Day 10 - refugee camp football tournament

Today was our second day at the refugee camp. They had asked us to arrange some activities for an afternoon and we decided on a sports day and craft activities. I was to be in charge of the sport. I had bought equipment for football, ultimate frisbee and three legged racing. However when I got there two of these would be redundant.
On our arrival we were greeted by a young Serbian boy who had learnt English very fast and spoke it very well. He presented me with three slips of paper. Each had teams on and they were divided by home nationality: Afghanistan, Kurdistan and Africa/Serbia. The only team missing was ours so Sandor and I created a World VI.
The football then began with Kurdistan vs Afghanistan and it quickly dawned how serious this football tournament would become. The guys playing football were playing for national pride and they played hard and ran until their lungs hurt. Kurdistan battled harder in he first half and were up 2-0. One of the goals was controversial as they claimed it struck a hand, but the referee... Me... Wasn't paying attention so allowed the goal. The second half was one way traffic from Afghanistan an they clawed it back to win 3-2. After the game I talked to a the goalie of the victorious Afghan team. He was a journalist in Afghanistan but had left because of the brush tarnished across all free media by the taliban, his best friend had been beheaded for being a sports writer. He had fled the country and found a home in the refugee camp. He had been in Hungary for 5 years, been granted a European visa , had married a Hungarian woman and had a baby due in 2 weeks. He said the refugee camp was a good temporary home whilst he saved for a home with his new family, and as he was free to travel wherever he wanted, it was no longer a camp but a 'very basic hotel'. This surprised me but I could also understand his view, and again highlighted that the refugee camp wasn't as bad as one would think.
Game two was the World VI vs Africa/Serbia, time for Sandor and I to show what Hungary and Britain could do in a serious tournament, along with a mix of Afghan, African and Kurdistan players in our team that were forcibly roped in to play by their peers. It was going really well until the kick off... Then it was one way traffic of incredible skill, much better than I could have expected. We held out as long as possible but the inevitable came with 3 goals against us, but I did score one consolatory goal, so 3-1 it ended. It turns out that at least 3 of there 6 had tried to get to Europe to play football professionally... One of the guys looked exactly like Emmanuel Adebayor and played like him to.
There was a short break as the younger kids had a game which was very good to watch, then the tournament continued. Africa/Serbia winning the competition, followed by Afghanistan in second, Kurdistan third and the World VI finishing a humble 4th/last.
It was a really great day filled with really interesting interactions with the different nationalities. The tension was high on the pitch, with some racist remarks banded about and fights being threatened, but this happens in any tournament in football, and racism is common (John Terry's impending case being he most recent). After the match they were pleasant enough to each other but split into their geographical groups once more. It struck me that the refugee camp was a place like many others, where communities of many different cultures and religions are thrown together and are forced to get along. Perhaps this environment is a good learning environment for the refugees, who may have come from a very specific culture with no diversity. In the real world multi-culturalism is rife, even in Hungary, so to learn it before you are made a citizen may be a massive benefit to the refugees.

Day 9 - the Hortobagy, a national park

After a welcome lie in, we went off to the train station to meet Sandor and got to the Hortobagy (http://www.hnp.hu/index_en.php), which I was looking forward to as it was going to be good to see Hungary in the countryside as most of our time was in the cities.
When we arrived we had a short walk to the Hortobagy village, a very tourist orientated place with information centres and restaurants. Over the road was a bird hospital, where they rescued injured birds from the great plain and national park to a point where, if possible, they would release then back into the wild. I loved this place, as I have an age long interest in birds of prey and was a great opportunity to get up close with them.

We then looked around the Hortobagy tourism centre which was informative and had many crafts made by locals.
After a half an hour walk we ended up at the place from which we would be taking a horse and cart ride around the national park.
This was an experience I recommend as we saw the great plains from a different view point and we were able to see traditional shepherds on their horses doing some tricks such as standing on two horses and making them lie down whilst the shepherds were on them. Then we got a chance to have a little ride on a horse which was fun. The horse and cart ride continued for an hour in total and we saw a lot of the livestock on the plain and experienced how it feels to take a direct route across a field on a horse and cart... Alton Towers eat your heart out!

Day 7 & Day 8 - Budapest

These two days were free time and we decided to go to Budapest. I could go on for ages about it but here are some photos of what we did... Needless to say that we did the classic tourist thing!

