Members of Faith Church and Jobbik protect a dam shoulder to shoulder

Of the Ministry of Human Resources, the state secretariat responsible for church affairs and the relationships of nationalities and civil social groups asked churches with a legal status in Hungary in a circular letter to assess in what ways they could help people in trouble as a consequence of the flooding. According to György Hölvényi most churches responded within 24 hours, claiming they were ready to help to organise as effective protection as possible. HISZ, the Charity Organisation of Faith Church has been present at the critical areas of the Danube banks since the beginning of the week. Their staff contacted local mayors and local controllers from the organisation of disaster protection. Their non-stop operating direct-control centre coordinates more than a thousand activists offering manual help. Since a great number of new volunteers have offered them help, their action teams arrive at the scenes assigned as needs arise. In the first half of the week they went to Szigetköz, Almásfüzitő, Győr, Komárom, Esztergom, the Római-bank, Csillaghegy and Margaret Island. Towards the end of the week dawn met them in Bár near Mohács, in Győrújfalu, Dunabogdány, Szentendre, Dunaújváros, Kisapostag, Vác and at Dagály Bath (literally Tide Bath) in Budapest.

Faith people from Székesfehérvár building the dams until 1 am in Komárom were directed to go to Dunaalmás, because the town was in danger according to the news. It did not take long for them and for the volunteers of Jobbik welcoming them there to find out why they looked so familiar to each other. They had faced each other at numerous anti-fascist demonstrations from different sides of the cordons, but this time leaving behind their different views they were filling their sandbags until 6 am together to prevent the leaking dam from breaking. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also visited the Komárom sections of the Danube, and together with the staff of the mayor's office he thanked Faith Church for their ongoing presence and the great number of people present on their behalf.

In Dunabogdány about a hundred students from Bornemisza Péter Primary and Secondary School (Institutions of Faith Church) protected main road No.11 in very heavy rain. Due to a lack of lorries the sandbags were transported there on the school bus, and the students built the dam so that the water would not cut the town off. The next day the students arrived at Margaret Island with three buses, and having finished the work there, they went to Dagály Bath, where the dam was only built by Friday. Dagály is almost always flooded by flash floods, it is the prevention of a significant damage that is important here. The complex has a daily turnover of 3 million HUF, threrefore in the past few days two or three hundred Faith people have continuously been working there to protect it. The Budapest team was joined by volunteers from Balatonfüred and Salgótarján, and together with the activists of the Baptist Church they built up a several hundred metres long protection system in three days. The released workpower moved on in several buses and arrived in Esztergom on Friday night and joined the local action team. Faith people have been taking part in the voluntary work in the capital of the Danube Bend on Kis-Duna Boulevard from day one. This is considered to be a problematic place because if the water flows over the stone dam most of the city centre ends up flooded.

In Győrújfalu the next one and a half days will be the most critical. The activists of HISZ were able to take part in building sandbag barriers, but later the authotities sealed the area so that the unstable parts of the dam would be protected by professionals, soldiers and helicopters of the army. Since then Faith people have been taking part in feeding those working on the dam. On Friday they distributed 500 portions of food on the section up to Dunaszentpál, on Saturday it is Faith Church Szombathely, on Sunday Faith Church Sopron, and on Monday it is Faith Church Ajka that supplies food and staff to provide for the needs of those protecting the area. Many were ordered to leave the „supply“ and go to Dunaszentpál and Győrzámoly, where a water jet caused problems for local disaster relief specialists.

HISZ's public action starts off on Friday night in Dunaújváros, where young volunteers will offer their help to save personal property for those living near the free beach in houses in danger. Upon request from the regional warden of the Alliance of Hungarian Jewish Faith Communities another group of volunteers will protect the local Jewish cemetery. 

Further information: www.hit.hu