Cooperation between Hungary and Canada is “excellent”, the two countries have been helping each others’ citizens return home, trade turnover has been increasing and Hungary supports Canada’s membership in the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday.
He said in a Facebook entry that he had talked to Canadian counterpart Francois-Philippe Champagne over the phone.
In recent months, Canada helped 53 Hungarians travel home and Hungary helped 45 Canadians, he added.
He said the lessons of the pandemic must be learnt including the need for every country to have sufficient capacities in strategic industries in order to prevent becoming vulnerable.
He said
Canada was a close ally for Hungary in NATO, therefore Hungary will support Canada’s UN Security Council membership.
He added that trade turnover increased by 29 percent in the first two months of this year and that first experiences with the Canada-European Union free trade agreement were positive.
Did you know that the world’s shortest international bridge has been under Hungarian ownership since 1976?! The 9.5 meters long bridge crosses the St. Lawrence River, between the borders of the United States and Canada.
The nearly 1,200-kilometre-long St. Lawrence River served as the main transport route for European explorers, such as Jacques Cartier, the namesake of Canada. The huge river surrounds approximately 1,692 islands (according to other sources even more), whose size varies greatly – ranging from 0.09 m2 to 103.6 km2. While on the smaller sand heaps only a bush or a family house can be discovered, the larger islands give a home to entire communities.
Among the archipelagos of the river, the most exciting pair of lands are the Zavikon Islands, which means “Happy Tent” in the Indian language. The larger island has a territory of 1.5 hectares, while the smaller Kiwa is only 0.5 hectare.
After the border between the United States and Canada had been set along the St. Lawrence River in 1793, the more extensive land got into the ownership of Ottawa, while Washington owned the smaller one. In 1902, Elmer Andress entrepreneur built his “German-style” villa on the larger Canadian island of Zavikon. The merchant wanted to build a vegetable garden and a pier around his home that could be realised on the smaller Kiwa island. This was the point when the 9.5-meter-long wooden bridge was created between the two lands, that enabled him to cross the two islands easily.
Due to its speciality, the tiny bridge was named as the “backyard border crossing” by the North American press who also considered the wooden crossing as “the world’s shortest international bridge”.
Due to the propaganda, the larger island was hoisted by the British Empire (Canada had an independent flag from 1931), and the United States flagged the smaller one. Even a geodetic stone was erected in the middle of the smaller land. In 1967, the American-Canadian Boundary Commission placed the smaller island under Canadian jurisdiction, setting the new border 140 meters southwest of the southern tip of the former U.S. island. This amendment is still valid today.
Hungarian ownership
Due to the respect of traditions, the family living on the island still hoist the flags of the former dominating lords of the two river gems; accordingly, the Hungarian flag is also adorned in the middle of the small wooden bridge. No trick!
In 1976, the islands were bought by the Toronto-based Donald Rickerd and his wife of Hungarian descent, Julie Rékai Rickerd.
According to falanszter.blog.hu, Julie’s ancestors were among the elite of Canadian social life. Her mother, Kati Rékai was born in Budapest in 1921, under the name of Katalin Desider. With her husband Dr János Rékai, they escaped from the Hungarian communist regime in 1948. First, the family emigrated to Paris and then to Canada. Kati Rékai became famous for her 20-volume children’s book series, introducing the diversity of environment to the world’s multiethnic children. She was a leading member of the Canadian Writers Association, and had a significant role in the international promotion of Canadian literature – she organised reading tours, introductions and exhibitions for overseas authors. She considered the preservation of culture and relations of emigrant communities as one of her main tasks. The North American press also called her the “First Lady of Toronto.” Ottawa rewarded her work with the Canadian Cross of Valour.
Julie’s father, Dr János Rékai, was a surgeon who – along with his brother, Dr Pál Rékai – established Canada’s first “multicultural” hospital in 1957, communicating in 36 different languages. The medical centre and nursing home now operate as one of Toronto’s central hospitals. Dr János Rékai was also awarded the Canadian Cross of Valour.
U.S. non-essential travel restrictions across its borders with Canada and Mexico will be extended for another month due to the COVID-19, U.S. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said on Monday.
Wolf said in a statement that three countries made the extension decision “in close collaboration.”
