Full speech of Hungarian protest leader Katalin Törley speaking at the protest in Modiin tonight:

Good evening Modiin! Erev Tov Modiin!

My name is Katalin Törley, I am a teacher. It is wonderful to be here and see you all!

I came to you from a great country to a beatiful country, so how come these countries are still unhappy?

Visitors to Budapest see a quiet and peaceful, cheerful city. The outside observers do not think that there is poverty and dictatorship in Hungary, because they do not see the countryside regions falling apart, and because there is generally no violence on the streets. But dictatorship does not reside only in weapons.

You shout “if there is no democracy, there is no health”, and our public health system in Hungary has collapsed – we have to wait months even for the simplest test, and those who want treatment turn to private providers. Pay or die.
Do not let that happen to you!!!

You shout, “if there is no democracy, there is no academy”, academic freedom has been abolished in Hungary, and the European Union no longer gives scholarships to universities, because our universities have been subordinated to the politicians.
Do not let that happen to you !!!

Almost one million of the 10 million Hungarians left Hungary. Many grandparents only see their grandchildren on a screen.
Orbán’s relatives and friends win government tenders, and food prices have increased by more than 40 percent in the past year.
Do not let that happen to you !!!

Being homeless is a crime, and women seeking abortions are forced to listen to their fetus’s heartbeat before making the decision. Tear gas is fired at protesting students, protesting teachers are intimidated and fired, while the teacher shortage is staggering. They modify all the time the laws and the constitution according to their own financial and power interests.
Do not let that happen to you !!!

You shout “if there is no democracy, there is no education”. In Hungary, public education is destroyed, we teach the same curriculum from one single textbook. The government abolished teacher autonomy and school democracy, and maintains school segregation. There is no peaceful coexistence without inclusive education! And I shout “if there is no free education, there is no democracy”!
Do not let that happen to you !!!

I have been participating as an activist in the protests for more than seven years, and the situation is getting worse, more hopeless. It’s a fair question to ask why I haven’t given up yet. My answer is simple: for me, protesting and standing up for my professional and human dignity is a moral issue. If I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to look in the mirror and my children’s eyes, and after losing my job, I would have to leave my country as well. No way!
You should not only look at the immediate results, and not only at your goals. The most important thing is to maintain self dignity and pride and to set an exemple.

I am here to strengthen you protestors. Because your personal stand is the only thing that can protect you from abusive power. If you persevere and don’t give up! If you remain united and in solidarity!

In Hungary, every sector demonstrated alone: when laws were passed against doctors, doctors protested, when against teachers, only teachers demonstrated for a long time. But now the students and many parents are with us!

Here I see many colors together: I see you protesting together with red, blue, green and many other t-shirts. Keep it up – solidarity is your strength. Don’t let the power turn you against each other!

We all deserve to live in a happier, free, democratic country, to leave a happier, free, democratic country to our children. Because their future is at stake!
And because you have no other land.
Ein Lachem Eretz Acheret!!!