RomPraha: Politicians' solutions to the refugee situation at the main railway station are meaningless, we reject Czech Police repression
On Tuesday, 31 May, the civil society provision of humanitarian aid ended for refugees from Ukraine at the main railway station in Prague. The children and women concerned, most of whom are Romani, will no longer be allowed to sleep there, according to statements made previously by the Czech Government and Prague City Hall
Approximately 150 of these refugees should move into the “tent city” in the Malešice neighborhood. The association RomPraha disagrees with the development of the situation and has also ended its activities at the main railway station.
“We regret that the politicians from the City of Prague are not negotiating with us and are not coming up with meaningful proposals for resolving the situation at the capital’s main railway station. We reject any repression by the police and Interior Ministry,” RomPraha said to news server Romea.cz in a statement we are publishing here in full translation.
Declaration of RomPraha on stopping our activities at the main railway station in Prague
Because the activities of the Organization for Aid to Refugees at the main railway station in Prague have stopped, RomPraha, z.s. has also stopped working there as of 31 May 2022.
We greatly appreciate the work of everybody who has continuously been providing aid there countless hours a day. Thank you all.
Our organization has accompanied refugees from Ukraine to public transport, to their registration at the Regional Assistance Center for Aid to Ukraine (KACPU) in the quarter of Vysočany, arranged for Romani refugees to be transported for registration in other regions of the Czech Republic, accommodated several families in different facilities, and helped several families relocate abroad in collaboration with Miroslav Brož of KONEXE.
Our cooperation with other non-profit organizations providing aid at the main railway station has been good. We are very sorry the situation has not changed.
We disagree with the evolution of the situation at the main railway station. We regret that the politicians from the City of Prague are not negotiating with us and are not coming up with meaningful proposals for resolving the situation at the capital’s main railway station. We reject any repression by the police and Interior Ministry, we disagree with the “Front Desk” being installed at the main railway station, and we regret the lack of cooperation between the local authority and the state administration.
