PETAK, Peter

Istenkút: A Community
Exposure

Contacts:

Istenkút Community Association

Address: H-7634, Pécs, Fábián Béla u. 9.
Phone/FAX: +36 72 510 305

e-mail:
Péter Peták: petak@istenkut.hu
Éva Knyihár: bubucka@freemail.hu
Gabriella Benedek: gabriellabenedek@freemail.hu
Péter Peták1
Istenkút: A Community Exposure

Individual freedom can be realized only in a community, we may preserve our freedom and
dignity through community action.
We all, who apply the word 'community' as a value-loaded expression to our ideal, desired human
relationships or as a widely used ordinary conception in a broad sense while working for and
working in a community, always face a question:
– Do our community values come from the relative separation of this neighbourhood, are they
due to precedents that might be seen as fortunate, and is their mere existence anachronism in a
society in which the disintegration of communities is natural? Or, do we participate in a process
of continuous re-claiming, re-establishing and reconstructing of our communities, based on our
natural social needs?
The author will not comment the noteworthy fact that the above question, regardless the date
when it was raised, can be put essentially in the same form for at least a century. This question
can be examined not only in its relation to past or present, but how it is related to our notion of
mankind and to that of society. For us, human beings who simultaneously try to be independent
and seek mutual cooperation on the basis of responsibility equally burdened on other people, it is
natural to get involved in communities. This optimistic notion of mankind is opposed to the
conception of state that uses violence in order to control violence, which consequently deprives
people from independence and responsibility. The state either directly destroys its own
communities or, using indirect methods, monopolizes them. Therefore a special kind of bravery is
needed for communities to exist, and the potential of the state comes from the fear of the le. In
the story of Istenkút as follows we can get closer to the conflict between community and power,
and examine efforts made to destroy and reinforce a community.2

Istenkút is situated in the north-western corner of Pécs (a city in the Southern-Transdanubian

region of Hungary), up to Mecsek mountains presently with 1500 inhabitants. The routs of five
parallel valleys on a small water catchment basin and the separating mountain ridges meet at
Istenkút spring, which is in the centre of the area and near the building of a school that was
founded in 1925. The territory having more and more inhabitants used to be a hillside of
vineyards of Magyarürög, an area which later joined Pécs. The designation 'Istenkút' is the
unofficial geographical name of the territory, however first it was used for the school near the
spring abounding in water in the centre of the area otherwise with little water; later it designated
the whole area as well.

INDEPENDENCE AND INTERDEPENDENCE

The territory influences the inhabitants' way of life, both on the level of the individual and the
community. Settled families, who built their houses on a hillside with vineyards where there had
been only few occupants a century ago, made up their mind to take the area into their possession.
The open-mindedness and helpfulness that the newcomers experienced has become an essential
1 The author of the case study is founding member of Istenkút Community Association, co-president of the
Organization. Being local resident and opinion leader, Peták is signifficant leader of community development in
Istenkút.
2 The case study includes conclusions of study: Erdős B., Márta: Community resources of Istenkút- problem solving
capacity, community identity and community crisis. (in: Istenkút Map of Resources, 1999). The focus question of the
introduction of our essay has already been raised by Erős B. with regards to Istenkút.
and genuine value. The area structurally consists of independent and separate vicinities formed in
accordance with geographical endowments. Vicinity relationships along the ways in the valleys
and on the mountain ridges built in with houses and leading into forests are similar to the
relationships in one-way villages having only one street. It is inevitable to have intensive
interpersonal relationships and do habitual favours to each other because of
– the lack of infrastructure (no running water pipes, no drainage, roads are unsuitable for traffic),
– huge distance from city offices, services, institutions,
– the situation of the area which is less protected than areas in town and being more exposed to
nature's forces.
It is like an outskirts of the county centre's downtown, it can be characterized neither as a town,
nor as a village. This in-between feature is already described in an essay in the seventies.3
On their "mountain" lands the families living in self-made or largened houses are daily taught a
lesson about how to be active and how to be capable of managing their affairs in order to satisfy
their daily needs and comfort (for instance in case of travelling a few miles more times a day to
pick up their children, go shopping or go to the bus stop). They have to solve more elementary
problems themselves than in a more urbanized district – this is somewhat not "inherited" but
rather something undertaken by the settlers on moving in.