“As President Trump stated last week, border control, travel restrictions and other limitations remain critical to slowing the spread and allowing the phased opening of the country,” he added.
The Trump administration last month adopted several travel restrictions against its two land neighbors and European countries as COVID-19 is spreading rapidly across North America and Europe.
The U.S. State Department’s travel advisory remains at Level 4, which instructs its citizens to avoid all international travels amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus.
According to a tally from Johns Hopkins University, the number of COVID-19 infections in the country has surpassed 766,000 as of Monday, with more than 41,000 deaths.
More than 16 people, including a police officer, were killed and several others wounded in a shooting spree in eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Sunday, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
At a press conference in Dartmouth of the province Sunday evening, Nova Scotia RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather confirmed there were at least 16 people killed in several locations across the province, including a RCMP officer.
Leather said that there may be more victims who have not been discovered yet and their investigation is continuing.
The gunman was identified as Gabriel Wortman, 51.
His shooting rampage began late Saturday night in Portapique, about 130 kilometers north of Halifax, the capital city of Nova Scotia.
Police first responded to a firearms complaint at a residence after receiving several 911 calls. They rushed to the residence, finding “several casualties” inside and outside of the home.”This was a very quickly evolving situation and a chaotic scene,” said Leather.
Calling on residents to remain in their homes with their doors locked, police secured the area in Portapique and started searching for the gunman in several sites in the area, including structures that were on fire.
Police began to chase the gunman and gunfire was exchanged between the police and the gunman. A female police officer was killed and a policeman injured.
The chase ended near a gas station about 35 kilometers north of Halifax around 12 a.m. Sunday local time when the gunman was killed.
“The fact that this individual had a uniform and a police car at his disposal certainly speaks to it not being a random act,” Leather said.
Leather said some of the victims did not appear to know the gunman.
In a statement, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his condolences. “My heart goes out to everyone affected in what is a terrible situation. I want to thank the police for their hard work and people for cooperating with authorities.”
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil expressed his shock to the horrific incident.
“This is one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province’s history.”
“Our hearts are heavy with grief and sadness today as we have lost one of our own. Our thoughts go out to our member’s family and friends,” said Brian Sauve, president of Canadian National Police Federation union, in a statement.
Two aircraft bringing home 257 Hungarians who were unable to return to Hungary from the US and Canada have taken off, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday.
Szijjártó told MTI that more than 5,500 Hungarians have been transported back so far as part of the “biggest homecoming scheme mounted in Hungarian history”.
Two aircraft set off early on Tuesday for the hundreds of Hungarians stuck in North America, he said.
People from five cities will be collected and the two aircraft will fly some 40,000kms, he added.
In addition to the 257 Hungarians who have asked for help in Canada and the US, eighteen Slovak citizens will also be transported home under the arrangements of central European and Visegrad Group cooperation, he said.
One of the aircraft will even land in Toronto to pick up a consignment of 4,000 masks donated to Hungarian health-care staff, he added.
The two aircraft are scheduled to land in Budapest on April 2. Work is continuing to bring home thousands of Hungarians who are still stranded around the world, Szijjártó said.
The government will not leave anyone in Hungary without assistance, the foreign minister said in parliament on Monday, adding that “we will bring Hungarians stranded abroad back home and we will restart the economy”.
Péter Szijjártó said that the government had acted in a timely manner to ensure that the country has sufficient supplies to fight the coronavirus epidemic. He noted that seven aircraft had arrived in Hungary with such supplies last week and another 20 cargo flights with “hundreds of tonnes” of supplies are expected.
The deliveries will include over 10 million face masks, 2.5 million rapid tests, 100,000 protective clothes, 300,000 pairs of gloves and over 2,000 respirators to help the country with its efforts and ensure protection for health care workers, the minister said.
On another subject, Szijjártó said that Hungary was conducting “the greatest repatriation operation of modern times” helping thousands of Hungarians return home from other countries. So far, the government has thus helped 5,538 Hungarian nationals, and is working to make travel arrangements for another 2,026, he said.
Currently, there are 477 Hungarians stranded in the United States and Canada, and the government will send two aircraft on Tuesday to bring them back, Szijjártó said.
In South America and in the Caribbean there are 243 Hungarians waiting for help, he said, adding that “the European Union has been late with its coordination” and the government is working with other central European countries.
