Immigration: we’ve been through this before.
As aggressively right-wing politicians such as Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen soar to power on a wave of hatred and fear, there is one vital thing to remember concerning immigration: we’ve been through this before.
1956. Hungary. Following the death of Stalin, many Hungarians hoped to see a rollback of Stalinist policies, and, in June, the Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party, Rákosi, fell from power. That October, students, workers and soldiers attacked the AVH (the secret police), and smashed statues of Stalin – they could taste victory with every revolutionary act.
On 24th October 1956, Imre Nagy, a western minded moderate, took over as prime minister; just four days later, he negotiated the removal of Russian troops from Hungary. The icy grip of the USSR was slipping, and Stalin’s dream seemed to be crumbling. On November 3rd, Nagy declared that Hungary would leave the Warsaw Pact; he was calling for an end to communism in Hungary.
The next day, Russian troops returned. Incensed by the Hungarian declaration, Khrushchev ordered 1000 tanks into the country, where they killed 20,000 Hungarians, destroyed the native army, and captured national radio studios. The last words broadcast were “Help! Help! Help!”
In the immediate aftermath, several hundred Hungarians were executed, hundreds of thousands fled Hungary as political refugees. By the time the borders were fully sealed, 180,000 refugees had moved to neutral Austria, and 20,000 had fled south to Yugoslavia. In the following weeks, a huge operation was established – refugees were relocated to other countries faster than they arrived in Austria. Under the leadership of the United Nations, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, refugees were moved to over 37 different countries, with minimal fuss. One famous name amongst the immigrants is László Kovács, a cinematographer whose filmography include classics such as Ghostbusters, receiver of three Lifetime Achievement Awards. Andrew Grove and Leslie L. Vadász are others, the first two employees of Intel – the latter was head of the department that produced the first microprocessor.
These events have huge implications for today – refugees can be hugely beneficial, and, if spread over a number of countries, the quantity of refugees involved in today’s Syrian crisis can easily be accommodated, especially if the effort is coordinated effectively by the UN. As a result, we need to look on immigration with hope and optimism; we need to recognise refugees’ potential and open our arms to them as a collective of countries. We need to wholly avoid the kind of fear mongering that is being conducted by Donald Trump.
