Hungarian interview - Adel Csima

Adel Csima was the daughter of a merchant in her native town of Budapest, Hungary. She recalls the difficult times leading up to the 1956 Revolution, including seeing her aunt's car being expropriated, and University students being made to parrot propaganda. She talks about spies at university, and how her husband got into trouble. Ms. Csima recalls how the student protest turned into a massive protest, and the mood in the streets was a mixture of good will, elation, cooperation. She heard tanks coming on November 3rd, and saw burned-out Russian tanks, relating how an aggressive tank followed her. She and her husband left because he was seen with a gun. They left Hungary on February 1957 via the Yugoslav border. Ms. Csima describes the poor condition of camps, and getting passage to Canada via the French port Le Havre. They arrived in Canada by ship and took train to Vancouver. She describes her first impressions and what life was like living in Vancouver. Eventually they moved to Toronto and had children, while her husband worked at the University of Toronto. Ms. Csima continued her math studies, and they had little money. In 1962 her children were finally allowed to join them in Canada.