Last friday night Nov the 27th at 11:40 PM Czech police surrounded Florenc metro station and the Florenc bus station because of bomb alarm. All passengers using a public transport in Prague, including trams, were told that it is impossible to get off near Florenc and the Florenc bus station staff blocked the arrival/departure hall and all the entrances to the bus station. All the buses, including Polskibus and Flix bus were impossible to departure, because the station was closed between 11:30 pm and 3 am.
However, the Florenc bus station staff and Czech policemen totally ignored passngers who were waiting for the buses departing to Poland and Germany. There was no information neither from the station, nor the police. Even all Czech mass media were silent and didn’t report any news. Thus, almost 100 passengers from Czech, Poland and Germany was going to be frozen standing outside the station with no information from policemen that didn’t even speak english.
It is sad to see that Czech taxi drivers didn’t act empathically like drivers in Paris. Morover, when metro was closed because of the alarm, I had to pay additional fee to reach Florenc and the total amount I paid travelling from Vaclaw Havel Airport was over 700 CZK (almost 30 euro!). On the other hand, normal taxi drivers’ price from the Airport to Florenc is 300-500 CZK. So I wil never understand why official Czech taxi drivers like (his address: Bobkova 749/28 Černý Most 19800 Praha 9) try to money on human tragedy? Will they act like thievs against victims when threads and terrorist attacks come true?
Me and some other passengers tried to find help and hide from the danger and cold in the theatre „Hudebni Divadlo Karlin”, but the theatre stuff didn’t allow us to sit down and be inside, although the bomb alarm had not been cancelled yet. Thus, most of the passengers was not ale depart from the station because there was still no further information and no buses.
Finally, it turned out to be hoax bomb like other previous bomb alarms this year in Prague. The alarm had been cancelled at 3 am. But many buses (including Polskibus to Poland and Flixbus to Germany) couldn’t departure. The first available bus to Poland was at 7:30 am and I had to spend next hours of this night at the hotel. There was no help and even the official information counter at Florenc didn’t inform passengers what happened.
So, Czech people, shame on you! Because I realized that coward behaviour I know from the history of collaboration between Czech Republic and Nazi Germany is still available according to official statement of the Czech police, the bus station staff and the common Czech people who can’t show empathy when the terrorist danger really occurs. I also realized that the Czech Goverment has no official plan of action to protect, save and help people if the terrorist attack really happens. Will we be vulnerable and left on our own again?
andrzejbuda 