THE CENTRE OF THE COMMUNITY

The school founded in the natural centre of the area in 1925 was the only institution of the local
community, the focus of wider community relationships, and catalyst of communication between
geographically separate vicinities. The foundation of the school in itself carried the idea of
responsibility for other people, since it was established from the private funds of a Pécs citizen,
Róbert Szieberth, a school-inspector of state schools at that time. Beside its educational function
this was the only local institution related to the local community. In its story the inhabitants'
willingness to participate in public affairs was expressed. The local power (the town of Pécs) was
related to the community in Istenkút via this institution. The written history of the district started
right with the foundation of the school, people got acquainted with each other at the school as a
result of which the narrower vicinity relations could expand and a wider civil network was
formed. People's relationship to the school had a decisive role in acquiring social status based on
personal links, which can be developed only by being brought up here. These interrelated factors
contributed to the status of "aboriginals".
The last golden era of the school memorable for the local community started from the mid-
seventies, when a new wing was built to the school building, the school leaders were initiative,
innovative and communal in their thinking. The first General Culture Centre of the country was
brought about here when the school, the nursery school and the culture centre were joined. In
accordance with former traditions, the occupants contributed to this development with very
significant voluntary work – it was acknowledged by the city leaders of those days in an official
certificate.

THE CRISIS
The outcomes of the political transition of 1989 reached Istenkút in 1995 on the level of the
community experience. Up to that time a great number of working places had been closed down,
which restricted people's activity to the range of their private problems. However, the planned
closure of the local school awoke latent solidarity. (It was noticeable that people's protest against

