Everyday life of hungarians in Transcarpathia
Beregszász and its closest vicinity – the villages of Asztély, Beregardó, Bulcsú, Déda, Kígyós, Macsola and Makkosjánosi – belong to the Diocese of the Transcarpathian Reformed Church. Across the almost exclusively Hungarian-habitated territory approximately 350-400 children live at or below the minimum of subsistance. An average salary equals to 115 while an average pension to 40 Euros in the region, which would be 3-4 times as high only a few kilometers away, on the other side of the Hungarian border. The price of food, rent and that of the fuel, however, comes near to whatever it costs in Hungary. The economic crisis that followed the armed conflict in East-Ukraine has resulted in unforseen and unwanted everyday challenges all over the country, even on the westernmost border.
Children are often raised by one parent, grandparents or more distant relatives and the number of completely abandoned children are also rising by the minute. Many parents chose to work outside the country in the hope of thus ensuring better financial support and education to their children.