There are two places we’re talking about: Budapest, which is a big city, and Hungary, which is the whole country. Ákos and Adam, who are young, moved from a small town in Hungary to live in the capital city, Budapest. Budapest is known for being open-minded and free-thinking, while the government of the whole country has more strict and nationalistic rules. These two young people shared what it’s like to be 20 years old and live in Hungary, where the government has a lot of control. They explained how it feels for them.
Ten years ago, when Ákos moved to Budapest, the big city, he felt like he was in a whole new world. He came from a small village in southeast Hungary, and his family was very traditional. His grandfather was a big supporter of Viktor Orban, the leader of a political party called Fidesz.
Viktor Orban has been in charge of the country for a long time, both in the past and recently since 2010. In April 2022, he won an election for the fourth time in a row, which means that for young people like Ákos who are now 20, they have known him as the leader for most of their lives.
An invisible LGBT+ community
In Ákos’s family and at school, talking about being gay was not allowed. It was considered a topic that you shouldn’t discuss. He mentioned that some teachers got into trouble because they talked about LGBTQ things and ended up in the news controlled by the government.
Because of this, Ákos didn’t tell anyone he was gay until he moved away from home to the big city. Then, he felt more comfortable and safe to share this part of himself with the people who were closest to him.
The dominance of the conservative and traditionalist model
Adam, who lives in a suburb of Budapest, has a different experience compared to Ákos. However, he still doesn’t feel supported by his government. The reason is that he doesn’t want to have children. In Hungary, the government gives help to families, but only if they have kids. If you’re over 25 and don’t want children, you’re on your own, according to Adam, who is an influencer and wants to work on TV.
The government led by Orban is promoting a traditional, old-fashioned way of doing things on social media. They think it will help increase the number of babies born and stop smart people from leaving Hungary. In the past ten years, more than half a million Hungarians have gone to other countries to study or work, says Deutsche Welle. But Adam and Ákos don’t want to do that. Ákos says he feels like he’s doing something important in Hungary, and he wouldn’t be an activist if he didn’t believe in the potential of his country.
SOURCE:FRANCE24