Ági is an intelligent, bright-eyed 18-year-old with a passion for life, luxury items (she can afford or will borrow money for), music, going out, and a gaggle of friends. A friendly, outgoing teen, to whom family is everything, and who will protect and stand up for those she loves. Two of her relatives have been abroad, and upon graduation she’s headed out of the country as well, for college. Somewhere South where the schools are decent, but not near the beaches, because “those areas are full of migrants, which sucks.”
The irony of her statement escapes her. But not because she’s stupid, simply because she hears about it so much and has better things to do in life than to give too much thought to the matter, worrying about tests and exams, getting good grades, boyfriends and other assorted relationships, not mention having a killer body for the beach parties at Lake Balaton, due to kick off earlier than she will get in shape.
There’s nothing wrong with her body, yet peer and societal pressures are on. In Hungary you have to look perfect, at all times. Perfect and clean. That’s just a fact of life. You also can’t deviate too much from the group, but that goes on in plenty of high schools around the world. Teens like Ági exist everywhere, and the difference is merely in Ági adhering to a somewhat more conservative lifestyle.
Ági is Christian, though she doesn’t go to church on Sundays, and doesn’t read the Bible. Her actions show a Christian mindset, in that she helps others, prays sometimes, and tries to be kind. Politics, and the fact that this year she can vote for the first time, are not at the forefront of her mind.
“I don’t care,” she replies when asked. Then adds, “they’re telling me who to vote for anyway.”
They being her parents, aided and abetted by various relatives and family friends, including her godfather. All of whom update their social media (where present) with frequent regularity, voicing their opinions on why you are a traitor to the country if you dare to vote for anyone other than Orbán and FIDESZ, because He is the only one who will save Europe from its inevitable downfall. Both Europe and Hungary need a strong hand, and who better than Viktor to make sure that the country is not overrun but those who “can’t integrate, don’t want to abide by our rules, will force Islam on us while bombing us into smithereens, and raping our women, who should really be staying at home and heeding their duty of being a mother.”
Hungary being a country where the motto is family above all, children will abide by their families’ values. Also because jobs are hard to come by and children stay at home longer than their Western European counterparts. And in this, Ági is not alone.
“Many kids are forced to vote in accordance with their parents’ beliefs,” says Niki, a bright and alert 16-year-old, who is interested in politics and tells of frequent discussions around the dinner table where politics also come up.
“My mother told me to vote for whom I want when the time comes,” she says. “But many kids can’t even talk to their parents about it, so they shut down to avoid conflict.”
In Ági’s case the conflict is mainly with her father, an authoritarian figure, who hates “those damn liberals,” values family life to the point of coercing his eldest to move back home, and demands not only absolute obedience but also that everyone does what he decrees on demand. On top of expecting a pristine house without letting his wife get help from the outside, because “what would people think if my wife can’t take care of our own home.” While Ági’s father is at the very extreme, family heads like him abound. A woman must take care of the kids and the house, whether she has a job or not. And on top of that, she has to look presentable at all times.
Sonia is another case in point. At sixteen she is not yet eligible to vote, and in political discussions in the classroom she tends to hold back, until asked. But once she is sure that she won’t be put down, she voices her opinions on migrants (too many), and how she has proof of migration not working out.
“My uncle lived in Germany,” she says. “And he told us that he was scared to go out of the house in broad day light.”
The teacher’s comment of, “no offense to your uncle, but it’s all in his head,” is greeted with a shrug. Sonia will mention the n-word when referring to a black person, but will concede that it’s racist when checked by an adult. Like everyone else in Hungary, she knows at least one person who is currently, or has been, living abroad. Hungary’s mass migration in this day and age is common knowledge. Yet, migrants from other countries possibly coming to Hungary en masse, are a huge problem.
The prime minister takes his task of being the voice of the people and needing to guide them very seriously. And so every media outlet will spout off on the dangers of mass migration just waiting to invade the country, 24/7. Even posters on the street will attest to the dangers from which Hungary must be shielded, which are the aforementioned mass migration, and the ever-convenient scapegoat George Soros, whose Open Society NGO and funding of Hungary’s Central European University are an ever-present thorn in the prime minister’s side. After all, who needs free speech when that can only lead to debauchery (as we can see in the Evil West with its gay marriage and multi-nationalism). Much better to remain a closed-off society where traditional values are upheld, and where father and God, but especially the prime minister, still know best.
Photo: Hiroo Yamagata/Creative Commons