Published: 15.3.2023
Associate professor at Uzhhorod National University, Viktor Traski, an ethnic Hungarian family man from Transcarpathia who volunteered to serve on the Ukrainian front, was awarded this year’s Unbroken Award (Rendületlenül-díj), as the founder of the award MEP István Ujhelyi reported on his social media page.
In a video of the online award ceremony, the Social Democrat politician said that for the third year in a row, the award is presented to Hungarians living beyond the borders of Hungary who tirelessly build and nurture local Hungarian communities, thus strengthening the positive image of our nation far from our shared homeland. „I had all things in mind when we established this award, except that we would have a recipient who would serve his country, his nation, his family and all of us in a trench in the 21st century,” said István Ujhelyi, in his tribute to the Hungarian Associate Professor from Ukraine.
During the online chat, Viktor Traski said it was an honour to receive the recognition on behalf of all Transcarpathian Hungarians. The young academic said that although he would not have been conscripted as a university professor, he volunteered to go to the front because he wanted to be able to „look himself in the mirror” after the war and do his utmost to defend Ukraine from Russian aggression. „I am fighting to live in freedom and peace in Transcarpathia. This is very similar to the principle of the 1848 revolution. However, our struggle for self-defence is perhaps closer to the events of 1956, where also the Russians played the main role,” said Viktor Traski. In response to a question, the teacher from Uzhhorod said that it was not easy to cope mentally with the ordeal of war. When he would meet children in small villages with tragic fates, he would always think of his own children, who, if Russian aggression was not stopped, could end up with a similar fate.
In the discussion published on the social media site, István Ujhelyi pointed out that in the coming decades, as a symbolic hero of Ukrainian-Hungarian coexistence, Viktor Traski would have „an incredible responsibility and opportunity” to restore the relations that politics had ruined. „Take care of yourself, because in the coming years, you will have a much more important task than at any time in the recent past,” Ujhelyi said, adding that while he could only present the award virtually for the time being, he hoped that peace would soon be restored and that he would be able to take the prize to Transcarpathia in person. During the conversation, it was mentioned that Viktor Traski is currently on a few days’ leave with his family, as he said he would be deployed to the front again after the 20th.
Two people have been honoured in recent years with the Unbroken Award: a leader of the Hungarian community in Scotland Ildikó „Indy” Mair and Director of the National Theatre in Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mures), Attila Gáspárik.
You can watch the short video with Viktor Traski at the following link (in Hungarian): https://bit.ly/3JfObkZ
Budapest/Brussels – 15/03/2023