Hungarians will be flown back from India in cooperation with Poland, Szijjártó said. Over 200 Hungarian employees will be taken home from Kazakhstan, he added.
Concerning the economy, Szijjártó said that Hungary must “protect its position of being the most attractive investment destination in central Europe, and the Hungarian companies’ achievements of making products and providing services that are competitive worldwide.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency in the Canadian capital city on Wednesday morning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Declaring a state of emergency will help our City Manager, Steve Kanellakos, and his team deploy our emergency operations in a quicker and more nimble fashion,” Watson said in a statement.
Watson said the declaration will also enable Ottawa city to buy medical equipment more easily.
“We’re moving to this state of emergency to ensure that we have the tools available to protect our healthcare workers and our residents,” said Watson.
“It is crucial that we, as a community, follow the direction from our federal, provincial, and municipal health officials if we want to be successful in this fight,” Watson added.
According to the most recent update, Ottawa has 25 confirmed COVID-19 cases. There are a total of 2,892 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths in Canada, according to CTV.
The upcoming 5G networks are catching headlines around the world, and not just because United States president Donald Trump is continually seeking new ways to try to squeeze Chinese tech giant Huawei – the world’s leading supplier of 5G network equipment.
From the power of 5G to unlock the ‘Internet of Things’ to bringing about improvements in daily quality of life, people are excited to get the next-gen networks in place, running, and connected to the general public. Nations across the continents are announcing that not only do they have 5G infrastructure in place, but their leading telecoms companies are preparing to switch on the networks.
While it will take time for people to move on to the smartphone technology which is capable of harnessing the power of a 5G network, it’s exciting to see that the networks are getting ready to go as soon as possible. Next on the list of nations switching on the 5G future appears to be Canada, with Hungary in hot pursuit.
Canada is preparing the launch of its first 5G network
The Rogers Canada advertisement for their upcoming 5G network, saying that it will revolutionise the way that we live tomorrow.
Canada has been preparing for 5G for nearly two years, but now, in 2020, the North American nation will launch its long-awaited super-fast network. The company spearheading the development, preparation, and eventual rollout of the first 5G network in Canada is Rogers Communications, a Canadian company founded 60 years ago.
On 15 January, Rogers Communications set a new milestone in Canada by officially switching on its new wireless 5G network in Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and in parts of Toronto.
The next-gen network is up and running but, as it stands, there aren’t any devices authorised to connect to the 5G. Rogers can now begin to work with smartphone development companies to enable them to deliver the technology to the market that gives users the power utilise 5G.
The first smartphone company to break into the new Canadian 5G user base looks set to be Samsung. On 6 March 2020, Rogers will offer plans for customers to buy the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G series which will be given access to the highly anticipated network. While 5G in Canada is currently only switched on in four major cities, Rogers plans to bring 5G to 20 more markets over the course of this year.
5G deployment is underway across the globe
A video by CNBC International explains why countries everywhere want to build 5G infrastructure and roll out the network across their jurisdictions.
While the concept of a 5G network and what it could bring isn’t anything new, it was only in April of last year that the first large-scale 5G network was realised. In South Korea, 5G mobile networks are available nationwide, with the nation launching its network two days earlier than anticipated to ensure that it lands the title of being the first country to have a 5G network.
Powered by providers SK Telecom, LC Uplus, and KT, South Korea beat Japan, China, and the United States to first place in the race for an ultra-fast network.
The tech-savvy nation ensured that Koreans would be stencilled into the history of 5G, with six celebrities – including Olympic gold medalist ice skater Kim Yeon-ah – becoming the world’s first 5G smartphone subscribers.
Other nations like the UK, China, Germany, the United States, and Japan also have 5G networks in place, with Hungary commissioning Huawei to build the country’s 5G network. Hungary took a stand against the US-spun coverage of the Chinese tech giant, with the minister of foreign affairs and trade, Péter Szijjártó, stating that as long as companies comply with Hungarian laws and regulations, the country will not discriminate against a company based on its nationality. As such, Huawei will partner Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone to build 5G networks across Hungary.
From Canada to Hungary, the new and upcoming recipients of 5G networks are beginning to unlock the power and possibilities that can come from such infrastructure.
