Guaranteeing Equal Opportunities

Since the Hungarian Defence Forces cannot exclude themselves from social impacts or from the requiements set for the society, they try to promote acceptance and openness and call attention to the proper treatment of social inequalities. Moreover they put an emphasis on raising the awareness of the personnel as regards equal opportunities and equal treatment, and on extending their knowledge. Such courses and programs are especially important today, when a project is launched the result of which will be the appearance of young Romas in the defence forces – it was said on Sunday, the Equal Opportunities Day of the Hungarian Defence Forces in Debecen, the guests of which were invited from the disadvantaged towns and villages of the Northern Plain Region.

The whole-day program was opened by Minister of Defence Dr. Imre Szekeres. The defence minister underlined: by organizing this Equal Opportunities Day they intend to start a tradition and in the future this event will be hosted by various military organizations. He also emphasized that the Hungarian Defence Forces – in cooperation with other portfolios – have relaunched their specialized military and pre-training programs, which can help the integration of severely disadvantaged groups and young Romas in the Northern Plain Region. In the framework of the project twenty young unemployed people of Roma origin have had the opportunity to complete a course that gives an ’OKJ’ qualification recognized by the state. Those who complete the program successfully will be awarded a diploma certifying their armed security guard and basic military studies and if they are willing to accept it, they can join the contracted personnel of the Hungarian Defence Forces.

"The uniform covers the ethnic origin"

In his opening address Minister Imre Szekeres highlighted two big areas of the equal opportunities policy of the ministry. On the one hand, as regards the issue of national and ethnic minorities, he spoke about the equal opportunities situation of young people of Roma origin. “The integration of Romas can be realized in the areas of employment, education, identity, and social communication. One of our most important programs is the career orientation camp organized for young disadvantaged or Roma people, that has been hosted by us every summer since 2003" – said the minister. About the other area, the issue of equal social opportunities for women and men the head of the portfolio said: the equal opportunities policy of the Ministry of Defence and the Hungarian Defence Forces fully implements the "equal wages for equal work" principle, which is not always the case at national level.

– It is a profession to serve in the Hungarian Defence Forces. The most important symbol of our profession is the uniform, and the uniform covers the ethnic origin. There are no women and men, girls and boys, Romas or not Romas serving in the military. There are soldiers serving in the Hungarian Defence Forces, soldiers who have earned recognition and respect for Hungary, the defence forces, and themselves alike – said Imre Szekeres.

Following the opening event the Defence Minister and Lt.Gen. (Eng.) János Mikita, the Deputy Chief of MoD Defence Staff opened HDF’s first human service office for the public in the framework of a formal ceremony. The office will provide various services for the troops of the Debrecen corps and their families. The family members of soldiers on mission can ask for legal assistance for instance, but in the so-called video room they can talk live to their beloved ones serving in a mission, while the children can find entertainment in the playing room.

After the national tricolour ribbon was cut on the entrance of the office, Brig.Gen. Dr. Gábor Böröndi, the Commander of the Debrecen Infantry Brigade said: the idea of opening this office was raised back in December 2007 by Brig.Gen. János Kovács, the Commander of the brigade at that time. Following the preparatory works, the human services office began the so-called ’test operation’ this March. Maj. Zsolt Minya, the Commander of the office added to this: the past few months have proven that there is a need for the office. What is more, even more similar institutions should be established within the Hungarian Defence Forces.

Commanders’ meeting about equal opportunities

The first Equal Opportunities Day of the Hungarian Defence Forces continued with a so-called commanders’ meeting where presentations were held about the equal opportunities program of the armed foces. Defence Minister Imre Szekeres explained: one of the important measures of how modern the Hungarian Defence Forces are is the attention they pay to the problems that are present in society, and the answers they give to the real questions arising in daily life. The Hungarian Defence Forces have passed this test with an excellent result again, because they are characterized by an entirely new and modern way of thinking and implement equal opportunities not only in theory but also in practice.

– At the Hungarian Defence Forces we are reconsidering the entire human resources strategy in the framework of equal opportunities. In its Equal Opportunity Directives for 2009/2010 the portfolio aims at ensuring equal opportunities between genders in the course of recruitment, and takes into consideration the programs and measures promoting the social integration of Roma people – said Imre Szekeres, also mentioning that military recruitment would like to focus on contacting people who live in towns or villages with no employment opportunities, and people from disadvantaged families or of Roma origin. Every corps of the Hungarian Defence Forces follow this practice.

