Author: Marietta Le

The second semester started three weeks ago at Hungarian universities. It's not an easy thing going to school again after a capricious period full of exams, and now it has even become annoying for some. Students of Corvinus University of Budapest have already experienced three bomb alerts so far in this semester. After the third one, this week they started to campaign against the unknown person blocking the university's life with calls reporting a bomb was placed somewhere on the campus.

The students of Corvinus considered the act totally incomprehensible and uncomfortable. Tymi of Szappanopera blog wrote a post (HUN) titled “Bomb Alert? Oh… just the usual!” on Wednesday:

A bomb alert is usual for whom? Of course for BRFK [Budapest Police Headquarters] and the bomb squad. At Corvinus University there have already been three bomb alerts in this very semester, and none of them were training exercises.

The first one happened in the first week of the term, on Wednesday. Those who came by 8 AM, couldn't enter the main building. From the new “Yellow Monster” [a new building] they bundled out the students half an hour later. Those who heard the news about the main building, weren't surprised. It was assumed that they would check the other building, too. Then it was “fun,” we were happy to have some extra free time. We didn't feel like we were missing something, since in the first week teachers only rush through the syllabus, if it's needed we create groups for the tasks of the semester, and then everybody leaves. It's not a big loss for the students. The annoying thing was that we had to wake up early to reach the lecture/seminar beginning at 8 o'clock. The timing of the threat was a bit strange. In the first week there are no exams, no tests, no guest speakers, no minister nor top dog visiting. Okay then…

A week goes by calmly, and in the third week of the semester on Monday the campus on the Pest side was evacuated again. Most of the students don't have classes on Monday, so the timing is foolish again! Who the heck is such a loser that he can't even disturb some important event, but the calmness of those working there? However the bomb alert expanded to all the three buildings of the campus. I could say the caller improved so. Most of us were smiling, and shaking their heads.

Then in the same week, today, there's a bomb alert again. When I got off the tram in the very dawn (at 7:30am) and saw two policemen standing in front of the main entrance, I assumed that there was something happening again. A girl getting off the tram at the same time expressed the same opinion as mine with a loud “dammit”. Why did I wake up so early again for nothing?! […] It was okay in the first week that there was no school, but now the students don't feel like having fun either, since classes that are held only in every second week are cancelled this way. We have to make up for these some time, but presumably on very inconvenient dates. […]

However the events raised awareness among students to use social networks and micro-blogging sites more frequently to be informed in time. Corvinyusz of Corvinull blog blamed the communication of the university in her post (HUN). She also started a poll (HUN) about what kind of medium would the students prefer for instant communication from the university.

[…] And what is missing on behalf of the university? THE COMMUNICATION! From where did I get to know all the three dates in time? From Twitter and e-mail, and then I googled it up and found it online, too, then I called up my friends, who didn't know anything yet. All this happened between 9 and 10 every time. But the one of today, I couldn't find it on the net, so I picked up the phone to verify it (the seventh number did answer…) […]

Gesa and Laura are two exchange students at Corvinus, they also published their Facebook activity on their blog to demonstrate how the bomb alert made them upset:

Today we had bomb threat number 3 in 3 weeks so far. We are not sure what's going on in this city and with this school, but we are getting a little annoyed. If random students call in all the time, can they not call in 5 days in the row. Then we could at least go on vacation for one week! […]

Lauras Status: Laura Baum Bomb threat number 3! I'm here for 3 weeks now. Means 1 bomb threat every week. Where the hell are we?!?! […]

Corvinus students tweeted information about the bomb alert by the hashtags Corvinus and bombariadó ('bomb alert'), and started Facebook groups dealing with the topic. For example against the one who distracts them from studying: Legyen bombariadó a Corvinuson bombariadót csináló lakásában!!! (HUN) (”Make a bomb alert in the apartment of the one who makes bomb alert at Corvinus!!!”). Another one is Bombariadó van? Haha,dejó.//Megint?? Najo,visszafekszem.//MEGINT??? F*szom demonstrates the levels the students have gone through from having fun of extra free time for sleeping to being totally annoyed. And another group promotes online communication among students: I check my e-mail before going to school, to make sure there's no bomb alert.

