Czech firefighters erect another "tent city" for refugees in the Malešice neighborhood of Prague

Firefighters in Prague have completed the installation of tents in the Malešice neighborhood, mainly for refugees from Ukraine who have been stuck living at the main railway station; currently the connection of the refugee "tent city" to utilities is underway. Martin Kavka, spokesperson for the firefighters, informed the Czech News Agency of the progress today. 

It is not yet clear when everything will be completed or when the first refugees will be able to move in there. The crisis team for Prague should discuss the move tomorrow. 

The capacity of the "tent city" will be 150 beds and will include backup facilities such as dining tents and showers. The construction in Malešice started on Monday morning. 

For several weeks, a refugee "tent city" of this sort has been running in the Prague quarter of Troja, where 147 refugees were living as of this morning. Prague is allegedly struggling with a big influx of refugees. 

Over 90 000 refugees so far have been handled by the assistance center in the neighborhood of Vysočany, which serves both the Central Bohemian Region and Prague proper. "All the tents have been erected, everything else will be finished gradually and hooked up, and the people who are going to serve here will be able to familiarize themselves with it," Kavka said.

Construction has been completed both for the backup tents and for those where people will sleep. The spokesperson said it is not possible to anticipate exactly how long it will take to connect the facility to the network of utilities so everything can be finished.

"No deadline has been firmly prescribed by which it all has to be ready," he added. Romani refugees from Ukraine who have been living at the main railway station are meant to be accommodated temporarily in the facility, as nonprofit organizations are stopping work there today. 

The Aliens Police will continue to operate at the main railway station, however. "Speaking as the initiative [for volunteering at the main railway station], we intend to continue providing aid to the arriving refugees because we are convinced that humanitarian assistance will still be necessary there," said volunteer Mlada Hošková. 

"We don't know what form the aid will take, we will see what is possible," she said. Prague's second refugee "tent city" has been set up on a plot of land next to the Czech Post Office's mail sorting plant between Českobrodská and Svečská street and the train tracks. 

Firefighters started to work on the construction site on Monday morning and workers also cut down overhead foliage in part of the grounds. As at Troja, there will be dozens of tents for accommodation, for bathrooms and showers, and for common areas such a children's corner and dining rooms.