Opportunities for the Csángós to receive education in the Hungarian language

The following are extracts from the lectures of Ms Szilvia Róka (Chairman of MCSMSZ) (Csángó-Hungarian Association), Ms Erzsébet Borbáth (teacher, Csíkszereda/Miercurea Ciuc), Fr Lajos Berszán (St Elisabeth Educational Centre, Gyímesközéplok/Lunca de Jos), Mr Attila Hegyeli (instructor, Klézse), Fr Csaba Böjte (Franciscan friar, St Francis Foundation, Déva).

“Anyone, who has gone on a pilgrimage to Csíksomlyó/Sumuleu Ciuc, is no longer allowed to serve at a mass!” said a priest from Csángó Land (a part of Moldavia inhabited by Hungarian-speaking natives) in 2005. Here in Tusnád/Baile Tusnad, in the Pavilion of Regional Development, lecturers presented to the audience the opportunities of Csángós to receive education in Hungarian, by taking this sentence as a starting-point.

Ms Erzsébet Borbáth, retired director of the József Attila School in Csíkszereda introduced the first attempts of Hungarian education received by Csángós in Székely Land (in Eastern Transylvania). The education of children from Csángó Land in the Hungarian language commenced in 1990 after previous initiatives in the aforementioned school. Their purpose was to fully train Csángó Hungarian intellectuals, who had been totally missing from the purely Romanian-speaking community. As first, 33 senior students and 28 students in the eighth form commenced their studies in Csíkszereda. It was an unusual and sometimes unmanageable situation for everyone, for the children already studying at this school and having a good command of Hungarian together with the teachers, often lost their patience with the slower pupils, who were only then getting familiarised with the language. However, everyone felt that these children were in need of “a second mother and a second father” in that strange and, for them often, desolate town. “We all knew that it can’t be done without whole-hearted affection!”

By now, 40 former Csángó schoolboys and schoolgirls have earned a degree in Hungary or Transylvania.

However, the teachers and the organisers realised that it would do no good for the children, if they were torn away from their familiar environment and, therefore, they started organising education in Moldavia.

Attila Hegyeli, the ‘Blessed Lunatic’, as the moderator put it, carried on the lecture. He teaches Hungarian language in Moldavia to children living there. He said that in the beginning Hungarian language courses had been taught after official classes, posing a number of problems, while sensing the disapproval of the authorities and the church. In addition, we had a lot of trouble trying to convince the parents for their fear of reprisals from the authorities. Despite the circumstances, we joined forces and could manage.

Today, Hungarian classes are taught at schools in altogether thirteen of 45-50 settlements inhabited by Csángó Hungarians in Moldavia. It gives us a sense of achievement. It means that of approximately sixty thousand Csángó Hungarian-speaking natives in Moldavia, there are 9,500 school-age children, of whom only 10 percent can do Hungarian language courses officially. Their work continues as Szilvia Róka, the Chairman of MCSMSZ would like to build a school with the aid of Fr Csaba Böjte, Franciscan friar. Fr Csaba Böjte said that if things were going well, construction works might begin in the spring of 2006.

It means a lot to the children that they can learn Hungarian, for in addition to the command of the language, their consciousness of identity also develops and improves. They will know where they belong. “I consider myself a Székely Hungarian and the children consider themselves Csángó Hungarians, but we under no circumstances feel being different from those Hungarians living in Hungary” – said Fr Csaba Böjte.

(Translation: Csilla Takács)