Magyarország számos megyéjében élnek életvitelszerűen és kényszerűen földutak mellett, melyek száma elképesztően magas. Az ország útjainak mindössze 38 százalékát fedi szilárd útburkolat, ez az arány Nyugat-Európában 96 százalék és a különbség ennél is nagyobb a külterületeken. A Csongrád megyei Csanyteleken például a lakosság harmada él földutak mellett – a Tisza közelében pedig olyan a talaj, hogy esős időben mind járhatatlanná válnak. Itt is, mint sok más hasonló településen, nemhogy a mentő nem ér oda 15 percen belül egy infarktusos beteghez, ennyi idő alatt még egy traktort sem könnyű találni, amely behúzná a beteghez a rohamkocsit.
A tanyavilágok elnéptelenedése, a vidéki elvándorlás és a szegénység terjedése is jellemzi a ”Sárvidéket”. Az Európai Bizottság által kiadott adatok szerint például minden harmadik magyar, azaz 3,3 millió ember él szegénységben, ami egy 9,9 millió lakosú országban elképesztően nagy szám.
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- People living along the dirty roads say everything gets destroyed in the mud. The house, the car, the bikes and even the footwear.
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- Jozsef in his home that is surrounded by dirt roads in Tömörkény. His disability pension is 140 Euros.
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- Widowed Balázsne Bende and her daughter Nórika live on a farm, which you can get to along an embankment built from clay.
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- Janos with his dog at his farm in Csanytelek, Csongrád country. For the people who live along and near dirts road mud is a constant problem, just as well walking and getting around in mud.
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- Pigs in a piggery at a family house in Tomorkeny. Only a few families of “Mud Country” can afford to have livestock.
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- Luca lives with his mother and grandfather in their home in Csanytelek, Csongrád County together with her five brothers. According to the latest data almost half of young children live in poverty in Hungary.
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- A tractor stuck in mud at the “Large Lawn”, the former Lenin settlement in Csanytelek.
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- Guest having a drink of pálinka (Hungarian spirit) at the Borsos’ house. Alcohol consumption is a serious problem in Hungary, 800 thousand people of the population of 10 million is affected by alcohol dependence.
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- Lajos Kovács of Csanytelek at the forefront of his house, selecting springs of mattresses for selling them as metal waste. Besides poverty the village struggles with the inconvenience of dirt roads.
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- Mária Varga, in her home that is surrounded by dirt roads. Mária’s husband died years ago. They bought the farm together on loans and ever since then the retired disable woman pays the mortgage alone.
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- Damage caused by inland waters on the wall of the Darnai family’s house.
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- Miski Ende of Csanytelek at the forefront of his house. Endre passed away a year later.
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- János with his horse on the outskirts of Tömörkény in Csongrád county. The majority of the youth move to nearby cities as soon as they can, resulting in a relatively high number of people living alone in “Mud Country”.
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- Cemetery in Csanytelek.
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- A Csanytelek boy abandoned in a remote area near a town of Csongrád county. There are an increased number of abandoned farm buildings in Hungary that after a time become one with nature.
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- The shepherd dogs usually get to eat the dead lambs on the farmlands of Tomorkeny.
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- Mária Varga helps her critically ill neighbor, Endre Miski with collecting his medication. As a result of lung cancer, Endre passed away a year later.
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- Ilona at her doorstep in Tömörkény. Ilona is a public worker. The only other source of income for their family is her husband’s invalidity benefits of 145 Euros per month. Living on a paid job is almost impossible and eventually seems beyond hope for most of the poor.
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- The outer roads belong to the local municipalities; their small finances are mainly concentrated on the inner areas. And the ministries are simply not concerned with the dirt roads in the outer areas and suburbs.