Of course, at first, the almost science fiction-esque goals built on the ‘Internet of Things’ will be a long way away, but everyday users will quickly find that casual use of the internet becomes much, much better.
One of the most popular uses of the internet right now is streaming entertainment, from the latest shows and movies to online games. The power of 5G will make streaming much faster, more streamlined, and far more reliable. People who use the mobile internet to play any of the many unique online jackpots available, such as Serengeti Kings, Voyage of the Vikings, Greedy Dragon, and Hypernova Megaways, will find that games run smoother and load quicker. The same goes for video content streaming.
Of course, the 5G network may prove to be the base that the Google Stadia game subscription service should have waited for to launch. While its business model completely missed the mark, the main issue that has caused the ‘industry game-changer’ to flop is that current networks aren’t strong enough to handle what Stadia wants to deliver. But the 5G network could suddenly make triple-A video game streaming a viable venture.
How will 5G empower on-the-go internet users?
As described in the Digital Trends video above, 5G could change almost everything with a wireless connection.
Initially, when 5G rolls out across new countries like Canada and Hungary, the primary difference that the general public will notice is its speed and lack of latency. Everything that you currently do on your smartphones will become much quicker and much better. Loading times, wireless network signal drops, and slow download speeds will all become problems of the past for 5G users.
Moving forward, the hope is that the combination of speed and incredibly low latency will allow people to perform tasks in next-to real time.
4G networks are already rather fast, but 5G is on a completely different level.
It’s because of its reliability and speed that people can genuinely look forward to a future where we have self-driving cars on a road network powered by 5G, perhaps eliminating traffic jams and accidents altogether.
As we need to wait for tech development firms to build such technology and find a way to roll it out around the world, for now, 5G will offer users a significantly superior experience when using the internet on the go.
Malaysia is sending back an additional 110 containers of plastic waste to source countries after having successfully returned 150, the government said on Monday.
The Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change said in a statement that 150 containers with estimated 3,737 metric tonnes of plastic waste had been returned to the source countries, mostly developed countries such as the United States, Britain, Japan, Canada, Spain and France.
Speaking at a press conference at Butterworth Port in Penang state, where some of the containers arrived at, Minister of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Yeo Bee Yin said
the additional 110 containers to be sent back include 60 from the United States, 15 from Canada and 14 from Japan, while others came from Britain, Belgium, Mexico, Hungary, France and Jamaica.
“As a party to the Basel Convention, Malaysia also imposes strict requirements in line with the Article 4 (11) of the Convention for all importation of mixed plastic waste to ensure that any transboundary movement of waste is conducted in a manner to protect human health and the environment,” she said.
The Basel Convention is the most comprehensive international environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes.
Yeo said the containers had been sent back without the government incurring any costs, which had been borne by the companies responsible for importing the plastic waste illegally to Malaysia.
“It is not about money but dignity. We are not supposed to pay them to send it back. We do not want to pay a single cent. We are not the world’s rubbish dump,” she said.
The monarch of Britain said Monday the royal family is willing to give “a period of transition” in which Prince Harry and his family would spend time in Canada and the UK.
After the royal family had a “very constructive” discussion about the future of Duke and Duchess of Sussex Monday at Sandringham, the Queen said in a statement that despite her preference for the couple to remain as full-time working royals, the royal family is “entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family”.
“Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family,” it said.
Harry and Meghan published a statement last week saying that they intend to “step back” as senior royals, spending time in North America and being financially independent.
“Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives. It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK,” the Queen’s statement said.
However, it added, due to the complex nature of the issue, “there is some more work to be done”, but the Queen has asked for “final decisions to be reached in the coming days”.
British media reported that the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry met at Sandringham to discuss the plans Monday.
Iran’s armed forces on Saturday confirmed that an “unintentional” missile launch by the country’s military was the cause of the Ukrainian International Airlines passenger plane crash over Tehran airspace on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian plane “was mistaken for a hostile target” near an Iranian “sensitive military site of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)” on Wednesday amid rising threats by the United States, a statement by the Iranian armed forces published by the official IRNA news agency read.
The incident was due to “human error,” the statement was cited as saying. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said that an Iranian “Armed Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane and death of 176 innocent people.“
“Investigations continue to identify and prosecute this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake,” Rouhani tweeted.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Saturday also blamed the action of Iranian armed forces on U.S. “adventurism.”
