The Pride Parade in Budapest on Saturday will be “a celebration and a protest,” organizers said, because Hungary’s LGBT community is preparing to rally, ignoring the government’s escalating anti-gay movement.
Johanna Majercsik, one of the organizers Pride Month in BudapestEnding with the parade, she said she expected to see more people than the approximately 20,000 marchers who participated in the city’s last pride parade two years ago.
“The society is very angry with what happened,” she said.
A sort of Law comes into force Earlier this month, the bill banned the depiction of LGBT themes to children, which had a huge impact on education, art and entertainment in the country.
Activists say that as the parliamentary elections next spring may be fierce, the far-right government Victor Orban It is seeking to strengthen its conservative base through anti-LGBT movements.
Different from Poland, Anti-LGBT speech was not a major part of Orban’s adjudication platform before Youth Party, Its campaign activities in the past five years have mainly focused on opposing immigration.
“They need a new group to be hated, I don’t think there is any other government Europe, Not even in Poland, which openly incites hatred against the people like this government,” said Máté Dániel Szabó of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union.
On Wednesday, Orban redoubled his efforts to legislate. Announce a referendum This will raise five main questions, namely whether Hungarians want their children to be “protected” from LGBT content.
“LGBTQ activists visit kindergartens and schools and offer sex education courses. They want to do this here Hungary It’s the same,” Orban said in a video speech announcing the referendum. He said the government has decided to hold a public vote after the bill is passed. Attacked by European politicians.
One question in the referendum document is: “Do you support showing minors with pornographic content that can affect their development without any restrictions?”
Although the government has repeatedly claimed that the law will protect children from pornography, it actually prohibits showing and discussing LGBT people and topics to young people.
There is an enforcement procedure to ensure that any content depicting LGBT people cannot be shown on TV during the day or evening. Principals who allow non-government-registered groups to conduct sex education may be fined, and the law also prohibits schools from teaching books with LGBT characters or topics.
“In literature, we talk about feelings, emotions, relationships, and love,” said Andrea Sipos, a Hungarian literature teacher at a high school in Miskolc. “I want to teach based on the needs of the children in the class, not based on a very narrow curriculum.”
Last fall, when a far-right congressman publicly tore Modern fairy tale book LGBT topics were covered, and Orbán’s cabinet chief called the book “gay propaganda” that should be banned. Sipos brought the book to the class for discussion among her students.
However, since the passage of the law, some parents have retrospectively complained about the “inappropriate content” of her courses, putting her at the potential risk of losing her job, although she still retains the support of the school principal.
“Of course, some teachers agree to the law, but many teachers are angry. But most of them remain silent. This is where self-censorship comes in,” she said.
The law has raised concerns about its impact on the growth of LGBT children. In the past, non-governmental organizations provided support and consultation in schools. Now, only government-approved groups are allowed to do so, and LGBT children will be cut off from books or topics related to them.
René van Hell, the Dutch ambassador to Budapest, said: “The children grew up directly, but some of them are born LGBTI like me. pride Saturday.
“For LGBTI children, it is important that they see a positive role model for their development and to be proud Hungarians,” he said.
Máté Mali, an 18-year-old from southern Hungary, said that even without the law, it is difficult to find books and information related to his growing up experience.
“I like to read, but after a while, I was tired of not finding myself in any book I was reading. Then I started reading books with gay characters, and I felt that I could finally see myself there,” He says.
Three years ago, Mali came out to his family and friends after watching a video of Budapest’s pride on TV and felt full of power, but Saturday will be the first time he will participate in the parade in person.
Mali said that the current climate in Hungary made him want to leave to study abroad as soon as possible. “It’s hard to imagine the future here… I don’t know where I will live after I finish my studies, but I know it won’t be Hungary,” he said.
More and more LGBT people in the country agree with this sentiment.
“I’m very lucky. I live in Budapest, my salary is good, and my colleagues are open-minded,” said Majercsik, 37, who works for an advertising agency. However, she said that the new legislation, coupled with the ban on legal gender changes last year, and the feeling that homosexuals are now more empowered, make LGBT people doubt whether they have a future in this country.
“If this government wins the election again next year, then I will have to think about it. After all, you have only one life,” she said.
