Visits to Ukraine, Hungary

A letter from Burkhard Paetzold serving in Germany

June 2015

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings from Central Eastern Europe. Thank you for your prayers and continuing support for my ministry as I connect with our mission partners in this region.

When I was starting this letter, I was at a Roma children’s summer camp surrounded by 55 beautiful children of God. My mornings started with sounds of laughter and my evenings finished with noisy karaoke songs. There was constant movement and a lot of energy in this place; I suspect it didn’t come only from the extremely sweet tea, but from the joy of togetherness and freedom.

Roma flag in the children’s summer camp in Csonkapapi, Ukraine

A friend who lives near these kids tells me that many of them face very difficult situations, including generational poverty and dysfunctional families. Most of them lack the opportunities that all kids deserve.

I also came to this camp to meet with Nancy, Lauren and Haley, friends from Winnetka Presbyterian Church in Illinois.  This church has a long relationship with Roma in Carpath-Ukraine. Together we met old and new friends, both Roma and non-Roma.

It was rainy this year, so I was able to see the benefit of the roof built at the camp last year with PC(USA) Roma ministry funds (I’m sure it included part of your gifts!!).  This roof replaced the old tent that was here before.

Since children come in groups accompanied by their parents from the different Roma villages, the camp provides a perfect opportunity to learn about the ups and downs of the different communities. Many of them I have known for years. Some communities are fragile now and don’t send many children, others are growing and have sent a large group. Who attends becomes an indicator for healthy and unhealthy communities.

Roma flag on International Roma Day (April 8, 2015) near Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and just in front of the American Embassy

This all happens in Ukraine, and Ukraine is at war. Fortunately, not in this region but the shock waves of war are all over. The currency is in free fall, prices are skyrocketing (especially natural gas) and wages (for those who have jobs) stay as low as ever.

We have to pass army checkpoints established to prevent ethnic Hungarians—the majority in this region—from fleeing to Hungary to avoid the draft. We notice that a war-torn country doesn’t invest in infrastructure; the roads have hundreds of potholes. Ukraine today does even less to protect the Roma living in slums, seniors surviving on small pensions, and those with disabilities.  None of these groups living on the margins of society have advocates in high places.

The Roma children raise the Roma flag at the camp, a healthy sign of their strong identity.  They pray and sing longing or joyful Christian songs. My memories go back to another moment when Roma activists raised this flag on April 8, International Roma Day, at a camp set up to protest Roma deportations from Western to Southeastern Europe. This was near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin after a silent gathering at the nearby Roma holocaust memorial, accompanied by discussions, art exhibitions and music performances.

In late June after my visit to the camp I traveled from Carpath-Ukraine to Budapest, Hungary, and I learned that Hungary is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of refugees. In addition to ethnic Hungarians fleeing Ukraine, many migrants are coming from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. This number is ten times higher than a few years ago.

Hungary doesn’t seem to be prepared to give refuge to high numbers even though EU financial support is available. Police stop refugees at the border and accompany them to refugee camps, making their presence visible. The extreme right wing Jobbik Party manipulates the public and labels them as criminals. Hungary’s conservative government is adopting some of Jobbik’s rhetoric to avoid losing votes to the right wing. Moreover the government plans to build a fence between Serbia and Hungary and has placed billboards all over Hungary whipping up anti-refugee sentiment. I learned that the Hungarian government spends more money on this ad campaign than on programs to support the migrants.

Exhibition of the Reformed Mission Center in Hungary about “I was a stranger and you invited me in”

This reminds me of my conversation in May with Syrian refugees in my neighborhood near Berlin. They told me that they first arrived in Hungary but went on to Germany.  They don’t want to be deported to Hungary. They showed me pictures of overcrowded detention camps. Several German churches and activist groups try to help them stay.  I promised them I would ask whether Hungarian churches would support them.

For World Refugee Day (June 20) the Refugee Ministry of the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) encouraged people to participate in UNHCR celebrations and events organized by the ministry. Back in 2013 this ministry, in conjunction with the Hungarian Bible Society came up with a travelling exhibition titled “I was a Stranger and You Invited Me In…”  This exhibition addresses the situation of refugees and their place in the church and gives examples of refugees from the Bible, “urging us to be kind to the stranger….The exhibition found itself in various Reformed churches, schools, professional conferences and the Starpoint Reformed Youth Festival.” Referring to this exhibition, Dóra Kanizsai-Nagy explains: “Our mission is providing help for internationally protected persons and for recognized refugees to begin their lives in Hungary. They cannot be successful without the cooperation of the hosting society. That is why it is important to present the realities of daily life. With this traveling exhibition, they bring the message of hospitality to congregations, schools, small communities and bigger festivals.”

We are concerned that now the Reformed Church in Hungary is closing their center for refugees. But other churches continue this vital ministry. For example, St. Columba’s Church of Scotland in Budapest is an ecumenical, international congregation that gathers for English-speaking worship in the Presbyterian/Reformed tradition every Sunday and has a long tradition of refugee ministry, working closely with former PC(USA) mission workers Kathy and Joe Angi.  When I visited St. Columba’s Church recently they had invited refugees from different countries for a meal, including a large group of Muslims who prepared a tasty supper of Middle Eastern food. It was Ramadan, so everyone was waiting for the sun to set to start this feast. The lively, trusting spirit of this feast and the long interfaith tradition of this congregation are very encouraging to me at this difficult time.

Once again I also want to thank you for your encouragement, your prayers and your financial support for my ministry.  Please give generously to support this vital work.

Blessings and peace to you all.
Burkhard

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 328