Steven N.“Polina arrived in Hungary from eastern Ukraine with her 13-year-old daughter and elderly mother, thinking it would be less crowded than Poland which has received five-times as many Ukrainian refugees,” writes BBC.
“But out of all the EU members the Hungarian government is the least supportive of Ukraine,” and Polina has encountered Hungarians who have ambiguous feelings about the war.
“‘Here information is limited, just like in Russia. We are being asked if there is a civil war going on and whether Russia was conducting a peacekeeping operation in Ukraine. We are shocked – how can they believe something like this?’” she told the news source.
“Many Hungarians believe her when Polina explains what’s happening, but others find it ‘hard to digest.'”
“Sometimes things turn nasty. While in a shop, Polina says a man threatened her with verbally abusive language for being Ukrainian.” [BBC]
Tragic to read. Some Hungarians including, but not limited to my family and friends are helping, but help -sadly- does not wash away uninformed and/or hostile comments. The refugee quoted is correct and well informed about some of the reasons why i.e. “here information is limited”, secondary to regime controlled mass media, newspapers etc.
Yes Misi, Hungarians are doing a lot to help refugees, as our government likes to remind us! And yes it also seems to be a searing indictment of our media here in Hungary that so many people don’t know what’s really going on there.