Communist Relics in Budapest

If you are planning to go to Budapest, there is some place to visit if you are interested in relics, statues tanks from communist time or would like to drink a glass of beer or vodka in a “post communist atmospheric retro pub or restaurant” maybe eat an unbeatable Gulyas soup.

I recommend you to visit the Statue Park, Ecseri Flee Market, antique shops and don’t forget the House of Terror.

I already have my book published

Dear my friends, I just published my book via Blurb about Cambodian children with congenital disorders. Please spread the words or if you are able to buy it even for present, just go ahead and make me happy. Your support will be greatly appreciated:-) Thanks,
Janos

(Furthermore I'm also looking for exhibition places and people / companies sponsoring my exhibition)

Kedves Mindenki,
Megjelent a könyvem, mely a születési rendellenességekkel világrajött kambodzsai gyermekeket mutatja be. A fotók tavaly készültek a Handicap International Cambodia Siem Reapi Rehab. Központban. Kérlek küldjétek tovább, ha gondoljátok valakit érdekelhet, esetleg ha megszeretnétek rendelni, azzal a további hasonló projektjeimhez nyújtotok támogatást. Támogatásotokat nagyra értékelem. Köszönöm,
Janó

(Továbbiakban kiállítási helyet és szponzorokat is keresek....)

Hope by János Kis | Make Your Own Book

Slum families survived the fire but not the eviction

I just saw Carolyn O' Neill's photos about the burned shack houses at the riverside in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Very sad news, because this people had lost everything they earned in the past. Most of the families were living here almost for 20 years. Sometime three generation lived together and many of them were running small businesses in the house. At the beginning of 2010 I started to document the life of these slum families. I hired a local monk whom I knew well to join to my project as a fixer. By his help I got access to visit the shack houses inside and take some photo. These days the local government announced to beautify the city and evict hundreds of families living in shack houses at the riverbank. It looks they were lucky survived the force eviction until now. By the Phnom Penh Post article, the fire were caused by an electricity fault in a spirit house then it spread to a gas container. Today the Siem Reap based fellow photographer Eric De Vries dropped me a line that the reconstruction of stilt houses had started. Fortunately no one injured in this tragic fire.

Just a note: my pofile picture was taken inside one of the slum house in 2010

Whether you are in the area or elsewhere and heard about a charity to help these people, do not hesitate to contact me. I offer some of my photo for sell on an exhibition or joint charity event to help the slum community.

click here to read the Phnom Phen Post report

Gaddafi at the Embassy of Libya in Budapest

Outside the Embassy of Libya in Budapest, collection of old photographs populates the country on the building's fence in glass display. Libya - The Real Thing .... this text can be seen at the middle, down on display. What's new or the news you could ask? Somebody stuck a photo to the glass. Actually a heavily photoshopped (image manipulated) picture. ... and what's the subject? The lion haired Muamar Gaddafi and his "sons ?, plus maybe the members of his cabinet?" (I'm not sure)... posing as the national football team in an Israeli stadium and they all wear the Jewish symbol (David Cross) of the left side of their shirt. Behind the team, people waving Israeli flags. Other image shows Gaddafi's like the ghost soldier of death, wears his uniform among skulls. ... and the English translation of Merveilles et reves, text below the photo is Wonders and dreams.

Whether how long the Ambassador or the Consul of Libyan Embassy want to keep the photo stuck and dedicate the victory over the Gaddafi regime and his link with Israel?

Maybe we should asks Gaddafi's Hungarian wife Safia Farkash (nee Zsofia Farkas) whos grandfather Janos worked as a school inspector in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Is it only rumor or true, that Gaddafis' mother was a Jewish woman who converted to Islam at the age of 9 or the daughter of a Jewish woman who left her husband for and Arab Sheikh? The answer is maybe...

Remember when this year May 19, the Hungarian Ambassador to Libya coordinated the effort to rescuing the journalists; one British, one Spanish and two American.

Winner of 1969 Golden Ball Award died

I took these photos today about Florian Albert farewell honor at the Albert Stadium in Budapest. Besides the family and collegues, many football fans gathered for the event and payed their respects at the Football Ceazar’s coffin as well as outside the stadium. There were fans from other teams (clubs) too.

Florian Albert, who has died at aged 70, was elected European Footballer of the year in 1967 and was the last of the great pleayers to emerge from Hungary during its golden era.

Albert was the winner of the Golden Ball Award and the former sticker of Ferencvaros TC (Fradi). He’s took part of the 1962 and 1966 World Cup and won a bronz medal at the 1960 olympic Games. Following his retirement beeing involved in managerial carrier in Lybia by Al Ahly Benghazi.