“A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism led to disaster,” Zarif tweeted.
“Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations,” he said.
The chief of Iran’s Aviation Organization on Friday had “vehemently” rejected reports that an Iranian missile had hit the Ukranian passenger plane in Tehran’s airspace.
The Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane with 176 people on board crashed on Wednesday near Tehran, leaving no survivors. The incident coincided with Iran’s missile attack on a U.S. military base in Iraq.
All the 179 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 737 Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) on Wednesday morning were confirmed dead, Iran’s Press TV reported.
Head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Services Pir-Hossein Koulivand confirmed there had been 170 passengers and nine crew members on the plane.
Of the 170 passengers, 147 were Iranians, Koulivand was quoted as saying.
Ali Kashani, a spokesman for the IKA, said the Boeing 737 was operated by the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) and was bound for Kiev.
It went down in the Parand district of Tehran and caught fire after crashing, he said. Kashani added that the incident did not affect the traffic at the airport.
Qassem Biniaz, an official at the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, told official IRNA news agency that the plane crashed after its engine caught fire. The pilot made an unsuccessful attempt to control the plane when the fire erupted, he said.
The Ukrainian embassy in Tehran said the plane went down “due to an engine problem.”
Earlier, IRNA reported that the Ukrainian flight PS-752 was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members when it crashed.
Sixty-three Canadians killed in Ukrainian plane crash
Sixty-three Canadians were among the 176 people killed in a Ukrainian plane crash just minutes after the plane took off from the Iranian capital’s international airport, according to Canada‘s television network CTV Wednesday.
Quoting Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, CTV reported that the minister has been in touch with the Ukrainian government.
Many of the 63 Canadians are believed to be Iranian-Canadian students returning to school after the holidays.
The Canadian-commanding NATO mission in Iraq has suspended its training task after a U.S. airstrike killed an Iranian commander, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported Saturday.
A senior Canadian government official was quoted as describing the move as a “tactical pause.”
The NATO mission run by Canadian General Jennie Carignan is reportedly a “non-combat, advisory and training” mission.
The suspension of NATO’s training mission, where 253 Canadians are involved, does not affect the U.S.-led Operation Impact where Canada has approximately 600 soldiers servicing in Iraq, Kuwait, and Jordan and Lebanon as trainers and advisers, according to the report.
“Canada is in contact with our international partners. The safety and well-being of Canadians in Iraq and the region, including our troops and diplomats, is our paramount concern. We call on all sides to exercise restraint and pursue de-escalation. Our goal is and remains a united and stable Iraq,” Champagne said in a statement.
Canada also urged its citizens in Iraq to consider leaving the country in updated travel advisory on Friday after the attack.
“This attack has led to increased tensions in the region,” the advisory said. “There is an increased threat of attacks against Western interests and of terrorist attacks in general. Consider leaving by commercial means if it is safe to do so.”
The United States has urged its citizens in Iraq to leave “immediately,” following the attack.
Iran has vowed “harsh retaliation” against the United States for what Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called a “heinous crime” after Soleimani was killed.
Canadian travel blogger and vlogger Luke Martin has recently visited the Hungarian capital and shared a video on his channel about his time in Budapest. The newest episode of his series called “Euro Street Food” takes us on a delicious tour.
“So, in today’s episode we are taking you on the ultimate Hungarian food tour,” Martin starts the video. He and his girlfriend, Sabrina Davidson, explore the city, and not only food but also sightseeing-wise. They are a travel channel, after all.
Their first stop is Ildikó Konyhája Restaurant to try out goulash for lunch. Martin is very hungry and is excited to try it. After they get their dishes, he shows his bowl and explains the contents of his soup. “Oh, man. It’s such a rich flavour.” He reveals they tried many bowls of goulash before but believe this one to be the best. He recommends adding black pepper and some spice (if one likes that), as well as trying it with some bread.
Check out our tips on how to make the perfect goulash HERE.
After a bit of sightseeing, they head to try out some of Hungary’s most famous street food. And what else to try first than lángos? They get theirs at Retro Lángos Büfé and decide to go with one of the most traditional options, which is sour cream, cheese, and onion. Martin proceeds to rip some of it off while admitting he has no idea how to actually eat it. He does not seem to be as impressed as he was with his goulash.
