Tibor, Gabriella, Dorottya,  Ilona and Fifi. Kecskemét,  Hungary

“I have been in lockdown since the 14th of March, starting in Budapest. The person whom I rented a room from had ended her relationship, so she moved back in and I moved to Kecskemét early April. Due to the several layers of uncertainties the virus brought, I also decided to give up the small studio space I rented. I packed my car, traveled home and got tested as my parents live with grandmother who has Alzheimers and I had serious reasons to doubt that I am not a risk. I am trying to be very cautious. Maybe I am too anxious about exposure. Now it’s the four of us here. My mother has a dental praxis, which has been closed since mid-March. They could only treat urgent cases by law, but the risks are great and it is a big dilemma how they can operate safely, if at all. The government has just given green light for dental practices to reopen but without any strict professional guidance or support for equipment needed for safe operations. For many people now in the door of reopening in a range of professions, a choice has to be made between between risks and losses. The need to provide, keeping food and shelter for onself – and in case of businesses for others- and the need to protect the health of oneself and others. It’s a cruel deliberation and some face it from a more fortunate economic position than others. Unfortunately in Hungary we have less of the former. This is not helped by acts like when a week ago the news came out that the government rather allocates 1,67 billion HUF in the state budget for the 2021 Hunting World Expo than spending it on doctors or nurses who work in the front line an many of whom don’t earn more than 500 euros a month, or supporting small businesses. And this is just one of the many similar mistreatment of public money which is maddening”.