Prague 10 relocates homeless camp to a cottage colony — neighbors now afraid to go outside without a stick

The town hall of Prague's 10th district has relocated an informal homeless camp from the Skalka area to a nearby cottage colony in Slatiny, about five kilometers away, district mayor Martin Valovič announced on September 12. The homeless people's new neighbors are now afraid to leave their homes without a stick for self-defense — they say that over the past two weeks, threats, fights and a dog attack on a teenager have become more frequent.

How the relocation went

According to the mayor, moving six caravans and the accumulated rubbish out of Skalka required a full-scale operation involving tow trucks: the first caravan was hauled away shortly after eight in the morning. The site had been a problem for years — people without permanent housing lived and gathered there, amid disorder, petty crime and alcohol and drug abuse. Valovič called the relocation "a huge success" and expects it to improve safety in Skalka. In the district, where the mayor is running again in the local elections, a billboard already features his photo with the caption "We solved the caravan camp problem."

However, the new site — three small plots in a cottage cooperative managed by the district — has almost no infrastructure: no running water, electricity or sewage, and no rubbish bins. Workers left two caravans right on the roadway.

Life without water or a toilet

55-year-old Slávka, a former shop assistant and long-term homeless woman, did not want to leave Skalka. Her toilet is a pit dug behind a rubbish bin, a basin serves as a shower, and an acquaintance brings her drinking water. She lives in the caravan with her 59-year-old friend Silva, Silva's 34-year-old son Robert, and eight cats. They paid the city four thousand crowns to rent the plot for a year. Conditions are similar on the neighboring plot, where Vlasta and Jelena live: they keep dogs and a pig there, and their toilet is likewise a pit in the ground. The three residents paid three and a half thousand crowns for a year's rent.

"I don't go anywhere without a stick"

Dozens of families live permanently in the cottage colony where the authorities relocated at least twelve people from Skalka — for them, the past two weeks have turned into a nightmare. 60-year-old Natálie now carries a wooden board with her everywhere and escorts her 13-year-old grandson whenever he goes outside or rides his bike. 70-year-old Igor drives to pick up his wife at the edge of the settlement every day so she doesn't have to walk past the new neighbors on foot. "We're all scared here. They behave aggressively," he says.

A week earlier, a Caucasian Shepherd dog belonging to one of the relocated men bit 13-year-old Antonín on the leg. According to his father, Zdeněk Černý, a man from one of the caravans asked the boy to help with a scooter, claimed it was stolen, and threatened to kill him if he told anyone. The teenager ran home in panic, and at that moment the dog, let off its leash, attacked him. The boy was taken to hospital and still goes for dressing changes with a surgeon. His father has filed a police report.

Another local resident, Ondřej, said he was surrounded and held by the arm when he went to check a water well near the new neighbors, while a second man held a dog on a leash at the time. He has installed five cameras at his house and says he now flinches at every alert. Because of the fear, residents of the settlement have canceled their traditional neighborhood parties and events for children.

A police report and the town hall's response

A criminal complaint has already been filed with the district prosecutor's office, along with a request for urgent measures. The document lists cases of trespassing on private property, threats with a knife, threats to burn down a house and to kill children, as well as physical assault — all linked to the arrival of the new residents. Police are called to the scene very often.

District mayor Martin Valovič relocated the residents without warning local people, even though the plots are officially registered as garden allotments and are not intended for permanent living. Asked by the editors, he called the decision "a step toward resolving the problem in Skalka" and described it as providing the camp's residents with decent, legal conditions, promising to respond immediately to any complaints. He said several social workers are on site every day. However, of more than twenty residents of the settlement interviewed, including the new arrivals, none confirmed having seen the mayor in person on site or having spoken with him. His press office ultimately also switched a planned meeting with journalists to an email exchange.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz

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