The internal conflict stemming from my dual identity laid the foundation for the series' concept. I grew up in a culturally mixed environment in Transcarpathia, being half Hungarian and half Ukrainian. In Ukraine, I always felt like a foreigner as a Hungarian, and in Budapest, I felt like an outsider as a Ukrainian.

In 2018, while Ukraine was consumed by the ATO conflict in the east, the west felt distant from these troubles. I was born in Hungary, raised in Ukraine, and at 18, returned to Hungary for my studies.

As tensions over minority rights escalated, particularly under Petro Poroshenko, things took a darker turn. One morning, I read that ‘Ukrainian nationalists’ had set fire to the Cultural Alliance of Hungarians in Transcarpathia. Though this region had always been peaceful, the incident stoked fear and division. A month later, at the March 15th Hungarian celebration in my hometown, the turnout was smaller, with security everywhere. The fear of nationalism now overshadowed a previously harmonious community.

These events show how fragile unity can be when faced with Russian-driven narratives, designed to sow distrust and fracture communities where peace once thrived.

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