Eight out of 24 Iraqi Christian refugees who now stay in Brno will leave back for Iraq on Thursday, said Miroslav Makovicka, from the Generation 21 Endowment that looks after Iraqis' resettlement in the Czech Republic with which the government charged it.
The Iraqis lived in the vicinity of Mosul where their lives were endangered by Islamic State. Another 25 Iraqi Christians stayed in the vicinity of Jihlava, south Moravia, from February, but they rejected asylum in the Czech Republic and left for Germany last week. Now, they may be returned back to the Czech Republic.
The eight-member group from Brno is comprised of five adults and three children. They will return to Iraq because the grandparents in the group are homesick.
"Eight Iraqis will leave Brno for Prague by train at 5:30 CEST on Thursday. In Prague, they will be returned their passports and sign a declaration that they are giving up asylum in the Czech Republic. After 3:00 p.m., they will fly to Istanbul from where they will continue to Iraq," Makovicka said.
The remaining 16 Iraqis want to stay in Brno whose assembly people have approved the provision of two flats for them. A third one was provided by a private person.
"The members of the group who have decided to stay in Brno on a long-term basis learn Czech four hours a day," Brno mayor Petr Vokral (ANO) said.
The Czech Republic has accepted about 90 Christian refugees. Originally 153 of them were spoken about.
Interior Minister Milan Chovanec has suspended the resettlement of the remaining Christians because of the decision of the above 25 refugees to reject Czech asylum and go to Germany.
The government is to debate the resettlement project on Thursday.