Ambassador April H. Foley

Remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the New Headquarters for the Roma Self-Government of Budapest

April 22, 2008

From left: Mr. Makai, Mayor Demszky, and Ambassador Foley at the ribbon cutting ceremony (Embassy photo by Suzanne McGuire) full size photo

Jó napot kívánok!

Mr. Makai, Mayor Demszky, and guests.

Kedves Barátaim. Nagyon örülök, hogy itt lehetek.

Köszönöm a meghívást.

In October of last year, I had the privilege of speaking at the Roma Self-Government of Budapest’s Conference. The conference title was "Future for the Future – Together in the Capital."

Today, six months later, we are together in the capital! And we are standing together in this important, ground-breaking space.

Today is a great day!

A great day for the Roma Self-Government of Budapest with their first ever office!

A great day for the 5th district and Mayor Demszky with this important step toward integration.

A great day for the Roma community as opportunities are being created!

Integration is a critical pillar for all democracies. But sometimes, putting integration into practice presents significant challenges, as our own U.S. history reflects.

Clearly, you have turned challenges into opportunities.

And that’s what this is all about: opportunities. All citizens should have the opportunity to enjoy equal access to the benefits and responsibilities of citizenship.

Today is an important step along that path.

The U.S. Embassy community is pleased to be a part of this effort. In particular we hope that the donation of office equipment and furniture provides you a good start to all that you accomplish here.

I wish you great success! I look forward to our continued cooperation.

Thank you and Gratulálok!