Hungarian Revolution 1956
In 1956, Hungarian protesters revolted against their Communist government and the government’s Soviet allies. For two weeks, the country embraced independence and broadcast their freedom from the major radio stations and towers in Budapest. My grandmother was in one of those radio towers helping the resistance get their message out.
The revolutionaries hoped that their brave acts would spark action from the west, and that the US would aid them to maintain their foothold on independence. Unfortunately for the revolutionary movement, the US did not respond, instead Russian tanks rolled in and quickly crushed the student led revolt.
As the tanks rolled in my grandmother and her three children including my mother escaped the country by night. They hid in a garbage truck and gained secret passage into Switzerland.
While the US was not able to aid Hungary militarily, we did something of incredible power. We opened our boarders to the refugees of the Hungarian revolution. My grandmother who rang out the message of liberty and freedom from the Budapest radio towers, my mother and her two brothers, my grandfather, all were eventually let into America as refugees because if they were forced to return to Hungary my grandmother might have been killed and her family destroyed.
Not long after arriving in the United States, my mother’s family was invited to the White House to meet President Eisenhower. They were not turned away by fear that they too might be communists just because they came from a communist country. They were welcomed as examples of the human spirit to fight against tyranny.
My grandparents were artists, they travelled the world and represented their new country and home the USA. They were revered in museums across the globe from the MET in New York City to museums and art communities in Japan, China, Australia, and Europe.
My mother and two uncles all earned doctoral degrees, one became a heart surgeon saving American lives, one became a University Professor of psychology teaching America’s youth and expanding the field of behavioral psychology research in the USA. My mother received her PhD in biochemistry at an Ivy League school, forwarding American leadership in Science.
I write this note in response to the horror of what our new President has done in just his first week in office. He has closed the door to refugees seeking a better life in the USA. By denying entry to our country, Trump is denying America’s greater self and hamstringing America’s future.
Trump’s illegal actions not only deny refugee access to America, but even deny access to people who have green cards and have lived here legally for years. These are people that have already made America great! Scientists who grew up in other countries but came to the US to pursue their research and make America great. Migrants farmers who came to this country to help with the harvest and grow the food of the country and make America great. Doctors who work in our hospitals saving American lives and make America great. Businesswomen and men who build companies to make our economy strong and make America great.
Trump is basically saying. America is too scared to believe in the core values of our country and our immigrant selves to let anyone else in. America is too scared to invite those who revolted against tyranny in their own countries. America is too scared to lead the world any more. No instead we will hide behind walls. We will hide behind boarder guards and illegal executive actions. I will not invite refugees to visit the White House, I will kick them out, and leave them to their fate, no matter how brave they are and how much they might contribute to our society.
In one week in office, Trump has made a trash heap of America’s past greatness. My mother was a refugee and Eisenhower let her in. Today, Trump would prefer she die in some other land.