3 A survay lead by Vankó F., Ildikó in 1975 – a fieldwork by students of Lorand Eötvös University in Budapest.

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the planned closure of local schools were remarkably more organised throughout Hungary than
the protests against discharges.) Among the values of this community the first is children's safety
and future: local people of Istenkút reacted very combatively on hearing the intention of the City
Government to close down the school. They used, tried and learned all the democratic means4 to
represent and enforce their own interests, and in this fight they managed to make use of all the
strategic and procedural mistakes the City Government made, which, at that time, was still
inexperienced in such situations and constitutionalism in general.
The school council's leaders of the General Culture Centre with the assistance of Teachers'
Democratic Trade Union got trained in legal and political affairs. Such democratic principles as
the obligatory official request for the opinion of all the people who are concerned, - no matter
whether this opinion is taken into consideration or not, - could serve as an effective way to play
for time, but the City Government managed to practise institutional reconciliation of concerned
parties in accordance with the law. Social control – practised by the school defendants – was
absolutely new for the local government leaders: the notion that legality can be questioned not
only "from top down", but also even "from bottom up" seemed an unanswerable challenge to the
authorities. Soon it turned out that eager representatives of local interests may require from the
City Government to comply with their own inner administrative order and operative regulations.
Finally, in 1999 the town leaders managed to close down the school in Istenkút, and in order to
make this triumph more unquestionable the property was urgently alienated. (A conception for
the use of the school worked out by the people involved to establish a foundation community
school was not taken seriously at all.)
The "unpopular decision", seemingly made because of economic considerations endangered
immaterial values and turned out to be a significant financial burden on families as well. For the
City Government not only political but serious financial consequences emerged.5
The effects and the lesson learnt from the loss of the only institution of the community and the
struggle for its preservation can be approached from two perspectives:
– On one hand the appearance of an unexpected enemy made people get closer to one another,
and in this way they could show and feel the potential of their co-operation and organized action.
Their bravery against the City Government, – which appeared as an institution against children
and community from their perspective – , awoke solidarity with Istenkút residents throughout the
town. In their arguments they managed to prove that the role of the local public institution
reaches far beyond its educational function. They learned how to use effectively their potential
for action given in democracy. The active core of the community in the course of the events went
through a personal and communal development that gave them self-confidence and mutual trust.
It made them much stronger and helped them survive critical situations later.
– On the other hand prolonged resistance becoming more and more radical enabled the city
leaders successful in their strategy, "divide et impera", of making a split in and exhaust the
internal reserves of the community. Hidden tensions within the community grew intense.
Oppositions arose between parents and teachers6, "aboriginals" and settlers not so closely
4 Negotiation, declaration of standpoint, statement, presence at commitee and public meetings, school council,
collecting signatures, press release, petition, cooperation and common action with trade unions, oppositional parties,
protectors of other schools that were about to be closed down, public initiation, Lord Mayor’s veto, petition for legal
remedy addressed to Közigazgatási Hivatal (Office of legal Administration), Ombudsman, ceaseless presence int he
media, elaboration of alternatives, what is more, in certain cases, misleading, libel, defamation.
5 Beside the financial compensation for dismissal and students’ bus-pass there was a signifficant underpayment
during the alienation of the property, furthermore, the overcrowded Rácváros school has been planned to be
enlargened with the same number of classrooms that had been closed down in Istenkút.
6 In all declarations by politicians there was a sentence addressed to the parents—that the level of education in
attached to the school. Main representatives of common advocacy were not longer supported by
the inhabitants. Town dwellers having been (dis)informed by the media were fed up with those
"blusters" from Istenkút. The closure of the school irreversibly proved that all the energy
activated for the community was ineffective. Local leaders were personally discredited. The
community having no centre any longer fell apart and disintegrated to the limits of personal
relationships and vicinity links.
The closure of the school violated children's rights, and overburdened the families. First of all
large families with 3 or more children suffered from the preclusive measures – no wonder that the
leaders of the movement were from these families. The unilateral measures of the legitimate
power seemed to make an unrecoverable blow on community identity. City leaders did not
identify these as a consequences of their decision. In their eyes, the whole problem appeared as
an irrationally exaggerative opposition.

MAKING COMMUNITY IDENTITY STRONGER

After the loss of the school all the community resources remained concentrated in Istenkút
Community Association founded in 1997: moral, professional and social capital accumulated
during the struggle, a strong feeling of responsibility for the area's future. Due to a professionally
well-established project7 the organization was able to raise external funds from sponsors other
than the City Government which refused to finance local public aims, and they were able to build
up again community feeling on the ruins of community life.
According to the active core of the Association the success of the intervening steps taken by the
community – from bottom up, to restart action – is due to the scientific and evaluating survey,
examination and its "good sense for community" coming from personal commitment. With regard
to the results four factors, four intervening points are to be stressed:
– making new publicity (Istenkút Newsletter),
– making the community identity stronger through its hidden symbols, values and the
enforcement of its common affairs,
– reinterpretation of its relationship with the City Government (not only citizens' rights but
procedures of the local power's operation was to be learnt)
– granting the continuity of the organized local activities.
Apart from these we have to emphasize the role of the external partners' financial support and
professional assistance, the permanent presence of Istenkút community in the local media through
numerous events, actions and programmes, and the role of the City Government providing a
place for the community's activities.8
The first essential and widely known breakthrough happened in the summer of 2000 when,
celebrating the millennium, a mystery play was put on stage under the title The Spring: the play
from the legend about the name of 'Istenkút' (God's spring or God's well) was written by one of
the community members. Kids and adults were working together on the performance. The open-
air, musical performance on the hills behind the school building, which, as an unburied corpse,
was empty that time, had consequences both within the community and as a theatre performance.