– What I have experienced is that communication within the Hungarian Defence Forces is a priority issue in equal opportunity policy. This internal communication ensures that equal opportunities are present as fundamental rights – Imre Szekeres said. In the opinion of the head of the defence portfolio guaranteeing equal opportunities for women and men is a key question in the life of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The army has achieved an outstanding result in this field, for nearly twenty percent of the people serving in the defence forces are female, and the ladies are present in each and every special military area and type of assignment. Since in the Hungarian Defence Forces the wages are set after taking into consideration the rank, position, and the specifics of the job, this guarantees right from the start that remuneration has nothing to do with gender, age, or ethnic origin. The prerequisites of promotion are qualifications and proficiency.

– In the case of women, the main question is motherhood. Therefore we have incorporated guarantees in the system of the Hungarian Defence Forces: if someone is having a child and stays at home with the baby, her position cannot be eliminated. She cannot suffer any kind of disadvantage as a result of undertaking motherhood – the defence minister stated. Speaking about the integration of Roma people he explained: this has become a very difficult and complicated process in Hungary. In decreasing discrimination the Hungarian Defence Forces can do a lot, for they invite and welcome young Romas to join them as contracted soldiers. Since this profession can help not only the young recruit but also their families rise from the depressive situation most Roma social groups are in. In addition to that, the armed forces also follow the career of non-commissioned or commissioned officers of Roma origin.

Imre Szekeres added: in the integration process of Roma people the question of education plays a major role, therefore the armed forces awards the ’Balázs Lippai’ scholarship every six months to young Roma soldiers attending NCO or military college trainings. Their facultative subjects also include studies about traditional Gipsy clothing.

Lt.Gen. Tibor Benkõ, Commander, HDF Joint Forces Command underlined in his presentation: equal opportunities and equal treatment cannot be separated from each other. For the commanders of the military corps implementing equal opportunities in practice it is often a daily challenge, since the Hungarian Defence Forces – as a special employer – have certain special features. Features that cannot be taken into consideration as regards equal opportunities, because the current legislation specifies an age limit for joining the service and stipulates that disabled people and people with limited employment capabilities cannot sign up for contracted military service. Naturally, this does not mean that in the Hungarian Defence Forces there are no physically challenged employees, but this is not feasible among soldiers wearing a uniform.

Speaking about female troops Gen. Benkõ said: fifteen years ago, in 1994, there were only 1,500 servicewomen in the Hungarian Defence Forces, and today their number exceeds 4,000. However, when examining the equal opportunities situation of women, certain questions have to be asked, such as the European norm of courtesy, differences between dressing codes, or absence because of children, since these questions may reveal the differences in opinions.

Col. (ret.) Tibor Jóni, the official responsible for Roma affairs in the Ministry of Defence began his presentation with telling about the origin of the Roma people and their main groups in Hungary, then he spoke about the demographic changes of the Gipsy population and the situation of Gipsies in Hungary and the prejudices against Romas. Following that he explained the legal background of the Ministry’s program promoting the social integration of Gipsy people and the tasks and programs related to Roma affairs. He underlined: this activity belongs to the responsibilities of the Communication and Recruitment Department at the moment. At the end of his presentation the official in charge of Roma affairs shared his opinion with the audience about the questions of recruitment and career orientation, and the opportunities of Romas in education.

As the last presenter in the commanders’ meeting, Sergeant Dr. Mónika Láda, the official in charge of equal opportunities at the Hódmezõvásárhely garrison of the Debrecen infantry brigade said: at István Bocskai Infantry Brigade, there is no discrimination resulting from the situation of women. Moreover, the corps guarantee discrimination-free enrollment for women on courses and further trainings. The troops can sign up for further trainings voluntarily. The official in charge of equal opportunities also told the participants that in their opinion, there are only a small number of Roma soldiers in Hódmezõvásárhely. They are not discriminated, separated, and they do not separate themselves from other personnel either. Romas are evaluated on the basis of their performance and not their ethnicity, and when planning human resources they do not take the gender, ethnic group, skin colour, or nationality of the troops into consideration, or if they are members of a national or ethnic minority.

