Hungary has become a by-word for anti-immigration rhetoric in recent years, led by PM Viktor Orban’s opposition against Syrian and Middle Eastern migrants inside the European Union (EU).
It may be surprising to learn that Hungary is secretly accepting migrants from as far as crisis-hit Venezuela.
At first glance, the scheme covers everything humanitarian charities could want. Except, the scheme is subject to Venezuelans being able to prove their Hungarian lineage – however distant that may be. Only those that can prove their Hungarian ancestry stand a chance of leaving South America for a new life in Hungary.
Hungary’s anti-immigration government has so-far funded the arrival of 350 Venezuelans with another 750 on a waiting list in Caracas. More could follow.
And according to independent news website Index, Venezuelans on the scheme have been told not to discuss anything related to the programme upon their arrival to Europe.
Hungary’s government says immigrants coming from South America are genuine Hungarians returning home, despite the likelihood that the majority won’t have been born in Hungary nor speak the language.
Historically, Hungarians put down roots in Venezuela after World War Two and the 1956 revolution. A community of several thousand descended from Hungary can be found in Venezuela’s capital Caracas.
Now, Hungary’s government appears to have responded to the political and economic crisis in Venezuela, providing housing and language support for new migrants on ancestry-based discrimination.
A doctor newly arrived to Hungary told Index that he won’t have to pay rent for the first year but must now find a job.
"We managed to get a house in the outer parts of town, where the seven of us, my family, live”, the unnamed Venezuelan doctor said.
The organisation is reportedly done by the Hungarian charity branch of the Order of Malta.
Hungary’s migrant scheme seems to be at odds with a campaign launched by Orban across billboards and newspapers claiming the European Union (EU) wants to introduce mandatory resettlement quotas and make immigration easier.
In late February, the EU responded to the Hungarian government campaign dispelling myths on seven claims.
“The European Union is not and has never been about “Brussels” but a project driven and designed by its Member States, each of which has decided unilaterally and democratically that this is the path they wish to adopt, including Hungary. Each and every one of those Member States, including Hungary, takes both the responsibility and the credit for the decisions taken collectively,” a statement by the European Commission said.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
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