Istenkút school was low, and another one addressed to the teachers: ’parents are unfaithful having registered their
children in other schools with more secure future, thus they are voting with their feet for the school closing.’
7 Istenkút 2000- a complex civil programme for community development and regional development to reactivate
local people who were fed up with the past useless strougle. Its aim: activation of cooperative potential not for
opposition, but for actions crutial concerning the future of the area and itsinhabitants. Sponzors: DemNet USAID,
Phare Democracy Program
8 Due to a contract of loan for use, the organization got hold of an office in the sidebuilding of the school.

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All the efforts made to put on stage the story from the age of the Tartar invasion communicated
that following the dangers and threats Istenkút is the source of a new life for the surviving
community.

SELF-GOVERNMENTALISM AND DIRECT DEMOCRACY

All the illusions as for representational democracy accompanying the political transition vanished
when the territorial representative (city MP) voted consequently with his political party and
against Istenkút dwellers' public interest, thus warranting the majority of votes (with only one,
that is, his vote) to close down the school. The Istenkút conflict was an excellent and
inexhaustible source between the governing coalition and their opposition league; well-
dramatized and powerful clashes occurred during general assemblies of the city government, but
from a progressive perspective, the basis-democrat's view appearing in consensual action proved
to be more effective, and as to the values displayed, more ethical. The Istenkút conflict became
radical to such an extent that both representatives of Istenkút community and the City
Government questioned one another's legitimacy. On the one hand, these are "impossible guys"
having no crowd to support them and are not authorized to refer to the inhabitants. On the other
hand: this is not our City Government which represents solely the interest of its own power
against its own voters.
It is a characteristic and meaningful episode that those from Istenkút in 1997 (exactly when
Istenkút Community Association was founded), set up a committee to prepare the separation from
the town of Pécs in a public meeting. This step appearing again as headline news in the publicity
was interpreted by the City Government as a fictive, empty though unpleasant threat, whereas
this gesture was meant to be a "declaration of independence", the aim of self-leadership and
undertaking a more far-reaching role than the protection of the local school. Its spirit was full of
real self-governmentalism and was a radical "no!" to the defencelessness that was communicated
in the conflict by a remote, external "top" power.
The intention to have an own government extremely shared the ranks of the local people ("even
what is left can be taken away"), broke the common will which was already weakening, so it was
a step of backward desperate tactic. The intention to enforce interests of the community in all
public affairs managed to be realized in the third sector, where legitimacy is guaranteed by the
voluntary principle, and competence rests on activities based on professional knowledge on social
issues. At the time of the extreme opposition and the failure preventing community relationships
the local civil organization launched an intensive project to collect information, started a survey-
analysis and a program to work out development. After Istenkút Resource Map9 and a Protection
of Environment Program had been done, it became unquestionable that it is the local people who
know the most about local things, that all their claims, all their plans rest on real grounds, are
well supported and all their arguments – previously put forward in vain – are undoubtedly valid.
While the official data and information accessible in city bureaus are little and disperse, no
responsible decision can be made. In order to distribute useful information for the public the local
association organized mini-conferences10 concerning all the public affairs explored and ranked in
the population-survey, co-working with volunteers and professionals, and it published all these

9 Survay of the inhabitants with inquiries and interviews supported by Baranya Megyei Munkaügyi Központ
(Baranya County Unemployment Centre) in 1999. Tis was the first action of Association for Istenkút Community
initiated NOT for the protection of the School.
10 Topics of mini.conferences: Civil possibilities, programmes by the Association, introducing the findings of the
survay. Infrastructure-drink water, drainage, rainwater. Infrastructure- public roads, public transport. Local services.
School, public education, culture. Saving energy in the houshold. Environment Protection Program.
topics in Istenkút Newsletter11. These affairs cropped up in conversations in all public, even
recreational events between older and newer acquaintances, thus it contributed to the reactivation
of the local population and helped them to live an active citizen's life.

