Memoirs of a Refugee – Agi Takacs

The book is a delightful account of actual events unfolding when the author (Agi) was born.
In 1956, the trauma of leaving Hungary, on foot with her parents, at the tender age of nine, in search of a better life in the West, is recounted with a blend of innocence of a child whose trust in her parents transforms this event into an adventure and the adult perspective of the courage and determination of her parents to escape from a life of oppression.
After leaving school, Agi spent a year as an au pair, perfecting her fluency in German. At the age of 21, Agi joined Caledonian Airways as an air hostess. During that time she met her husband, moving back to Hungary; but unable to settle in the oppressive environment, head back for Scotland and freedom. They finally decided on South Africa, where the family established their home, and their two sons were born. Sadly, after only four years, tragedy strikes, when her beloved husband dies of a sudden heart attack, leaving her with a three-month-old baby and a toddler. Agi heads back to Scotland where she has family support. But the overcast rainy weather took its toll on Agi, prompting her to head back to sunny South Africa, this time, taking her parents with her.

Agi Takacs (Agnes Maria) was born in Budapest after World War II; Agi’s life has been a poignant story of love, courage, resilience, adventures, and unyielding resolve. Agi’s early years were grounded in the deep and close-knit family unit of love.
When she was nine, the Hungarian uprising prompted her parents to leave her home country in search of a better life in the West, moving to Scotland; Agi now lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
A sophisticated talented woman with a passion for travel -she has been “air hostess” with Caledonian Airways- an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and deeper truths, Agi is fluent in English, Hungarian and German, a multifaceted individual whose interest and knowledge spreads across a wide range of disciplines, from arts and literature to history and spirituality.