Kisszelmenc is a tiny village in Ukraine with 200, mostly Hungarian inhabitants. Nagyszelmenc is a similar one in Slovakia. They are just a few steps apart and have been separated by a border since the Soviets raised it in the middle of the village one night in 1946. The physical barrier has become a real division in the quality of living. Although the crossing point for pedestrians which opened 15 years ago offered wellbeing at the Ukrainian side, shops opened one after the other for the wealthy coming from the direction of Slovakia, the income decreased as the shopping tourism moved to the bigger market of Ungvár 20 kms away. A part of the inhabitants and shopkeepers have become taxi drivers who offer a round trip to the Transcarpathian town for 20-25 Euros thus stealing the probable customers from the remaining merchants. In the meantime, the number of residents keeps decreasing: the old people die, hardly any children are born and a part of the active population moves to Hungary.
Kisszelmenc is a tiny village in Ukraine with 200, mostly Hungarian inhabitants. Nagyszelmenc is a similar one in Slovakia. They are just a few steps apart and have been separated by a border since the Soviets raised it in the middle of the village one night in 1946. The physical barrier has become a real division in the quality of living. Although the crossing point for pedestrians which opened 15 years ago offered wellbeing at the Ukrainian side, shops opened one after the other for the wealthy coming from the direction of Slovakia, the income decreased as the shopping tourism moved to the bigger market of Ungvár 20 kms away. A part of the inhabitants and shopkeepers have become taxi drivers who offer a round trip to the Transcarpathian town for 20-25 Euros thus stealing the probable customers from the remaining merchants. In the meantime, the number of residents keeps decreasing: the old people die, hardly any children are born and a part of the active population moves to Hungary.
Kisszelmenc is a tiny village in Ukraine with 200, mostly Hungarian inhabitants. Nagyszelmenc is a similar one in Slovakia. They are just a few steps apart and have been separated by a border since the Soviets raised it in the middle of the village one night in 1946. The physical barrier has become a real division in the quality of living. Although the crossing point for pedestrians which opened 15 years ago offered wellbeing at the Ukrainian side, shops opened one after the other for the wealthy coming from the direction of Slovakia, the income decreased as the shopping tourism moved to the bigger market of Ungvár 20 kms away. A part of the inhabitants and shopkeepers have become taxi drivers who offer a round trip to the Transcarpathian town for 20-25 Euros thus stealing the probable customers from the remaining merchants. In the meantime, the number of residents keeps decreasing: the old people die, hardly any children are born and a part of the active population moves to Hungary.
