mediacrit.com

Keszthely, Hungary – News about the rest of the world filters into the U.S. news media usually through the White House. That is, what the White House thinks is important internationally becomes what the news media notice about the rest of the world.

In this regard, the White House (no matter the administration) becomes a major player in setting agenda for what little international news we get. For instance, when was the last time you heard about Hungary in the news? This year, perhaps never, except for the occasion of Secretary of State Colin Powell’s brief visit to Hungary in late July.

Powell’s upbeat message to Hungary, as reported in the U.S. news media, such as CNN, was “stay the course” – exactly how the Department of State framed the message. Hungary was one of the European countries that joined the “coalition.” (Like most countries other than the U.S. and the United Kingdom, Hungary sent support personnel.)

What was scarcely reported about Powell’s visit (and what the State Department doesn’t want you to know) is that Hungary is likely to bring their 350 troops home at the end of this year, regardless of Powell’s appearance here. Already this year, at least five nations have dropped out of the “coalition of the willing,” and Hungary (along with the Czech Republic to the north) are soon destined to join the coalition of the unwilling.

In Hungary, popular and political support has faded, making it extremely unlikely the Parliament will extend their troops tour of duty when it expires at the end of this year. Hungarians now speak of the war in Iraq as Bush’s Private War.

The other issue about Powell’s visit that interested Hungarians but didn’t register even a tiny peep in the U.S. news media is the difficulty and expense for Hungarians to obtain travel visas to the U.S. Hungary doesn’t require Americans to get a visa to visit their country. Our U.S. passport is permission enough. Yet for Hungarians visiting the U.S., a passport isn’t sufficient.

Even though Hungary is now part of the European Union and Powell referred to the unshakable “depth of friendship” between Hungary and the U.S., the United States subjects Hungarians to a much more difficult process to visit our country.

This process, described to me as “humiliating” by an American-educated telecommunications engineer here, requires that visa applicants first make a toll telephone call to the U.S. consulate. The call costs approximately $1.50 a minute, and –with the U.S. consulate apparently taking a tip from psychic hotlines in America – callers are often put on hold for several minutes while the phone charges pile up. When the Hungarian applicant finally gets through, he/she must make an appointment for an interview, and pay a $100 application fee (four times the cost of ten years ago). It takes about 40 days to get an interview. About 75 percent of applicants get a visa, but those who don’t still lose their application fee.

So, when Powell was interviewed on a Hungarian television morning news program, the final question, after a series of questions about Iraq, was about the complaints with the U.S. visa process—an issue dear to Hungarians’ hearts.

Powell’s response was a huge disappointment. He said the U.S. has improved the wait from 40 days to just 10 days, but argued the application fees pay for the visa system. But he failed to answer why the visa system for Hungary is even necessary, when 27 countries outside of North American (including most of Europe and even neighboring Slovenia) waive visas for visits of less than 90 days.

“We want Hungarians to come to the United States to go to our schools, to go our medical facilities, to go to Disney World, to come and enjoy the United States. And to visit your relatives, many of whom live in the United States,” Powell said. Yet, the invitation rings hollow and belies the deep friendship when we make Hungarians leap hurdles and empty their wallets before they even begin their journey.