“Really oily, really greasy. Salty from that cheese, sour from that cream, and a little freshness from those onions. Honestly, this is the best thing I could come up with if it was 2 in the morning and I was drunk,” he says. As he makes his way through, he ponders over its greasiness, but ultimately says: “it is sinfully delicious.”
Next stop: Central Market Hall. They have a lot of options and some difficulty choosing from among them. In the end, they settle on Panoráma Ételbár, in the very corner. They had two of the dishes Martin and Davidson wanted to try out most: stuffed cabbage roll and chicken paprikás.
Again, Martin shows the plates of food and explains the ingredients and the consistency. He takes his first bite of the cabbage roll and cannot hide his satisfaction. “So much flavour going on. Sourness because the cabbage has been pickled, but also sourness from that sour cream. Crisp on the outside and then soft meat and rice on the inside.”
He is also very happy with his chicken paprikás. “It just is so homemade, not so overpowering as it may look. It’s actually kind of a subtle, creamy flavour.”
“The flavours are quite traditional and authentic. The atmosphere is really cool, too, if you don’t mind being a little touristy,” he says of the market hall.
As they are very much full, they go sightseeing a little and head to the Castle District. The last stop of their food tour is a traditional Hungarian bakery and café, Ruszwurm. They settle on ordering some coffee and the famous dark chocolate Ruszwurm cake and Ruszwurm cream cake of the place, although there are many inviting things on the menu, according to Martin.
Martin is not all that impressed with the cream cake but says it is okay. Davidson tries the dark chocolate cake next, as it is one of her guilty pleasures. “That’s great,” she says. She loves the lightness, slight bitterness, and the crunchiness of the nuts in it.
The adopted daughter of a Hungarian couple is to be deported from Canada.
László Radi and his wife are the adoptive parents of 16-year-old Kitti Toris who was born in Hungary. She has been living in Okotoks, Canada since 2016 with her guardians, reports Global News.
The family has received two letters from Immigration Canada in which the applications of the daughter for temporary status and student visa have been denied.
According to Radi, no explanation was given for the denial.
The adoptive wife is concerned about her daughter being underage and her welfare if she is deported to a country she has no connections in.
The family got in contact with a Member of Parliament, John Barlow.
“There’s obviously a gap within our system where you have a 16-year-old minor who has family here in Canada, not a burden on our system, they have a business, she’s in school, they’re very successful,” he stated.
According to him, he reached out to the federal immigration minister himself, asking for his help.
Initiated by the Hungarian Embassy of Ottawa, a Canadian website has been created with the purpose of introducing the most important Hungarian heritage sites and values to the North American country.
In Canada, collecting Hungarian values started in 2017, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the country’s establishment. This special event was the starting point of the project when the country’s history, society, and culture were put under examination, and it turned out that Hungarians have an important part in Canada’s daily life. However, there was no global information network or heritage collection that provided information about this interconnection.
The collection process took almost two years and was realised by the involvement of several Hungarian organisations and local communities, thanks to whom more than one hundred documented Hungarian heritage sites are presented in Canada, illustrated with photographs. Besides information exchange, the website provides awareness of these values as well.
Hungarian values are grouped into seven categories on the website.
Detailed description is provided about:
Hungarian works of art, monuments;
Towns and streets bearing Hungarian names;
Buildings or institutions named after Hungarians;
Churches and cultural centres built by Hungarians.
As the Hungarian news portal turizmus.com reports, the website provides information in three languages: Hungarian, English, and French.
Furthermore, it does not only demonstrate Hungarian values found in Canada – giving an overview of their effect on the country’s development -, but it also stimulates interaction.
Accordingly, its content can be edited not only by its administrator, but website visitors are also authorised – by an approval – to share their own posts. Therefore, the web collection can be continuously extended with new values.
The portal was initiated on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence; its start was presented by Ambassador Bálint Ódor and Ottawa’s Mayor, Jim Watson, within the framework of a flag-raising ceremony in front of the City Hall.
Based on this, more than 26 thousand Hungarians applied for asylum in several waves in the last 20 years. Those who feel they are in danger in Hungary mostly go to Canada; however, there were quite strange attempts as well, like the Swedish adventure in 2006, reports Index.
