“The government has ordered the regions to reopen KACPU. This is a resolution that applies to all regions, including the capital city of Prague. From my point of view, this is a wrong decision, because it does not deal with resolving the situation at all, “said Hřib.
The assistance center offers various services for refugees in one place, such as visas or insurance. After the resumption of operations, however, it will no longer offer accommodation, only emergency shelter. The mushroom stated that the capacities in the metropolis are already filled.
According to him, the city will fulfill the request of the cabinet from Monday, July 11. According to him, it is not possible to prepare the opening of the refugee center from the beginning of the month. “There are a number of volunteers in the assistance center, who must have the listed services, must register for them, and so on. This means that the idea that it will be approved yesterday and opened tomorrow is completely unrealistic, “said the mayor.
He reminded that there are up to four times as many refugees per capita in Prague compared to some other regions. He fears that reopening the helpdesk will only make the problem worse. He reiterated his call for the government to create relocation mechanisms for a more even distribution of refugees throughout the republic.
Prague closed KACPU on June 15. The city’s move was criticized by government policies, but also by some governors. The chairman of the Association of Regions and the governor of South Bohemia, Martin Kuba (ODS), described the decision as a political gesture which, according to him, will not change anything. He reminded that even without an assistance center, refugees can come to Prague and get everything they need, even if not in one place.
“When those people come to Prague, they have a friend there or someone they stay with, so they register in Prague. They are not registered by Zdeněk Hřib or the municipality, they are registered by the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy, “Kuba indicated before the closure of KACPU in June.
Immediately after Russia attacked Ukraine at the end of February, the refugee center in Prague was in the city library, then moved to the Congress Center in Vyšehrad. In April, it moved again – with reference to the agreed events in the Congress Center, among other things during the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. He found the background in Vysočany in the former bank building on the UN Square.