It is not only the influx of refugees but also the mess left behind in many places that bother people in the border region. They say we are a migrant highway. They encounter them close to the border and in villages ten kilometers or more away.
Wherever they pass, old clothes are left behind. “We have found and cleaned up black dumps in several places. Most of them were old clothes left there by migrants. Someone is bringing them new ones because we found price tags near them. And I was surprised because there was also a price tag for clothes worth 325 euros,” said Tvrdonice mayor Zdeněk Tesařík (KSČM).
He has an explanation as to where the refugees are getting new clothes. “There is an increased movement of cars with dark glass and international plates from Austria, Germany, and Romania. They are not transporting the refugees; people say they are distributing new clothes to them,” the mayor said.
Police are urging people to report suspicious vehicles
“If people encounter suspicious vehicles, including these cases, we ask them to report it immediately to the police emergency line. Then there is a chance of securing them because, in this case, it is about facilitating illegal activity,” police spokesman Pavel Šváb appeals to the public.
He did not directly confirm that the migrants were changing clothes along the way but said that a significant number were wearing clean and new-looking clothes among the seized refugees. Their numbers are substantial. “In the last seven days, there have been 1,488 people. Of these, 47 are women, and 106 are children. We have apprehended twelve smugglers,” the spokesman said.
Although no reports are coming from the region that the migrants have attacked anyone or committed other criminal activities, people are afraid. “It is true. For example, those who used to walk their dogs in the fields around Tvrdonice now stay in the village. They go to the amphitheater. They are afraid. But migrants also march through the village, more than once police officers having secured them just outside the village near the gas tank,” the mayor said.
Migrants move to many places, and piles of discarded clothes can often be seen in the countryside. According to residents of Tvrdonice, it is unlikely that there is a massive crossing of the green border, but migrants are probably dropped off by truck drivers on the motorway and then wander through the countryside. Many even sit down and wait for the police to find them and take care of them.