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Recently, more and more attention has been focused on Transcarpathia, although the difficulties did not really start in the last two years. Hungarians here were already struggling in the pre-war period, although they were then considered a relatively stable Hungarian community. But what has happened since then?

Mihály Lakatos, a researcher of the Institute For Hungarian Unity of the MCC, presented the past, while the reality of the present was presented by Gabriella P. Lőrincz, a poet from Transcarpathia, who read one of her short stories.

The opening picture of the lecture also says a lot, as the photo shows only women. The question is becoming more and more urgent: where are the men and who are the ones who stand up in these difficult times? Women and men alike, on different fronts. The Hungarians of Transcarpathia are facing not only war, but also serious political and cultural challenges that need to be resolved.

Since 2015, Ukraine has introduced legislation that has gradually reduced the rights of minorities, including the Hungarian community, to use their mother tongue. The possibility to learn in the mother tongue from kindergarten to university has been almost completely eliminated. The 2019 Ukrainian Language Law had particularly serious consequences: it made it compulsory for state employees to use Ukrainian and made it a punishable offence to use a language other than the state language. This measure has not only affected official administration, but has also had an impact on everyday life. With the exception of religious ceremonies and private conversations, Ukrainian is compulsory everywhere: events, advertising, museum exhibitions, and even theater and cinema performances and projections must be in Ukrainian.

Today, the question for many is: to stay at home or to leave? War, the curtailment of mother tongue rights and the protection of cultural identity are increasingly difficult challenges. For Hungarians in Transcarpathia, language and homeland remain crucial, but stricter language laws and economic uncertainty make it increasingly difficult to stay. Older generations may be used to the difficulties, but for young people it is an even greater dilemma.