„Én hiszek abban, hogy nekünk itt van dolgunk”
“I Believe that We Have Work to Do Here”

Reasons Behind the Choice to Remain Home Among Transcarpathian Hungarians Before and After the Outbreak of War

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the migration-related decisions of Hungarians living in Transcarpathia and addresses the following question: how do the Transcarpathian Hungarians who have stayed in their homeland explain their choice? To find the answer, the author conducted two sets of interviews in three Hungarian-speaking villages in Tiszahát both before and after the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war on February 24th, 2022 and, in doing so, offers an insight into the impact of the war on the region. The results demonstrate that Transcarpathians who choose to remain are deterred from emigrating by negative prior experiences abroad and are encouraged to stay by family ties, home ownership, a desire to fulfil their aspirations in life locally, emotional attachment to their communities and natural environment, and a sense of mission. A year after the escalation of the war, it is evident that the challenging new circumstances have significantly impacted the migration decisions of the interviewees. These circumstances, however, only partially altered the conclusions drawn in 2021.

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