Hungarian is the language of freedom - emphasized President Katalin Novák, commemorating the 1956 revolution and freedom struggle before the Hungarian community of Melbourne in Australia on Sunday.
At the ceremony organized in the Hungarian Center, the President of the Republic emphasized: October 23 is the biggest holiday of the diaspora, on this day there is something to live for and something to mourn.
We live our Hungarianness, the love of freedom, the self-evident togetherness of the Hungarian nation across borders. We mourn those who gave their lives and blood for our freedom, we mourn the physical distance between us, the lives fought for, the separation of families, the forced emigration, said Katalin Novák.
On October 23rd, Hungarians living in the motherland, the Carpathian Basin and the Diaspora are also included.
- he pointed out, adding: today we celebrate what unquestionably connects us, as we share a common language, history and holidays.
He also reminded us that we have to fight for the freedom we have won every day.
"It is not only our opportunity, but also our obligation to do what the ancestors of 1956 fought for, for a free and strong Hungarian nation".
Katalin Novák emphasized that it is her constitutional task and responsibility as president of the republic to deal with the Hungarians of the world, her first trip to Australia led to the Hungarians living in the diaspora. He added that during the five years of his presidency, he will visit all major Hungarian communities scattered around the world. He recalled that in Toronto they opened a church and a community center with the Hungarian community, just as they will do the same in Brisbane in a few days.
Katalin Novák said that before the ceremony, she visited the Árpád Old People's Home, where only Hungarians live, several of whom recalled how they experienced October 1956.
Hungarian is the language of freedom
- stressed Katalin Novák, highlighting: those who truly and essentially understand Hungarian will never surrender to oppressive dictatorships. Hungary has never been the cradle of dictatorships, autocratic regimes have never been able to take deep roots there.
He recalled the 1956 Summer Games in Melbourne, which "turned out to be the most dramatic instead of the most successful Hungarian Olympic performance of all time." As he said, 1956 provides a moral foundation on which we can build today's decisions.
Source: Katalin Novák's Facebook page
This is also why we reunited the nation in a legal sense, this is why we give Hungarian citizenship and the right to vote to Hungarian compatriots living outside our borders - pointed out Katalin Novák, adding: we sent a message to all directions of the wind rose that all Hungarians are equal, live anywhere in the world, because "the Hungarian the Hungarian, s point".
We, Hungarians, are a world nation - said the President of the Republic, adding: we did not become a world nation because we wanted to, but because history shaped us that way.
Referring to the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, he said that Hungary condemns the aggression of Russia and Hamas and wants to avoid escalation.
He also emphasized that "we stand by the innocent victims and peace, because the Hungarian people want peace. We Hungarians want peace, we want to preserve our hard-earned peaceful life," he emphasized. After the commemoration, the President of the Republic Katalin Novák awarded the Hungarian Bronze Cross of Merit to folk dance teacher Marcella Paska, president of the Hungarian Television in Melbourne, in recognition of her work for the preservation of the Hungarian communities living in the state of Victoria, Australia, and the preservation of Hungarian culture.
Márta Marót, president of the Hungarian Council of Victoria (VMT), also gave a speech at the event, and a wreath was placed at the 1956 memorial.
On Sunday morning, Katalin Novák attended a service in the Hungarian Reformed Church, where Bishop Zoltán Balog, the pastor president of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, preached. The bishop spoke about the importance of the arrival of the soul, the importance of being together, understanding each other, and belonging. He talked about the importance of daily scripture reading. He also reminded that a Hungarian Reformed church will be consecrated in the city of Brisbane on the occasion of Reformation Day.
MTI
Featured image: Katalin Novák's Facebook page
