Subscribe to our social channels to get the latest news about Hungary!
The Guardian: this is how Beregsurány helps Ukrainian refugees – VIDEO
Change language:
The staff of the British The Guardian and their Hungarian colleagues filmed a report in Beregsurány, near the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. Their report drew a parallel between the refugee crisis of 2015 and the current one.
The report is almost a quarter of an hour long and mentions that, in 2015, Hungary was one of the strictest countries in Europe regarding the refugee issue. However, now the country (especially this small town of 600 people) is on the frontline of an even bigger refugee crisis than it was back then.
According to the documentary, seven years ago, the Hungarian government and even the media called refugees migrants and spread the word that they were a threat to the country and its people.
Refugees or migrants?
One local interviewee, who is now helping refugees from Ukraine, said the government was right not to let the migrants in.
“If there were 500-600 thousand migrants here, where would they [Ukrainian refugees – ed.] go, poor people?”
A short time later, he argued that people everywhere are the same, whatever their colour.
Giving aid and the experiences of refugees
Many people living there are involved in helping. One man who did not want his face to be shown said he went on sick leave just for this. Another man was making pancakes and told The Guardian that he had invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to a pancake party in a spirit of reconciliation. His partner said it was nice to see children eating the pancakes.
Ukrainian refugees from war-torn areas also spoke about their experiences.
“We were able to get out of the village the night before yesterday,”
one said.
