1989: Teenage Life in Hungary | Scene | BBC Archive

0:07 Hello BBC traffic.

0:08 It's Nick Thorpe here in Budapest.

0:10 I've got a piece for radio newsreels.

0:14 Okay.

0:18 I'm the BBC correspondent in Hungary.

0:20 I'm dismantling the phone in order to send my report through to London.

0:25 It's on youth in Hungary.

0:27 I'm 28.

0:28 I've been here 2 years.

0:30 I came here to work because I visited once as a tourist and liked it.

0:35 Budapest, it's a beautiful city.

0:37 Pest on one side of the river Danube, Buda on the other.

0:41 Hungary is a communist country in Eastern Europe.

0:53 Hungarians are quite rough on one another, but kind to strangers.

0:58 They work very hard.

0:59 Some have two or three jobs and work 12 or more hours a day.

1:03 2 million of Hungary's 10 million inhabitants live here.

1:07 The center is small enough to bump into people you know.

1:11 Young people in Hungary are not afraid of hunger,

1:14 of war, or of invasion as their parents were.

1:18 Some of them are worried about ever finding

1:20 a place to live away from their parents,

1:22 about finding enough money to buy the things which crowd the shelves.

1:27 They get married quite young.

1:29 19, 20, 21.

1:31 They like it here, but most of them

1:33 wouldn't mind a chance to visit somewhere else.

1:36 Just for a holiday.

1:37 Then come back.

1:39 It's a small country, a socialist country, surrounded by other countries.

1:44 Five of them.

1:45 Quite claustrophobic.

1:47 They're proud to be Hungarian and wish more people knew what that meant.

1:53 I think young people here have the same zest for life as in England.

2:03 I don't know how English kids live.

2:05 I would like to live as well as they do.

2:09 What's good for us should be good for them and we should be friends.

2:15 There are red stars on the roofs of many buildings, a symbol of communist rule.

2:20 They're not taking this one down, just cleaning it.

2:24 This monument commemorates the Soviet liberation of the city

2:27 from the Nazis at the end of the Second World War.

2:30 Hungary has had a difficult history, a lot of it under foreign domination.

2:34 Nowadays, their feet are in the East, but they're leaning to the West.

2:38 A lot of buildings still have bullet holes from the war,

2:41 but many will be from 1956 when the people

2:44 rose up against the harshness of the Russian-dominated dictatorship.

2:48 You can still feel sadness in some of the streets,

2:51 a feeling that people died here.

2:53 Many young people were involved in the fighting.

2:58 [music] Things are much freer now.

3:05 It's a freedom that's released a lot of energy.

3:10 [music] [music] [music] [music] Mitch What's your name and what do you do?

3:38 My name is Peter Csizmadia.

3:40 I'm an apprentice.

3:41 I'm hoping to be an electronic engineer.

3:47 I'm an apprentice toolmaker.

3:50 What's your name?

3:53 And uh what do you do in your free time?

3:58 Well, I go mountain climbing and take country walks.

4:02 I go to discos and have a good time.

4:08 I dance.

4:09 I enjoy myself.

4:11 I also deal with girlfriends.

4:15 If you had one wish, what would it be?

4:19 One, only one.

4:24 First, to pass my exams.

4:26 Only a miracle could help me.

4:34 To have a good car.

4:37 And you?

4:40 I'd prefer to have money and do well with my studies.

4:44 Nothing else.

4:47 I'm Julia Katona.

4:49 I'm 16 and go to grammar school.

4:52 And what do you do in your spare time?

4:56 Loads of things.

4:57 I ride a motorbike, go bodybuilding, do different sports.

5:05 I come here on Saturday nights and go to other clubs other nights.

5:08 I go to special clubs that play Duran Duran and Depeche Mode records.

5:16 If you had one wish, what would it be?

5:22 A Martin out of Depeche Mode.

5:24 To meet Martin out of Depeche Mode.

5:27 It could never happen, but if they come back to Hungary,

5:29 perhaps it will come true.

5:36 I'm Zoltan Kovacs, 19, and I work.

5:40 What do you do in your spare time?

5:43 In winter, I go ice skating.

5:45 In summer, I go sailing.

5:51 Most of the housing estates in Budapest are on the edge of the city center.

5:56 Laszlo lives here.

6:00 My name is Laszlo Dauda.

6:02 I've just turned 18.

6:03 I left school this year.

6:07 I live in Budapest in the 9th district, Ferencvaros.

6:12 It's a fairly good district.

6:13 I like it.

6:14 It's the home of my favorite football team, Fradi.

6:26 Housing, or rather the lack of it,

6:28 is one of the biggest problems facing young people in the capital.

6:32 You grow up with your parents, get married,

6:34 and often carry on living in the same flat

6:36 as them even when you have children of your own.