SUMMARY
Personal involvement is a prerequisite for active citizenship. It is about our own life. It is not a
simple school affair, it is an affair of our own school, our own dwelling place, our partners, our
city, our city government, and yes, our association through which local community life could be
renewed and given a new quality. The interpersonal relationships among people living in Istenkút
and their awareness as citizens are surely deeper than usual. This is the most important result of
the community development work in Istenkút which was initiated from within. In periods of
crisis these appear as basic conditions of the whole internally motivated process.
The school evidently could not be replaced, but the Istenkút Community Association established
a multifunctional institution (Szieberth-KAPTÁR Istenkúti Közösségi Ház – Szieberth Hive,
Istenkút Community House) in the building of the former culture centre of the city government,
and made a mid-run agreement with them.12
As a result of the enthusiastic and at the same time conscious developmental work and the
voluntary impulse springing from inner devotion, a communal institution was founded with a
wide range of activities, information centre, for employment, social welfare, youth, cultural and
family problems, which is weekly used by about 100-150 people, but on special occasions 150-
200 people may participate.
The local association has a well trained, professional management accepted even by the City
Government as a negotiating partner.13
If we look back upon the Istenkút story, not from the perspective of the school (in which case we
may speak about mere failure, serious defeat), but from the perspective of the liberation and use
of community resources of a clear-cut district, we may speak about success. What does this
success lie in? Something expressible in figures today, a few years ago was still quite obvious and
natural. When there was a school, a hundred families contacted with each other every day. Yet,
there is a basic difference: when the children's parents contacted with each other, their meeting
was due to the an educational institution, and there was always some air of compulsion in the
celebrations and programmes organized by the school. Such an institution under the authority of
the City Government is obviously exposed to external sources – the proof of it is the closure of
the school (for instance even the donated equipment's entered the stocklist of the City
Government, and as such could be taken away).
11 Istenkút Newsletter has been issued since August 1999, published and edited by Association for Istenkút
Community, and delivered for free to all the families in the area (cca. 1500 people)
12 The City Government’s property was handed over to the Association for a five-year-long period to its RETEXTIL
Programme (a community employment project supported by OFA- National Empliyment Fund and Local
Employment Centre) and it was contracted to provide for the area public cultural programmes. The City Government
contributes to the activity of the civil organization with paying the utilities of the Cultural House and the salary of a
part-time cultural manager.
13

Four facts played an essential role in the change of the City Government’s attitude:
-the local organization controls over significant sums that are independent from the city’s financial
resources,
-the Istenkút case has become a political issue as well
-the intellectually well grounded and organized activity in Istenkút is continuous for seven years,
and, finally, certain personal changes has happened both in the elected Government and in the apparatus

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After the closure of the school the action launched to build a new community went back to its
traditions (reasonable handling of conflicts based on former experiences), on the other hand the
voluntary nature of activities had a new essential role, also the awoken needs and intention, an
own internal, undepriveable positive attitude which – together with pride coming from previous
injuries – conveys the joy of independence.

CHALLENGES
From the perspective of the fragile results up to now, and the needs and aims of community and
its organization, ceaseless innovation in the future, newer and newer results and impulses,
involvement of more and more people is more effective though riskier than repeating and
effectively operating the activities already launched. In 2003 we may face the following
challenges:
– Is the Istenkút Community Association able to share all the communal and civil knowledge
accumulated previously with other local institutions?
– Is it able to address with its new community radio all the occupants living in the district – the
centre of which was the closed school.
– Can it seize the opportunity of using the out-of-date cable television network possessed by the
local community?
– Can RETEXTIL Project developed by the community, but no so attached to the local vicinities,
cooperate with other target groups and become widespread all over the country?
– Is it able – as a contributor to the reports in the general structural plans of Pécs city – to
organize the social participation in the local, detailed lay-out-plans and the expected watermain
investments.
– And finally: whether the foreseeable urbanization is accompanied by the fall of community
capacity, or it is a process which can be controlled in a way that the former vineyard hill can
preserve its original feature and as a happy end of the whole story the community can establish its
own school which is not exposed to the local power's benevolence or good justice, but – nurtured
by the present high birth rate in Istenkút – due to the parents' intention.

Pécs-Istenkút