Day 6- the refugee camp

Today we went to a refugee camp in outer Debrecen. This was something on the itinerary that I was looking forward to the most and I wasn't disappointed.
The refugee camp resembled a low security prison and gave some of the people in our group an unsettled feeling. The question I thought was 'is this to keep people in or out?'. The camp was an ex-military base and looked like it was. It wasn't shanty like and had three or four small flat blocks as well as some trailer park bungalows.
On our arrival we were met by Anna, a fairly young looking lady who was to be our guide for the day. She showed us to the offices where the social workers and government officials were placed and then took us to the buildings where the refugees spent a lot of their time.
First we went to a school building, where classes in language ranged from Hungarian to Portuguese and was available to all no matter how old. This was not the only formative education that they could receive as some of the children were able to go to local schools which was something I wasn't expecting.
We then went to one of the accommodation blocks, which resembled student accommodation. The experience you get of this accommodation is very dependant on how you view refugee camps. I personally believe that the premise of them is to be a filtering service and only temporary for families and individuals who need it. If I was fleeing for my life, I wouldn't care where I was staying as long as it was safe and basic amenities were available. Some in the group had a different idea of comfort and so it was a shock to them, as it will to many.
Each family lived in small bedsits, behind a strong metal door. Inside they were able to do what they wanted with their 'home'. It did resemble a prison cell if no decoration was applied, but the family who allowed us in to see their 'home' had sofas, a tv, nice rugs and decorations on the wall. They were incredibly welcoming and friendly. They had to share amenities, which were very basic, and could have seemed unpleasant, but all necessary equipment like ovens and basins were there (see photos below).
We then went to the nicer accommodation, little trailer park type bungalows. These were the places that all families wanted to get into, and we're nicely equipped and spacious. It wasn't clear how one would get onto the waiting list, but I am sure everyone would try!
We then went to meet the director an some of his team for a Q&A. I felt he was very honest in his answers and also very assured of the purpose of the camp. Some of the answers that surprised me were that in a typical year they would only have 3,000 refugees in Hungary, and only 10% of which would gain European passports, the others would be sent home. It took on average 300 days to decide on a refugees application and if successful they can stay at the camp for as long as they like before integrating in European society.
I really appreciated the experience of visiting the camp and was looking forward to playing football with them on my next visit on Day 10!

In the afternoon we had our weeks debrief then returned back to the flat to get ready for the following days trip to Budapest!

Day 5 - Easter traditions and folk dancing

Today we started by going to Freedom House to take part in an Easter celebration with the young people of outer Debrecen.
Families and locals all attended the celebrations which began with a talk about Jesus and the resurrection, a pretty standard tail in Christianity...then we stood at the front and told them about easter egg hunts and other British traditions. Then it became, for a non-religious guy, a bit strange. Firstly the lady who was talking about the Easter story told the kids that he died for our sins, then drew a black heart on the board and said to the kids that if they shouted out a sin then they get a sticker... They started by saying generic things like murder or lying, which were written on a post it note and stuck to the black heart. But some kids took it a bit literally and it became a kind of confessional, one young person of about 5 years in age shouted out 'if you strike your friend hard on the head with a heavy ball' as a sin... Then came the 'triangle of doom'(I gave it this name), a notion I had never heard, which was categorically stated as a triangle of sin that if you do bad things will rotate in your heart and cause pain...
After this, the traditions began with crafts for the families and sports outside. All involved really took to this and my role was to be the really big adult getting made a fool by children who were experts at football, which I carried off very well!
In the afternoon, we did the incredibly British traveller activity of souvenir shopping... Yawn... The rest of the day was free time until an activity that nearly killed me... Hungarian Folk Dancing.
This was held at a very hip joint in the middle of Debrecen. I foolishly thought we may have been going to a beginners class and we would be eased in gently... But alas, it was straight into a class of people who seemed pretty good and very serious about their dancing. Now, I am no dancer, I thought I was co-ordinated when I was at Uni, and I have the 'running man' down to a tee. But this was fast, energetic and in a group; which meant when I messed up there was a mexican wave of people in the circle trying to correct their steps due to my...ahem... Artistic interpretation of what I was told to do. It was incredibly fun though, and would recommend everyone to try it if they come to Hungary. Although a warning, don't get too overconfident as you may should thwack your dancing partner in the eye... Which isn't a a dance move,just what happens if I swing Hayley around frantically!

Day 4 - Immanuel school, Debrecen Zoo and a revelation...

