that is peace, regardless of who lives in which country or according to which religion. The only solution to peace is love. It's what brings us together. Mother Teresa put it very well:
"If we don't have peace, it's because we've forgotten that we belong together."
If the longed-for peace or at least a cease-fire does happen, a very frustrated Ukraine with still unknown borders, hostile to our country, and armed to the teeth will remain here. As a mother of two adult sons, how do you see the future in light of everything?
A US representative recently said that supporting the war in Ukraine is a hard economic interest for the US. They refined this later, but the fact remains: it is a financial, economic, and political interest. And they will fight to the last Ukrainian soldier. So I'm not at all reassured about what will happen after peace.
There is a war going on on another front and in another dimension: what do you think about the rise of the LGBTQ lobby in Hungary?
The situation is very sad. Already in the early 2010s, there were those who fought to raise the age of consent in order to curb prostitution and protect girls. I agree that the age limit for marriage should be raised from 14 to 18, and in those communities where marriage as a minor is accepted, education would be needed. I don't like to use America as an example, but I will do one thing:
there, it is forbidden to drink alcohol under the age of 21, even though a few bottles of beer for a young person carry fewer dangers than a marriage concluded in adolescence.
In this regard, we could even adapt to the US approach. If the child protection referendum were held now, after what has happened recently, I am sure it would be even more effective.
Will we be able to fend off the global pressure, the cultural assimilation that we are witnessing, and it is pouring down on our children?
Education. This is the key. In the West, there is already some backlash regarding the gender reassignment of children, from puberty blockers to surgery, clinics have been closed, laws are being reviewed, so it seems as if the light of normality is starting to flicker. We, civilians, have only one task, to make our voices heard.
And I don't care if this puts a cross on my forehead, we don't allow our children to be indoctrinated either.
I respectfully ask, if Zsolt B.'s school had long known what this pedagogical assistant was doing, why did they only ask him to be more discreet and make his videos inaccessible to the children? How could you continue to deal with children? Who is to blame for not removing him from school immediately? Therefore, we should not be afraid when it comes to the physical and mental health of our children, and in every war, be it a literally bloody or an ideological fight, their future is at stake.
