Although much has been written about Budapest's immigrants - half of whom come from outside of the European Union and half of whom have already obtained Hungarian citizenship - most was published for a professional readership and is quite dry, said András Kováts, director of the Refugee Association and one of the book's editors. Our aim was to see what artists, writers and photographers could show of this colourful world, he added.
The book, called Bevándorló Budapest (Immigrant Budapest) has photographs by András Fekete, Géza Hernád, Bence Járdány, Gábor Kóczán, Stefánia Szilágyi and Gergely Rónai, paired with text by Zsolt Csikós, György Dragomán, Márton Gerlóczy, Judit Ágnes, Júlia Kiss Lángh, Ilona Matkovich, Szilárd Podmaniczky, Anna T. Szabó, Krisztina Tóth, András B. Vágvölgyi and Kováts András.
The book concentrates on ten ethnic groups, some because they account for such a large number of the immigrants in the capital, and others because of the visible contribution they have made to the life and culture of the city, said Kováts.
The writers and photographers were given free hand in the making of the book, which resulted in the creation of many different kinds of stories. Some approached the tasks as sociologists or journalists, others wanted to create a literary work. Some took portraits, some made panoramas, Kováts said.
Among the book's subjects are an artist, an athlete, a musician, a dentist, a restaurant owner, a university student, a translator, a teacher, a chiropractor and a cook who was once in the service of the Saudi royal family.
The book was in the planning stages for years, said Kováts, but last year its creators won a grant from the European Union's European Integration fund to carry out the project. The money will support not only the publication of the book, but the launch of a home page at kultours.hu and an interactive map that shows where to find "multicultural" venues in Budapest.
The first print run of the book is just 1,000, enough to put it in libraries, schools and universities. If there is enough funding, a second printing could take place and the volume could be sold in stores.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
