History/Political Science paper by Máté, Zsolt
Medical Status of the 1956 Hungarian Refugees (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
In 1956 almost 200,000 Hungarian left their homeland. In the '50s smallpox and polio were serious diseases, do all countries that sought to help Hungarian refugees had to reckon with their medical condition. Since the discovery of the New World, migration is connected with the transportation of dangerous viruses. Because of this, Hungarian refugees were vaccinated before transportation to the United States or had to prove their health with an X-ray of their chest. The presenter used American and Australian documents to examine the medical condition of the Hungarian refugees and the medical issues associated with their reception. Many pregnant, handicapped, and sick people were among the refugees. In Camp Kilmer, the U.S. Army wrote a very detailed medical statistical report about the refugees. This constitutes a great source about the medical condition of the almost 30,000 Hungarian refugees who came through Camp Kilmer. Australia used a camp, called Bonegilla, for the quarantine of Hungarian refugees. Hopefully the presentation relates how migration and associated infections were handled in the past and how we could learn from this for our future.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
I am a PhD-student and High School Teacher (History-IT) of University of Pécs. I write my dissertation about the Governmental Reactions to the Hungarian Revolution in the U.S., Canada and Australia. I have published a book about 1956 Hungarian refugees in Graz. I am a two times Countrywide Scientific Student Conference (OTDK) winner and Pro Scientia Gold Medalist. I have participated in conferences in Canada, France, Hungary. I did researches in Canada, Australia, United States of America, Austria, Sweden.