As the population of Ukrainian refugees continues to rise (more than 7.4 million across Europe), we’re seeing the strangest, most humbling, and in this case, most disappointing treatment from the countries they were supposedly “welcomed in.”
Yesterday, a video of a woman who accidentally went to a pro-Russian rally in Prague, Czech Republic, went viral. The woman, named Maria, said she did not plan to be in the middle of the event. However, it wasn’t until later on that she found out that it was a rally supporting Putin and the Ukrainian invasion.
“At the pro-Russian rally (yes, only pro-Russian narratives were heard from the stage in the name of the interests of Russia, not the Czech Republic) on September 28. I got there by accident, not planning to be beaten, spat on, or cursed by crazy communist fans,” Maria wrote.
She then realized what the gathering was about when the speaker of the event shouted “”Nikdy jsem nebyl s Ruskem solidárnější” or “I have never been more in solidarity with Russia.” This time, Maria responded with, “cheap Russian sl*ts!” And for her, there is a good reason for calling them “cheap.”
“Why cheap? Because freedom and truth are not for sale. However, if a person has found a price for which he is willing (or in his opinion other people should be willing) to exchange these ideas, then he is cheap.”
As the population of Ukrainian refugees continues to rise (more than 7.4 million across Europe), we’re seeing the strangest, most humbling, and in this case, most disappointing treatment from the countries they were supposedly “welcomed in.”
Yesterday, a video of a woman who accidentally went to a pro-Russian rally in Prague, Czech Republic, went viral. The woman, named Maria, said she did not plan to be in the middle of the event. However, it wasn’t until later on that she found out that it was a rally supporting Putin and the Ukrainian invasion.
“At the pro-Russian rally (yes, only pro-Russian narratives were heard from the stage in the name of the interests of Russia, not the Czech Republic) on September 28. I got there by accident, not planning to be beaten, spat on, or cursed by crazy communist fans,” Maria wrote.
She then realized what the gathering was about when the speaker of the event shouted “”Nikdy jsem nebyl s Ruskem solidárnější” or “I have never been more in solidarity with Russia.” This time, Maria responded with, “cheap Russian sl*ts!” And for her, there is a good reason for calling them “cheap.”
“Why cheap? Because freedom and truth are not for sale. However, if a person has found a price for which he is willing (or in his opinion other people should be willing) to exchange these ideas, then he is cheap.”
She also called out the dominant population of Russians in Prague, supporting Putin’s cause of “exterminating Nazis in Ukraine.”
“Why Russian? Because these natives in the center of Prague sound for the money of the Kremlin. Why sluts? Because sluts are for sale. And those who support Russia and promote its interests have sold themselves as cheap sluts.”
She was unaware that someone had taken the interaction, and the video showed the harsh and violent reaction of the people at the rally.
Marie was trying to pass through the crowd when people started pulling her hair, throwing insults at her, and pushing and blocking her way. Finally, a security personnel stepped in and guarded her path until she found a way out of the street.
Maria said, “I’m glad I gave those people a chance to show off and I think they felt proud of themselves for the first time in a long time.”
Watch the video below.
In June, the Czech Republic announced that it would be scaling back its support for Ukraine and its refugees. A proposal from the lower house of parliament noted that they will be limiting monetary benefits for food and basic hygiene for Ukrainian refugees in the country. The amendment also restricted how long Ukrainian refugees can stay on free housing and health insurance (except for children and the elderly).
Then, on June 15, Prague closed its main refugee center and canceled all free public transport for refugees. The government also shut down aid efforts at train stations and established temporary “tent cities,” pushing refugees to isolated areas only. According to the local site Romea this move also caused a domino effect where aid organizations and NGOs had to pull out their support.
In another investigative report, it was revealed that there is a widespread unfairness happening in employment agencies in Prague, taking advantage of Ukrainian refugees.
“The analysis finds that in most cases, social media intermediaries offer unskilled, often hard physical work in warehouses, factories or agriculture. The ads are often discriminatory: they are specifically interested in childless women under a certain age, usually between 45 and 55.
“The number of working hours in the positions offered is usually very high at around 10-12 hours a day, six days a week, or 60-72 hours a week, with only one day off. According to the Employment Act employees must work an average of 40 hours per week, and if they work more must be compensated during a different week.”
Vendula Fortova, a volunteer with the Iniciativa Hlavak, an NGO providing help to refugees from Ukraine, said the nation’s solidarity has dropped.
“We face abuse as well. Not too long ago, one person regularly came here and was aggressive, yelling at us for helping the refugees,” Fortova, a 20-year-old university student, said amid the bustle of travelers rushing to get to their trains.
As for most Ukrainians, they feel like there is no way out. Svitlana Pisarskaya came to the Czech Republic with her son with special needs only to find out they would be treated as second, or worse, third-class citizens.
“The conditions at the camp are terrible. There’s mud and big puddles everywhere. Several families are packed into a tent. That’s no way to live,” Pisarskaya stated bluntly to RFE/RL, complaining that official help is lacking.
And when the housing amendment was released, she said they were hopeless.
“They’ve told us to find housing ourselves, but we don’t know Prague. We don’t know the language. How can we find housing ourselves?” Pisarskaya, 60, asked, adding that accommodation had been offered in Rumburk, a city in northern Bohemia that she didn’t know and in which she hadn’t expressed much interest in living.
“Thirty percent of the city is left. The rest has been bombed. Our home is gone,” said Pisarskaya, who had fled by the time of the shopping mall attack.
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