A trobriandi krikettől... - Magyar Elektronikus Könyvtár ...

of public WC-s being an emblem of a civilisatory gap between East and West. Hungary was
placed economically halfway between East and West:
„When we were in East Germany or Bulgaria as tourists, we had money, there was no
problem at all, however, in England, it was nothing, I was penniless, it did not matter that I
had money, it had no value.”
Another aspect is that Yugoslavia used to be perceived as closer to the West, than to the East,
but now the situation has changed to the favor of Hungary:
„We used to visit relatives in Yugoslavia every Summer, they were a very rich family, they
financed our holiday as poor relatives, they used credit cards as early as that time, and it was
very shameful for my parents, but still we visited them every year, and now it is the other way
round. Then we thought Yugoslavia is the West and as compared to them we are East, but
now the situation has changed”.
Implicit in this personal report there is a favorable attitude toward Euro-atlantic integration
with these changes serving as evidence that this is the successful way to take.
For the politically active group it was the historical and cultural differences that mattered
and that contributed to our national identity. In this, there was no difference among the
respondents whether they were former communists, present right-wing nationalists, liberals or
conservatives. Central element of this view is Hungary’s cultural isolation, while, at the same
time, the strong feeling of our belonging very strongly to Europe, which is mainly justified by
our cultural assimilation (taking up Christianity), and fighting the Islam on behalf of Christian
Europe.
„I would say that Hungarians live in the centre of Europe in the Carpathian Basin, and they
are famous of somehow ending up here. However, they have not much in common with
Europe, they have no relatives in Europe, and they live during the last 1000 years as a
strange small island. Their relationships with the people living around them has always been
problematic, and this nation is still uncertain about her roots, about where she belongs”.
The repatriated respondents were characterised by a kind of self-justificatory attitude: They
had to justify for themselves that it was a good idea to resettle from the West. There were
both economic and cultural-historical arguments to this effect. The argument of economy:
„Hungary is similar to the West. After all, Spain or Portugal also counts as Western Europe,
but I think most people live better here. The average people have higher living standards in
Hungary, than in these countries. What is more, although I have not been to there, I think
living standard is higher than in Greece. The average Hungarian lives better than the
average Greek.”
And the historical-cultural argument:
„Helmut Kohl was a historian and he may even knew that the first wife of their first king was
the beautiful daughter of Henrik the Quarrelsome, who was a germanofil, and the K.U.K.
Monarchy has probably also an influence on this, that Hungarians have an advantage. If you
are Hungarian, it is sympathetic in Germany. What is more, if Hungarian, then not a
foreigner at all”.
„We belong to the West. Because we have always been the gate-keeper of the West. The wall
between East and West. When the Turks came, or the Tartars, it was always us who shed
blood. If we had not shed our blood, we might have had also a population of 40-50 million”.
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