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- Juhász János, Debréte. A feleségével lakik Debrétén, a füvet a szamarának kaszálja. Három gyerekük már elköltözött a faluból. A felesége szerint úgy tartja a szamarat, mintha a gyereke lenne // János Juhász in Debréte. János is mowing for his donkey twice a week. His wife thinks János takes care of his donkey as if it was his child.
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- Hajnal Égerszögön. A faluban mindössze 59-en laknak. Feltehetően a 12. század óta lakott a völgy // Early morning in Égerszög. There are only 59 inhabitants in the village. This small valley has been inhabited from the 12th century. According to the statistics almost half of the houses are empty in dead-end villages.
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- Balogi Gyula kutyája Ómassán. A kis falvakban az emberek egyharmada egyedül él. // The dog belongs to Gyula Balogi in Ómassa. In small villages one in three people lives alone.
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- Mindenszentek ünnepe előtt Juliska néni gyakran meglátogatja a férje sírját, aki 24 éve tüdőrákban halt meg // Few days before Halloween’s day Juliska was sweeping at the grave of her husband, who died of lung cancer 24 years ago.
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- Kány. A 88 éves Leskó László munkában megöregedett keze. 88 évesen még háztáji csirkéket és a veteményest is gondozza. Gyerekkorában még 50 gyerek tartozott a faluhoz, mára összesen 47 lakosa van a falunak. // The 88-year-old László Leskó’s hand is full of the signs of hard work. At the age of 88 he has chickens and he is also working in his vegetable garden. When he was young there were about 50 children in the village, today there are only 47 inhabitants altogether.
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- Sipola Gábor, a „pipás” korábban napszámos volt, két éve szólt “vasutas” Krisztián, hogy lovászt keresnek a Garadna völgyében. Nagyon ölrül, hogy eredeti szakmájának megfelelően a lovakkal dolgozhat // Gábor Sipola is called “the pipatore”. He used to be a day-labourer until three years ago Krisztián “the railman” told him, that somebody was looking for a stableman in Ómassa. He is very happy to work with horses again as this is his original trade. He doesn’t get salary for it only food and a bottle of wine at weekends. Sometimes a small amount of money when he goes to the city.
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- Fahordó teherautó a reggeli indításkor // Wood transporter gets up early in the morning.
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- Leskó László és felesége, Kány. A második világháborúban 16 évesen besorozták, két évet volt fogságban, a háború végén Aushwitzba küldték kipucolni a tábort. Még a mai napig könnyes szemmel mesél róla // László Leskó and his wife. László was only 16 when they drafted to the World War II. He fell into captivity for 2 years and worked in a mine. At the end of the war he was transported to Auschwitz to clean the concentration camp. These memories make him cry even today.
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- Bendzoel Péter, Égerszög. A faluban összesen öt fiatal van, Péter 11 éves. Bódvaszilasra jár iskolába, ami 20 kilométerre van, felnőtt korára – ahogyan az apja – traktorvezető szeretne lenni // Péter Bendzoel in Égerszög. In the small village he is one among the five children,he is 11. He goes to school 13 miles away to Bódvaszilas, he wants to be a tractor driver like his father.
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- Ködön át bukkan ki Égerszög temploma // The church of Égerszög through the morning mist.
János Juhász in Debréte. János is mowing for his donkey twice a week. His wife thinks János takes care of his donkey as if it was his child.
Early morning in Égerszög. There are only 59 inhabitants in the village. This small valley has been inhabited from the 12th century. According to the statistics almost half of the houses are empty in dead-end villages.
The dog belongs to Gyula Balogi in Ómassa. In small villages one in three people lives alone.
Few days before Halloween's day Juliska was sweeping at the grave of her husband, who died of lung cancer 24 years ago.
The 88-year-old László Leskó's hand is full of the signs of hard work. At the age of 88 he has chickens and he is also working in his vegetable garden. When he was young there were about 50 children in the village, today there are only 47 inhabitants altogether.
Gábor Sipola is called "the pipatore". He used to be a day-labourer until three years ago Krisztián "the railman" told him, that somebody was looking for a stableman in Ómassa. He is very happy to work with horses again as this is his original trade. He doesn't get salary for it only food and a bottle of wine at weekends. Sometimes a small amount of money when he goes to the city.
Wood transporter gets up early in the morning.
László Leskó and his wife. László was only 16 when they drafted to the World War II. He fell into captivity for 2 years and worked in a mine. At the end of the war he was transported to Auschwitz to clean the concentration camp. These memories make him cry even today.
Péter Bendzoel in Égerszög. In the small village he is one among the five children,he is 11. He goes to school 13 miles away to Bódvaszilas, he wants to be a tractor driver like his father.
The church of Égerszög through the morning mist.
Where the street ends
Deep inside the Bükk and Cserehát hills in Eastern Hungary many dead-end villages can be found owing to characteristic features of these hills. According to the statistics in a few decades these villages are becoming empty.
The demographic problems of these dead-end villages started in the early 60-s. During the decade after the World War II, the main goal of the social government was to improve the heavy industry, this process was called the “soviet model”. The outdated and inefficient industry drew people from the villages to the nearby cities. In the shrinking villages the livestock and the agriculture almost vanished during the next decades. 30 years later, after the fall of communism in the 90-s most of these factories closed down and the workers became unemployed. The villages were no longer attractive and during the years they became superannuated. Most of the inhabitants have state jobs, some of them own small vegetable gardens, but more than 50 per cent of them are retired.