War on the homeless in Budapest

This afternoon, The City is for All group has organized a peaceful event in front of the Parlament in Budapest, to the protection of homeless people's rights, advocate for their interest. The group is founded by homeless, and formerly homeless activists and their allies who fight for a society based on equality and justice. The government regulation targeting the homeless people living in Budapest and imposes a fine up to $250 if one is conducting lifestyle like behavior in public.

more photo on demotix

photo at the Parliament was published at the Global Voices

Paratroopers at the Western Wall

I found this photo in my archives. I took it in 2009 at the Old City, nearby the Western Wall. Behind the man walking into the picture, David Rubinger famous photo (copy) of three Israeli paratroopers after the recapture of Western Wall in the Six Day War.

Life in the Wagon

My new project is focused on homeless people. They are living in a converted former German hospital train nearby the city center of Budapest.

In Hungary since 1989, with the economical changes the inequalities among the different social classes have been increasing. The reduced number of working places, the decreasing number of cheap apartments built by the state, the closing down of several workers’ hostels and the changing of the social benefit system all led to a growing number of poor. An increasing number of these poor people, after losing their jobs, homes, and families become in one way or another socially isolated, and sooner or later end up living in the streets and become homeless.

In the country there are about 30.000-50.000 homeless people and half of them in Budapest. They are mainly huddle in the streets, doorways, abandoned building sites, railway stations or in hollows. Nearly 10.000 of them could use the temporary shelters and night shelters run by the local government or non-profit organizations.

Many people feel that all homeless people are entirely to blame for their own miserable situation. Those same people tend to believe that under no circumstance could they find themselves homeless. In reality, people from all walks of life can become homeless and almost no one is immune from the possibility.

The Wagon Night Shelter is a converted former German hospital train which was donated to the Hungarian railway which then passed it on to the order. The train is permanently sited and connected to the city’s heating and drainage system. There are showers and toilettes on board and have space for 110 people.

The shelter open its doors at six o’clock every evening when receive a steady stream of regulars as well as a few newcomers. They ask to show a proper ID card, medical certificate showing that they are not suffering from any contagious disease and the staff prefer it if they are not drunk. Ten social workers helping for the “night time residences” keep their spirits up. People can stay all night until eight in the morning, after the cleaners clean the train and make it ready for the following night. These people in the wagon became homeless for many different reasons but relationship breakdown, bereavement, addiction have played a part. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have different skills and experience. There are driver, electrician, carpenter, construction worker, waiter, seller, economist and sales person. Some of them are permanently working as street cleaner or do other skilled or unskilled job. Work as a figurant getting more and more popular among homeless. The film industry pays a bit better, since Hungarian film studios attract foreign film productions. Unfortunately most of the homeless are surviving from one day to another and gave up the hope to find an appropriate job and reintegrate to the society.

This year a new business opportunity appeared on the horizon. Selling Blood Plasma is an option for making a little money in a relatively short time. Homeless people can get quick cash. Is a two-three hour long process which can be done twice a week for HUF 1400 (US$7) a visit. Many of the homeless people, who are living in the wagon, have been doing it frequently. There are also tours companies already specialized for blood plasma tourism. They take the homeless people from Budapest to Vienna (Austria), where donors get paid around Euro 20 per each time. The payment will increase at Xmas for about Euro 50. The tours companies figured it out, the MLM System (network marketing) will increase the company net profit, so they pay extra commissions for those are bringing a new member.

The official retirement age in Hungary at present for women is 60, for men 65 (from 60 and 55 respectively) with at least 20 years of service. Many of the Hungarian people working without an employment contract, so are not eligible for public pension. The Hungarian government last year approved a set of measures to force Hungarians back into the state’s pension scheme and make life more difficult for any surviving private pension funds.

The shelter is respectably only for European men with the minimum age of 18. The youngest man was 22, when I was there and the oldest more than 70. A few have had their first experienced homeless. Most of the men are middle-aged. Many of them divorced at least once and have one or two children. Usually the ex-wives have been living in the property with the children and sometimes with her boyfriend or new husband. The ex-wives are eligible the social benefit, are designed to fund necessities so the children may finish high school.

The Wagon shelter provides toiletries, towels and blankets, plus free dinners every day. Special day is the Wednesday, when the food arrives from the luxurious 5 star Hotel Kempinsky. After dinner, there is time for relaxation: listening radio, reading a book or news paper, playing cards or chess, chatting, and of course just watching the trains through the windows. They are allowed to watch TV only on weekends until 10pm. There is no ban on smoking, but only allowed out of the wagon.

This assignment was made possible by the permission of Mr. Balazs Kenesey, the director of Wagon Night Shelter, which operates by The Hungarian Maltese Charity Service. The Hungarian Maltese Charity Service is the Hungarian Relief organization of 900 years old, sovereign Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem. This organization currently is the largest social service provider in Hungary. They are available for the help of the neediest on as much as 350 sites of the country.

