Professor Case in the Department of History at Cornell gave an incredible illustration of the current refugee crisis occurring in the world with the specific case of the internal tensions in Hungary accepting Syrian refugees. This talk has become event more important and interesting as countries, especially Western countries, are currently opposed to accepting Syrian refugees due to the recent terror attacks.
Personally, the most interesting thing that struck out to me is the dedication of Professor Case to go out in the field at Hungary and see the situation for herself up and personal. The pictures that she brought back to show us can help tell the story even better. She began with the pictures that showed the government was against letting in foreigners, including the Syrian refugees. However, the “Two-Tailed Dog” political party was able to humor the government in putting up their signs of opposition to the government over the government signs. This showed the people’s personal opinion in allowing Syrian refugees to come to Hungary.
Furthermore, I found it amazing how the people went out of their way to help the refugees by providing water, food, and shelter. It was beautifully captured by Professor Case as she is also stood by these people and understood their reasons and stories about helping the refugees.
Thus, I thought the talk was incredibly moving to see how the people helped others in spite of the governmental control.
I too was amazed by Professor Case’s dedication to uncovering the story of these migrants; the story about running in to one twice in a single day was pretty poignant. And I can’t imagine, given the tension within the Hungarian polity, that any of this investigating was completely safe.
I agree with you as well! I also thought it was really interesting and really courageous for Professor Case to not only shine light onto the atrocities of the refugee crisis, but also to shine light on the heroes who are helping these refugees.