The inhabitants of Modlany protest against the planned establishment of a Kuwaiti colony in this north Bohemian village because they are afraid of Arabs becoming their neighbors, daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today.
Most recently, Kuwaitis bought another 30 plots from former Modlany Mayor Pavel Rajčan, who advantageously purchased them from the Land Fund in 2006.
“Originally, the plots were agricultural land. After the zoning plan was changed in 2011, they became construction plots,” Modlany Councilor Karel Secký told MfD.
Earlier this year, the local landscape charmed the Arabs visiting the nearby Teplice spa, who decided to build their summer villas in Modlany, the paper writes.
Local people and politicians protest against the plan.
“I have no personal experience with Arabs, but when I saw how they behave in the Sanov park, I don’t want to have them for neighbors,” said Modlany Councillor Lukáš Paťha.
He alluded to the situation in the center of Teplice, where the spa guests, mainly Kuwaitis, left piles of garbage behind them in the streets in summer, made noise at night and ignored traffic rules. Not even Arab-language signs helped, MfD writes.
People have asked Rajčan to stop the ongoing transfer of his plots to the new owners.
If completed, the deal will cause “an irreversible devastation of the landscape, peace, cultural and national values. We want to preserve the typical Czech style of our village, its European life style and the healthy and calm environment for our families and children,” says a petition distributed by activists.
Rajčan would not comment on the issue for MfD.
He told the server Echo24 that “petrodollars are not only in the Czech Republic, but Czechs are rather less tolerant in this respect.”
The petition’s author Roman Čech admitted that it is unlikely to change Rajčan’s decision.
“We want the municipal authority to change the zoning plan so that the plots in question become agricultural land again. This would prevent further Arab colonies from emerging.”
There are already four colonies with about 70 plots. Together with Rajčan’s plots, there would be about 100 Arab-owned plots in the village. “It would be a catastrophe for our quiet village,” said Secký.
“It is a totally different culture and I feel apprehension of how the Arabs may live together with the locals,” said Modlany Mayor Stanislava Kondrlová.
Nevertheless, Marei Abbás, from the Teplice Muslim community, asserts that the Kuwaitis are “nice, good and rich people who will spend a lot of money and build wonderful villas to spend two to three months a year in,” MfD writes.