6:40 There are some stories of couples

6:41 getting divorced and carrying on living together,

6:44 everyone getting on each other's nerves,

6:46 simply because there was nowhere else to go.

6:56 This is the living room.

6:58 It's also a bedroom.

7:00 I usually share it with my brother.

7:02 He's in the army now, so I've got it to myself.

7:06 This is my empire.

7:11 I keep all my things here.

7:13 When I was at school, I used to study here and the desk was full of books.

7:17 Now, that's all over.

7:22 We've put the computer here.

7:24 It's my favorite.

7:30 These are my English books.

7:32 I did English at school.

7:36 This jug, my dad brought it back from the States.

7:39 My aunt lives over there.

7:43 This is my treasure chest.

7:45 It's strictly private.

7:56 When my friends come around, we play computer games.

8:07 I also forgot to show you my autograph photos of Ergo, my favorite pop group.

8:16 How do the English imagine Hungary?

8:21 Well, I imagine they might think Hungary is

8:24 a country of horse riding and goulash parties.

8:33 I don't know.

8:36 Hungary is famous for its horsemen, but that was a long time ago.

8:40 Nowadays, we have cars, tower blocks, and cities.

8:52 Laszlo meets up with friends in Hungary's most Westernized street, Vaci Utca.

8:58 Many Western-style goods are on sale.

9:01 Even if you can't afford them, you can always dream.

9:09 The first McDonald's has recently opened and more than

9:12 7,000 people queue up to eat here every day.

9:16 This might look like Britain, but there are big differences.

9:19 All boys have to do 18 months military service.

9:23 That's where Laszlo's brother is now.

9:26 You have to learn Russian at school for 8 years,

9:28 but because Russia is still seen as big brother,

9:31 many are proud if they can't even ask for a glass of water in that language.

9:36 Let alone a milkshake.

9:42 [music] Cars are hard to come by.

9:49 This one's borrowed from the parents of a friend.

9:53 To get a new car, you have to sign on a a list and for a good car,

9:57 you can wait as long as 5 years.

10:02 [music] [music] [music] We're going over the Chain Bridge now.

10:20 It's the oldest bridge in Budapest.

10:22 It's very beautiful.

10:23 I hope you like it, too.

10:38 [singing] [music] [music] [music and singing] [music]

11:04 Public transport in Budapest is excellent.

11:06 It doesn't cost much, and you rarely have to wait more than 2 minutes for a bus,

11:10 tram, or underground train.

11:17 Transport, cheap food,

11:18 and housing are some of the benefits socialism has tried to provide.

11:22 Until recently, everyone had a job in Hungary,

11:25 but now unemployment is beginning, and prices are going up.

11:29 I'm on my way to see Gabriella, who still has one more year to go at school.

11:39 I'm Gabriella Astalos.

11:40 I'll be 17 in September.

11:43 I'm at a secondary school for trade and commerce.

11:47 I've got one more year until I take my final exams.

11:55 I live in a fairly new estate in Pest.

11:58 It's got good facilities, two supermarkets,

12:01 kindergarten, nursery, school, and a chemist.

12:05 So, you can buy almost anything locally.

12:11 We have several playgrounds.

12:13 It's nice.

12:14 I like living here.

12:21 Do you feel mobile?

12:25 Well, I feel free to go wherever I like, provided I have my parents' permission.

12:30 There are no other restrictions.

12:36 Who do you live with?

12:37 Do you have much space, and how do you get on?

12:43 I live with my mother, my stepfather, and my younger sister.

12:51 My sister and I each have a small room with a bed, a table, some cupboards.

12:56 There's very little space, but still, we get on well.

13:05 What does socialism mean to you, or to young people in general?

13:14 With socialism, I think there is greater equality than in capitalist countries.

13:21 Here, more people have the essentials, a home, maybe a car,

13:26 a small weekend house, the things one needs for day-to-day living.

13:33 And there are fewer people who are very poor, and fewer who are very rich.

13:46 If you had the chance to leave Hungary for the West, would you go?

13:51 Would you return, and why?

13:58 No, I'd never leave.

13:59 I'm familiar with the customs and expectations in this country.

14:03 I know its history.

14:04 I've got a lot of friends here, and I couldn't live anywhere strange.

14:15 This summer camp is one of many organized

14:17 by the Young Communist League, or KISZ for short.

14:22 KISZ runs most activities for young people throughout Hungary.

14:31 This particular camp, which Gabriella is attending,

14:34 is for anyone interested in becoming a journalist.

14:40 You used to have to belong to KISZ, but nowadays, only 30% do.

14:48 [music] Young people are openly critical of the system,

14:50 and KISZ finds it difficult to persuade them that the East

14:53 has more to offer than the temptations of the West.

