In addition to the danger of war, simple subsistence is also starting to become difficult for many, said Márta Popovicsné Palojtay in an interview with Magyar Nemzet. The head of the crisis staff of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Munkács also spoke about the fact that, due to the Ukrainian-Russian war, whole families left Transcarpathia in such a way that overnight, they left everything, their entire lives behind.
"I think that our situation has never been so difficult, perhaps it is not an exaggeration to use the word desperate. It was as if our world had suddenly exploded and fallen into pieces. We see that this person is not here, that person is not here either, they simply disappeared. Last week, on Wednesday evening, there was a cultural event in Munkács, at the Munkácsy Mihály Magyar Ház, we planned further meetings there, the atmosphere was good, and then the next morning we woke up to the fact that there was a war, the whole thing was completely unbelievable. And then it turned out that during the course of the first day, about half of our friends and colleagues fled, mainly the men, but entire families also left, leaving everything behind, their entire lives, overnight. Many people probably won't come back, because this was the last straw, as life here has been difficult up until now.
In addition to the fact that people are very afraid because of the war situation, simple sustenance is also starting to become difficult for many: the price of food has increased by approximately 100-150 percent in a week, important medicines are missing, as many of the supply routes have been cut off. I am hopeful that the food supply can be ensured from Hungary, but for the time being, our charitable institutions are constantly signaling what they need.
Source: magyarnemzet.hu/Lajos Szűcs
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Munkács has established a crisis team, of which I am one of the leaders, we are trying to coordinate support. An incredible wave of solidarity has started from Hungary, offering an amazing amount of help, housing, travel, food, financial assistance. At the same time, it is not easy that there was an active caritas that tried to solve local issues, and now many hundreds, even thousands of messages have to be answered every day. We are trying to build a system, while many of our own employees have also dropped out.
It is certain that a protracted humanitarian crisis can be expected in Transcarpathia, even if, say, the war were to end today, which is currently unlikely. It is already clear that long-term assistance will be needed.
We try to provide continuous information about the situation on the website of the Szent Márton Karitász Subkarpátjai. They can help through the charitable partner organizations of the diocese, such as the Transcarpathian Family Association, Transcarpathian Franciscan Mission Foundation and Transcarpathian Life Foundation. These organizations use the donations for the charitable activities of the diocese.
Source and full article: magyarnemzet.hu
Featured image: Márton Koncz/Origo/illustration