Click here for more photo

Vann Nath In Coma

Rithy Panh, the most famous Cambodian film director announced a sad news, that Vann Nath had a heart attack on Friday night. Vann Nath is one of the survivor of the S-21 Khmer rouge secret prison. He painted several pictures witch are exhibited inside the Tuol Sleng Museum (former S-21) in Phnom Penh. By the latest news his in a cerebral coma. Hope he will survive and come back. I took the above photos in 2010 at the Tuol Sleng, when I met with Vann Nath fellow inmate Chum Mey, an other survivor. Today only three survivor remained alive, includes Van Nath the Battanbang born painter and Chum Mey the carpenter.

On the first photo Chum Mey posing for my camera next to Vann Nath paint. All the paints of Vann Nath can be seen, how the Khmer Rouge tortured innocent people.

The S-21, 14,000 men, women and children were interrogated, tortured and executed during the 1975-79 Pol Pot regime in Cambodia. Only seven survived.

to read more about Vann Nath, click here

and here

Fellow Sufferers (Khmer Landmine Victims)

Cambodia is one of the most landmine affected countries, and with over 25000 amputees it has the highest ratio per capita in the world. The Handicap International Cambodia operates a rehabilitation center in Siem Reap for mine victims where also provides physical treatment for children whose born with congenital disorders. Besides physical and mental treatment, the center fix and makes new prosthetic limbs for mine victims whose arriving the center from all around of the country.

The people who were participating with my photography project, all were mine victims and came to the center to get a new prosthetic limb. Must of them stayed approx for a week. They never met with each other before.

All the services at the Handicap International are free. Those are living far, the center pay the transportation.

Click here to see all the 16 pictures

Beyond borders

I find two pictures among my archives. One of I took in Israel and the other in Cambodia. The relation of the two pictures are about the every day protection. Not self protection. Protection of the human against an other "human". The sign with the child was located in the yard of Ministry of Tourism in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Campaign against child sex tourism in Cambodia supported by the government. Does the campaign is effective and successful enough? It is estimated that 1/3 of prostitutes in Cambodia are children. By the Trafficking in Persons Report of 2010 reports that the sale of virgin girls continues to be a serious problem in Cambodia. Must make pedophiles fear going to jail inside the country and not let them run away...

The other photo shows an Israeli solder girl with the machine gun on her back in a shoe store. I took this in Jerusalem.

Taxi drivers hold a protest at Budapest Hero's Square

Yesterday, I received an email from Demotix one of the photo editor. He let me know that at the Hero's square in Budapest, Taxi drivers will demonstrate. They will talk about the tariff and monopoly of services at the Ferenc Liszt International Airport.

Today it was a rainy day, but I went to the spot and done my assignment. It took for awhile to upload my photos to the agency server, because of the speed of my unreliable mobile connection. But soon after I received a message again from the same editor. My photo was chosen and made the front page. That's a good news, but that's means they are marked my story to sell for the mainstream media. So, now I just have to wait. How long? Hm....

Whether the media partners of this London based news agency are focusing such a story like Taxi drivers protest even if hits the Breaking News category and Hungary is the current holder of the EU presidency? Let's see....

For further photos please click here

High School Student Khmer Lady boys

Buddhist countries like Laos or Cambodia is not known for there lady-boys. Many trafficking stories continue in different brothels at different places. What is the future of the High School Student Khmer Lady boys? Are the young Khmer lady-boys will be or already targeted by "illegal" brothel owners and pips? These photos I took as a part of an unfinished project last year.

Hungarian man Sandor Kepiro war crimes trial

One of the world's most-wanted Nazi war criminals, Dr. Sandor Kepiro, 97 trial started in Budapest, Hungary. The former Hungarian police captain charged with taking part in January 1942 raids in the Serbia, Novi Sad. The Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter, Israel Director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, discovered and exposed the former gendarmerie officer, who played an important role in the January 23, 1942 mass murder of at least some 1,250 civilians in the Serbian city of Novi Sad. Zuroff discovered Kepiro living in the Hungarian capital after almost half a century in exile in Argentina and has spearheaded the efforts to hold him accountable for his role in helping to organize a massacre of Jewish, Serb and Roma residents of the city of Novi Sad in January 1942. All the officers implicated in the massacre were put on trial in Budapest in late 1943 and convicted in early 1944, but following the Nazi invasion of Hungary, their sentences were cancelled and they were given promotions and returned to active service, without any of them being punished.

Source: Simon Wiesenthal Center

Photos I took at the court are available for publication upon request.

Click here to Take a look at the photos