Video contact and celebrity concerts

The Equal Opportunities Day hosted by the Debrecen brigade also included a very special event. The Ministry of Defence announced a competition titled ‘Greetings to Afghanistan’ for primary school pupils all over the country, who could enter with 10-minute movie spots about their daily life. Seventeen groups have entered the competition, they have also collected donations for Afghan children. The exercise books, pencils, pens, toys, and clothes were taken to a girls’ school in Afghanistan and the pupils of an orphanage in Pol-e Khumri in May by the delegation led by Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres.

The winner of the competition, the third and fourth grades of Kazinczy Ferenc Member School of Radnóti Miklós Elementary School of Kincsesbánya have won a holiday at Lake Balaton and what is more, they were given the opportunity to talk to Afghan children – with the help of live video contact – on the Equal Opportunities Day of the Hungarian Defence Forces.

In the meantime, the organizers of the day were awaiting the guests with various programs on the parade ground of the Debrecen barracks. The show of the garrison band and the majorettes was followed by hand-to-hand combat, formal, and small arms demonstrations. The wheelchair dancers have also introduced themselves and those who felt courageous enough could try the wheelchair obstacle course. The guests could also test their skills in Roma arts and crafts and painting with foot or mouth. In the recruitment tent everyone could ‘fly’ a few circles with the JetFly fighter plane simulator.

The guests could also find a similar simulator in the recruitment coach of MoD Zrínyi Non-profit Company. Perhaps it does not even have to be said, there were long queues in both places, so many people who wanted to try the flight simulators and become a famous Hungarian fighter pilot, for example Gyula Vári or Zoltán ‘Topi’ Szabó for a few minutes…

The stage was taken over by popular bands. Khamoro was followed by The Breeze Blues Band, then the special guest of the day, L.L. Junior arrived. The very popular young rapper arrived at the Debrecen barracks in an extraordinary way: at the checkpoint-passing point at the gates of the garrison the reconnaissance troops found a weapon in his car. Therefore they searched him and led him away with handcuffs on. Of course, this was just a game, even the defence minister was smiling when he saw it. Imre Szekeres asked the rapper – who changed into a uniform in the meantime – about his recent video of his song titled ’Where does the road lead?’. L.L. Junior said that they enjoyed the shooting and the result is beyond their expectations. Fortunately, tens of thousands have already seen the video on the internet, therefore the song – which tells the story of a young Roma and a non Roma soldier meeting each other and turning into friends – can also help the cause of equal opportunities. Before the concert finished, Imre Szekeres promoted the young singer to ’honorary private’. Not surprisingly, L.L. Junior’s concert was a huge success, the audience was ecstatic and the loud applause made the celebrity guest of the event return more than once. Naturally, the song titled Where does the road lead? was also on the repertoire.

From the career orientation camp to the day of equal opportunities

The participants of HDF’s career orientation camp for young Romas were also present on the Equal Opportunities Day in Debrecen. Lt.Col. Judit Mészáros, the Deputy Head of MoD’s Communication and Recruitment Department, one of the organizers of the camp told honvedelem.hu: this year’s camp is hosted by the Debrecen infantry brigade. The ten-day program conducted at Ádám Vay Training Base of Hajdúhadháza was attended by 57 youngsters from all regions in the country. The aim of the summer camp that has been organized for seven years is to promote military service in the Hungarian Defence Forces among young Romas.

One of the programs of this year’s camp – held between 29 June and 7 July – was a visit to the Equal Opportunities Day. The campers were accompanied by young NCOs and enlisted troops who are proud of their Roma origin.

Speaking about the programs Lt.Col. Judit Mészáros said: all kinds of military activities have been organized for the campers, for instance they had to participate in formal trainings, night marches, and orientation trainings on an open terrain. Of course, there were various cultural events as well the high points of which was a dance and the lecture on traditional Gipsy clothing.

The campers had a very good time on the Equal Opportunities Day. Like many of them said when we asked them, they liked the concerts of the bands very much, and they also tried moving around in a wheelchair. Which was not as easy as they had expected…