Main destinations in the world for Hungarian asylum applicants
(Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, USA, New Zealand)
This is the data that the UN knows about – the data of national offices may differ. Additionally, the UN does not state the number of asylum applications if there are between 1-4 applications from a given country in a month. These cases were counted as 2. There are two main channels to apply for asylum in the US. These were added together, but it is possible that one tries both, so this data could be an overestimation.
It should be noted that these are only the applications submitted, and usually, only a small percentage of these are accepted since, for example,
there were no civil wars in the last 20 years in Hungary.
But it is also hard to prove things like being systematically pursued by Gyurcsány or Orbán, or the state not protecting them from discrimination for their disadvantageous ancestry.
It is fair to say that Canada was the most popular destination; more than 23 thousand Hungarians attempted to seek asylum there. The second, Sweden, hardly measures up to it with barely more than half a thousand asylum seekers.
Moreover, the regulations of the asylum system differ in each country and in most cases have changed in the last 20 years drastically.
Canada on top
It is obvious that people seeking asylum in Canada came in waves. First, between 1999 and 2002, then almost ten years after that, between 2009 and 2012. This is not a coincidence. The first wave for asylum seekers set off in 1998. Mostly Romanis applied for asylum in Ottawa. Visa requirements were reintroduced in December 2001, which put an end to the wave, but up until then, almost nine thousand people applied at airports. From then on, basically only those who could prove that they were tourists, businessmen, students, legal employees, or an immigrant compatible with the requirements of the job market could travel to Canada.
Hungary was in the top three of Canada’s source countries for years, outstripping countries like China or Colombia, where neither human rights nor the emergence of democracy is comparable with Hungary’s.
The Immigration and Refugee Board only found 1-2 per cent of the applications valid, and 90 per cent of those were repealed or not completed, and it was not uncommon that the asylum seeker disappeared. This indicates that the majority did not believe themselves that the Canadian state could be convinced that they were being systematically pursued in Hungary and receive no protection from the state.
Let us not forget that Canada evaluated the situation of dozens of Hungarians, finding it to be hostile every year. According to the data of the National Post, more than a hundred Hungarians’ application for asylum was accepted in 2011 and 2012.
Countries of the EU
Countries of the European Union are in a special situation since the most important principle of the EU is that its citizens are able to move freely. An application for asylum could mean extra benefits, but that is hard to justify since countries of the EU are eminently safe.
Ideally, we can stay for three months in other EU countries, and those citizens can stay further who are employed in the country, live there as private entrepreneurs or students or have enough money to sustain themselves. Belgium and Sweden were the most popular destinations in the EU in the last 20 years for asylum seekers.
There were odd cases as well, like a Hungarian applying for asylum in Bosnia in the summer of 2013, or the 2-8 Hungarians going as far as South Korea in 2017-2018.
Let us introduce the coolest Hungarian blogger who travels around the world. And it is a dog!
Magyarországom reported that the Hungarian vizsla called Whiskey lives its best life and travels around the world with its owner who takes Whiskey everywhere on the planet. They never travel without a camera, and they share everything on Whiskey’s official Instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1UZ7drF0vL/
The dog already has 100,000 followers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4MS7qGFuJD/
Whiskey is four years old and lives with its owner in Canada. It is keen on nature and looks for adventures all the time. Its owner, Adele and her partner, take it for a nice hike once a week and explore the countryside and nature all the time.
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“The Hungarian vizsla needs at least two hours of free walk somewhere outside the house. Keeping it in the garden is not enough. We are ready to give all the attention it needs,” said Adele.
The owner also added that she loves Hungarian vizslas and considers them the smartest dogs ever.
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“I chose the Vizsla breed mainly because they are known to be such high energy dogs that are wonderful to hike with,” she explained. “The first time we went camping, Whiskey was a puppy and crawled into the footbed of my sleeping bag and all night long wiggled around my bag keeping me up,” wrote metro.co.uk.
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Whiskey not only makes the perfect hiking partner but is also a good protector, said Adele. Hiking in the wild, the pair came close to a bear and even got stampeded by a moose, and both times, Whiskey did not freak out like most of us would.
