Tent camp set up for refugees in Prague's Troja district is nearly full

Prague, May 15 (ČTK) - A tent camp set up in the Prague-Troja neighborhood over the weekend is almost full with 142 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine having found shelter there, Prague City Hall spokesperson Vít Hofman told ČTK today. The camp has 150 beds.

The tent camp was established primarily for refugees who are currently staying at Prague's main train station. Those refugees may stay in the camp until a decision has been made on whether or not they are entitled to temporary protection visas.

"The situation at the tent camp is calm, like the assistance center in Prague-Vysočany and at the Main Train Station," Hofman said Sunday evening around 6 p.m.

The first 16 refugees arrived at the camp shortly after noon on Saturday. In addition, volunteers at the train station selected a few families, 17 people in total, that had been staying at the station already for some time.

Hofman said that prior to departure the immigration police in cooperation with the assistance center verified that those being moved to the city's new tent lodging are eligible for temporary protection visas.

Ten tents have been set up for refugees while ten others house kitchen facilties. There is also a dining area and a small playground for children.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started on February 24, the Prague center for refugees for the capital city and Central Bohemia has served more than 88,000 refugees.

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) called for a nationwide system of distribution. He argued that Prague currently has four times more refugees per capita population than some other regions. There is a risk that the Vysočany assistance center will need to close next week, he warned.

Interior Minister Vít Rakušan told public Czech Television (CT) today that negotiations concerning other lodging facilities are in progress.

Health Minister Vlastimil Válek in an interview on CNN Prima News said that places for accomodating Ukrainian Roma need to be set up outside the capital as well, but so far, the regions have been largely opposed to the idea.

It is estimated that over 200,000 Ukrainian refugees are in the Czech Republic now and as the state has granted 342,300 temporary protection visas to them, it seems that some 140,000 people have probably left the country, Rakušan said today.

On Monday, he will travel to Brussels to discuss the refugee influx with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, Czech Television reported.