Today we returned to the Immanuel centre to see some of the other ways they work with the disabled young people apart from physiotherapy.
Firstly we attended their assembly. This was hosted by the minister Ismael and two jolly guitar players. It opened with a song about god sung by one of the older clients, then a short parable was acted out by the minister and some of the staff. It followed what would be any religious school assembly. What struck me was how the young people, which had a huge differentiation in disabilities all sat with each other and on the most part enjoyed the assembly. The staff showed a very good ability in controlling the children and treated them the same way we would expect them to be treated in the UK. The fact that I noticed this would suggest that I had a preconception that they might not treat them as well, although this must have been a sub conscious one. In the UK we on the whole presume we are more modernised, more civilised, more fair, generally better. But when it
comes to core needs and practices, surely they must be the same if educated to a decent standard? One would like to think so...
After the assembly finished, we helped in a clay modelling session. The young people we were helping were more able but still severely disabled. We were to make 'optimistic elephants',an activity they had done before. Each young person had an individual element to complete based on their ability. One rolled the legs, others rolled balls for the body, one rolled the trunks and one made the ears. My first efforts at building the elephant were hysterically laughed at by one of the kids who was building then to. I decided to go rogue and built a minister elephant...(see picture below)I was pretty proud and the young people all liked it! Again, what was fantastic was the group ethos, that there was a sense of community and the kids were very happy. It was a very fun morning and one which helped demonstrate to all our travelling group that this day centre/school was very important and incredibly worthwhile.
The time at Immanuel was finished with some time with the choir, which Kath helped deliver the song 'he's got the whole world in his hands' in English, which she did extremely well!
Immanuel has helped me see both what charity can achieve in Hungary but also how in both cultures young people with disabilities can live a happy and social life if the opportunity is given.

In the afternoon, Hayley and I went to Debrecen zoo. It was about £3.50 each to get in and was a really good experience. Most of the animals didn't live in enclosed cages, instead the lived on islands surrounded by electric fences. This helped give the impression that you were really close to the animals. The animals were all very relaxed which was good to see.
Again, possible preconceptions meant that I was concerned the zoo may be of poor standards, but if anything it was better than any British zoo.
So far on my trip I have been constantly analysing my attitudes, which I would deem very open minded, which has both surprised and delighted me!


Oh...and also I found out I had been getting funny looks for drinking cups of coffee because apparently I had been drinking espresso... So when I had two full cups in the morning, I had actually been drinking 8shots of espresso... On Monday I had consumed 17 shots by 2pm... Buzzing...

Day 3 - The Immanuel Home

Today I experienced an element of working with young people that I have never encountered before - working with profound learning and physical difficulties.
The school is funded by the church in Debrecen so I was expecting a wholly religious ethos, but it had more of a feel of a church of England primary school and, encouragingly, the kids were the primary focus.
The minister of the school greeted us with broken English and a huge smile, as did a small chirpy lady called Judit (yes, Judit number 3 so far). They sat us down and explained why the school was set up and why the church felt the need to support it. The history of Hungary is complex, but the isolation of disabled people and the complete shame their families faced is not. Disabled people did not have a place in Hungarian society, especially during the communist era where they could play no part in the countries 'progress'. In the past 20 years attitudes have slowly changed, which has allowed a place like Immaus to start belatedly an invaluable service.
We were then taken upstairs to receive a presentation from Judit (3rd). It was about the theory that the school followed - 'conductive education' (see http://www.scope.org.uk/help-and-information/education/conductive-education). This theory split the 4 of us down the middle, especially when we saw it in practice (more on that below) . The theory hasn't been proven this way or the other, but essentially it is a holistic approach that incorporates physiotherapy, education and religion.
After the talk, we went with Judit to collect 4 children and take them for some physical activity. The premise behind this was to train the children into moving parts of the body that their brain wouldn't allow them to. In education, the idea of peer mentoring is common, and doing the activities in groups was a way of incorporating this. The young boy I worked with, Matt, kept looking at others in the group doing the activities and copying them or attempting to do it better! The activities started with moving a limb then worked up to trying to walk aided or unaided. Matt was incredibly happy the whole time as was most of the four, but one girl who was autistic found the company of strangers difficult and was very upset, although this soon passed as she got used to it. What split the group was the idea that it wasn't a personalised therapy and individual as practised by the youth workers in our group, but for the teachers, of which I am one, we could see the benefit of the methods they used based on staffing levels and the client group. Conductive education is a hard concept to grasp in a practical way as it is not a commonly practiced method, although the fact that is growing in the UK and endorsed by charities such as Scope suggests that it may be a new way that many believe has benefits. I think the home had a marvellous and genuine ethos towards the kids, and in my work, if at every opportunity the clients are telling visitors how magnificent the school is without prompting, that is a good sign!
In the afternoon we went to the Great Church as guided by Ismael the minister. I had never been in a reformed church before so it was interesting but I was more interested in the fantastic views after walking 200 steps up to one of the towers!
In the evening we did what all British people do, compare multi-million pound businesses in each country so we went to Tesco... Which was more like a mall but still did the value range...
On the return to the flat conductive education still ruled the conversation but I stood by the fact that, after only 20years of working with disabled people, Hungary has become a world leader in a method of working with them... And the kids loved the place, which is better than being excommunicated... I'm sure the debate will continue!