Targu Mures mayor Soós Zoltán announced on Friday that during his meeting with Sztojka Attila, the Hungarian Government's Secretary of State for Social Opportunities and Liaison with the Roma Community, they discussed opportunities for the Roma, as well as ways to support the social inclusion of this community.
"I welcomed Sztojka Attila, Secretary of State for Social Opportunities and Liaison with the Roma Community in the Government of Hungary, alongside his delegation. We spoke openly about real opportunities for Roma communities and about concrete steps through which we can support their social inclusion. At the Fortress, we opened the exhibition 'Free Together - Hungarian Roma Heroes', and then we went to pay our respects in a tribute to Puczi Béla, in Sangeorgiu de Mures. It's a story we must not forget. In March 1990, in a difficult moment for our city, he had the courage to protect innocent people. He chose peace when this was the hardest to do. I believe such examples show us the way to follow: without solidarity and without courage, we cannot build a strong community. And Targu Mures needs both now, more than ever," Soós Zoltán wrote on Facebook on Friday.
The open-air temporary exhibition 'Free Together - Hungarian Roma Heroes' is organised in the Targu Mures Fortress by the House of Terror Museum in Budapest and highlights the cooperation between Roma and Hungarians, with reference to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the March 1990 violent events in Targu Mures.
One of the figures featured in the exhibition is Puczi Béla (1948 - 2009), a Roma man from the commune of Sangeorgiu de Mures, considered one of the modern representatives of this spirit of sacrifice and solidarity due to his role during the March 1990 ethnic conflict in Targu Mures, as he and others defended the Hungarian protesters against ultra-nationalist Romanians.
He became famous for the message: "Ne féljetek magyarok, megjöttek a cigányok!" ("Don't be afraid, Hungarian brothers, the Roma are here!"
Puczi Béla spent his final years in Hungary, receiving posthumously the Minorities for Hungary award (2010), and in 2017 his name was inscribed on a commemorative plaque placed in Budapest's Nyugati Railway Station.
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