15:03 Gabi making an interview about love life in the camp.

15:07 Tell me about camp love.

15:10 It's a wonderful thing, love.

15:12 I know because I'm very much in love.

15:15 I work better.

15:16 I see everything through rose-colored glasses.

15:20 It makes me feel easier about everything.

15:26 And when camp is over, It depends on the person.

15:38 I record interviews, write scripts, then I edit them myself,

15:43 and go into the studio and mix music with the voices.

15:46 The finished programs are broadcast three times a day on the camp radio station.

16:02 The problem with Western things is that we accept everything.

16:07 Whatever comes from the West, we assume it's good.

16:10 Adidas, for example, is really good,

16:13 but horror films and pornography are really bad.

16:17 We should be much more selective.

16:19 Accept the good things, and reject the bad.

16:25 [music] [singing] [music] Criticism of the Young Communist League led

16:34 some students to set up an unofficial group,

16:36 FIDESZ, the Federation of Democratic Youth.

16:39 At first, the police tried to stop them, but they seem to be surviving.

16:45 Outside the headquarters of the Young Communists, Jozsef,

16:48 one of the leaders of the new group,

16:50 which doesn't even have a desk, told me what they want.

16:53 We want a a Hungary where there is no

16:56 a a control from uh from the top of every citizen.

17:01 We want to free citizens who can use their things as as they want,

17:06 so and live in in freedom, and can organize, can uh publish newspapers,

17:13 uh can do what they uh what they want.

17:16 And without any special ideological constraints and and control.

17:21 The freedom to everyone to think WHAT HE WANTS.

17:53 [music] [music] [music] WHAT ARE YOUR SONGS ABOUT, AND ARE THEY POLITICAL?

18:15 Our songs are mainly about feelings.

18:18 If they are political, it's because it's a part of our lives.

18:26 Is your music optimistic?

18:31 No, our lyrics are pessimistic.

18:34 I think they reflect how young people feel at the end of the '80s.

18:49 [music] In the south of Hungary is the village of Martonfa in the Mecsek Hills.

19:10 More than half the population of Hungary still live in villages like this one.

19:22 My name is Laszlo.

19:26 There are five in our family.

19:28 My mother works on a cooperative farm.

19:30 My father has his own farm.

19:35 [snorts] I have two brothers, Sandor, a lathe operator,

19:38 and Karoly, a fully trained butcher.

19:47 There are still a small number of villages

19:49 which don't have drinking water on tap.

19:52 Martonfa is one of them.

19:56 Although their father is the only one in the family who is a full-time farmer,

20:00 the boys have plenty to do helping him when their own day at work is over.

20:09 There are three kinds of farm in Hungary.

20:11 The big state-owned farms,

20:12 mainly growing grain or other large-scale crops, then the cooperatives,

20:17 smaller groups of local people working together,

20:20 and private farms like Laszlo's family,

20:22 growing vegetables, vines, and keeping a few animals.

20:33 As in the West, many young people are leaving the countryside for the towns,

20:37 but in Hungary, it's the girls who tend to leave first.

20:42 Edit, Laszlo's fiance, is staying.

20:48 My name is Edit Aranyi.

20:50 I am 17 and live in Sörény.

20:54 I like coming to Martonfa because my fiance

20:56 and his family live here and we get on well together.

21:04 We haven't decided on the exact date for the wedding.

21:07 All being well, it will be next year

21:09 unless Laszlo has to start his military service.

21:16 Edit, what are the disadvantages of village life?

21:25 The disadvantages of village life are that your neighbor finds

21:28 out what is happening in your family before you do.

21:37 For example, if someone dies, the neighbors know about it before the relatives.

21:47 The fact that you came in a TV van,

21:50 the already knew you had arrived long before we did.

22:08 It's the old women.

22:09 They are the worst.

22:10 They hear something, then they change the story and the gossip starts.

22:18 Let's say I am going to market to do some shopping.

22:21 The woman next door tells her neighbor that I

22:23 have gone to the market to meet a man.

22:35 [snorts] I'm leaving now.

22:51 The hospitality of the Hungarians is one

22:54 of the strongest impressions I'll take away with me.

22:58 In the two years I've been here, the country has changed a lot.

23:02 A growing hunger for goods from America and Japan,

23:05 but at the same time, a growing sense of a long suppressed national identity.

23:15 Young Hungarians are not queuing up to leave, though they'd like to travel.

23:20 So, what does the future hold in store for them?

23:23 A political system giving them greater freedom than they used to have,

23:27 but probably never quite as much as quickly as they'd like.

23:31 A country which is as much a part of Europe

23:34 and as important in its own way as Britain.

23:40 This is Nick Thorpe for the BBC in Budapest.