We had to flee without our children
author
Katalin Szilági Perjési
Leaving her children behind when the youngest one was less than a year old, Katalin and her husband risked their lives escaping over the Hungarian–Rumanian border, with the help of passers who knew the best ways around the Rumanian border guards and their dogs. The couple managed to cross the border, but they had to wait almost a year to be reunited with their children. Their lives gradually improved, as they settled in and found jobs.
Postcard
- Text
- Dear Kati and Imi! These are not our New Year’s wishes yet, but our greetings from Biharfüred (but that’s not what you can see on the picture), where we spent a weekend together. The Szabó-Gajmers, the Thalmeiners, and the Erdőss, 4 November 1989
- Romanian People's Republic, 2 December 1989
- The card was sent a few days before the protests of the 22-25 December 1989 in Bucarest, that lead to the fall of Nicolae Ceauşescu regime.
- Szeged
- To Szilagy Perjesi Kati and Imi Aprilish, 51 6724 Szeged, Hungary Katalin and her husband escaped to Hungary to flee the persecution of the Hungarian minority in Rumania under Ceausescu's rule.
personal archives
The Passport
Passport of Reka Szilágyi Perjési, with datas and pictures of her brother, Gergò on the 5th page.
country: People’s Republic of Romania / year:
Reka Szilagyi Perjesi’s passport, with her brother Gergò’s photo and I.D. information on the fifth page. They crossed the Hungarian border with this passport in December 1989, thanks to the help of an evangelical Reverend’s family.
A Secret Baptism
Baptism of Katalin's first daughter, celebrated at home in Oradea.
country: People’s Republic of Romania / year:
Baptism of Katalin's first daughter, celebrated at home in Oradea. Many people celebrated religious rituals in private, since the Department of Cults in Rumania – officially an atheist country – regulated religious activities: open-air services, community work, pilgrimages, and evangelization, especially of young people, were all strictly forbidden.
The Wedding Party
Picture of Katalin and Imre’s wedding, in 1986.
country: People’s Republic of Romania / year:
Picture of Katalin and Imre’s wedding, in 1986. They had a civil ceremony in Oradea. Katalin and Imre belonged to the Romanian Hungarian minority, historically settled in Transylvania. By the late 80s however, the dramatic economic situation and the growing discrimination towards the Hungarian minority forced many of them to flee to Hungary, as Katalin and Imre did in 1989.
Last summer in Rumania
Katalin and her daughter in Oradea, Rumania.
country: People’s Republic of Romania / year:
Katalin and her daughter in Oradea, Rumania. This picture was taken during the last summer Katalin spent with her family in Rumania. A few months later, she and her husband decided to flee the country to escape police, who were pressuring them to become informants.