The Romanian region of Moldva/Moldava is the home of an ethnic minor- ity group of more than 200,000 people called the Csángó Hungarians, over 80,000 of whom still speak an archaic variant of the Hungarian language and are also distinguished from the majority nation by their Roman Catholic reli- gion.
Csángó Hungarians sustain themselves mostly from agriculture. There is no industry in their villages, nor does the service sector offer them jobs. The Romanian state does not recognise Hungarians as an official minority and consciously tries to merge them with the majority society. A report accepted by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) in 2001 brought the Csángó some help in their struggle for cultural rights. This book presents their case to exemplify how tiny minority populations can live in a state of constant threat surrounded by large nations.
Tytti Isohookana-Asunmaa