The story of one of the most successful Hungarian citizen campaigns started at the end of last year when dedicated citizens and NGOs revealed to the mainstream media that a member of an international company presumably got permission to expand their shopping mall (Auchan) on the outskirts of Dunakeszi (a town close to Budapest, the capital), on the basis of a false examination from the National Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water of Hungary.

Groves in the Dunakeszi marsh, photo courtesy of Péter Pacsuta

Vastagbőr blog, which always reflects ironically on Hungarian public life, shared the whole story (HUN):

There is something in Dunakeszi that is special. An “invisible” marsh. The interest of the shop with the bird sign made it invisible, because money dictates, while the trees, the bushes, the bugs, the birds are such outdated stuff.

We find the peat ponds of Dunakeszi at the northern border of Újpest, on the same line with Dunakeszi-alsó train station. The swampy, marshy area used to run from the Mogyoródi brook to Dunakeszi, dotted with small ponds. The swampy area and the masses of mosquito species kept humans away, so the wildlife remained untouched – except for anglers and holidaymakers, nobody disturbed the silence of the nature.

Then came the MAN. In the first half of 1998, because of the construction of the M0 motorway at Káposztásmegyer, the grounds of the area with bushes, willows and aspens were chopped down, the greenery was burned down together with the animals living there, and the small ponds were banked up. Of course by a foxy manner: they were waiting for the environmental permission, but they were constructing at the same time. So when the letter of the authority arrived, declaring that it was not allowed to build there, the road was almost ready. The penalty of a million or so was probably easily paid. (If there was any.)

As memory from the marsh only a small part remained, two small ponds with groves of bushes, willows and aspens around, but now it's marked out by Auchan for building a parking lot. For this it must be certified that at that place there's no marsh, because if it's on the contrary, the area is considered protected, no parking lot can be built there.

[quote from the law of 1996 about the protection of nature conservation areas]

Checkmate. Or rather, foul play!

Since the expert witness asked by the National Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water “certified” with soil samples that the habitat in question is totally dry, it's not qualified as marsh. […]

Contributors of the campaign against the constructions lead by Dr. György Kriska, Dr. György Szollát and by the organizations, Live Chain for Hungary (Élőlánc Magyarországért, HUN) and Dunakeszi Peat Pond Environmentalist Foundation (Tőzegtó Környezetvédelmi Alapítvány), prepared a map which shows the planned construction area in green and marks the places where video documentation has been made.

Dunakeszi tőzegláp nagyobb térképen való megjelenítése

One of the most viewed videos on the marsh is with an activist who's summarizing and reviewing the accuracy in the report of the expert witness of the inspectorate while standing right in a peat pond: “The expert made prospect holes and he observed that in the area of the prospect holes the soil is sandy and dry. I am now close to one of those prospect holes.”

Dr. György Kriska launched a website (HUN) dedicated to the Dunakeszi marsh, where he collected media mentions of the conflict, shared detailed research and photos about the flora and fauna of the marsh and its peat ponds. Also a Facebook page (HUN) titled “Let's save the Dunakeszi marsh!” has been created.

A peat pond during winter time, photo courtesy of György Kriska

Droli of Hiper, a blog dealing with shopping malls, highlighted (HUN) the other side in the debate, though he emphasized that destroying the environment is not a solution:

It must be admitted about the Auchan at Dunakeszi that it's a shopping mall with bustling trade, it's not an exaggeration to say it's among the first three in the country, too. So the people like the Dunakeszi Auchan. And that's where the troubles start.

Most of the people arrive by car, since the Dunakeszi Auchan is located at the end of the world. A solution would be a bicycle or a shopping tricycle, but we shouldn't have doubts, we know the transport culture of our compatriots, drivers and bicyclists would swear on each other, so it's not realistic. […] On foot it's far from everything, and we are familiar with BKV [public transportation]… So it's not by chance that customers arrive to the shopping center by car. The mall can say: I have to solve the problem, the parking lot is full, what should I do?

However, it doesn't authorize them to destroy a wonder of nature! […]

Pacsker, the blogger of Greenr, has also been supporting the campaign for the marsh: he has dedicated 14 posts (HUN) to the case. In his second post (HUN) about the marsh, he shared his vision of how this debate would affect the society:

[…] I'm saying that this marsh will set a precedent and unite the society – from the blogger to the environmental engineering student, to the tabloid press, to the higher leadership!