"Dear Europe, you may have been listening to the declarations of our politicians and thinking that we are a little hypocritical and that we do not appreciate our EU membership. … We’re not really that bad. That’s just the impression our political representation is giving off," the letter opens.
The signatories of the letter are disappointed with "the slipshod approach" taken by their government in refusing to acknowledge the "enormous disaster" unfolding a few hundred kilometers from the Czech border.
"We are embarrassed by the attitude of the Czech authorities towards the people who find themselves on our territory and who are treated in a manner that is not in keeping with international conventions," the letter stressed, referring to the practice of detaining people "on their way to freedom" and placing them in detention facilities.
It comes as the Czech authorities are enhancing controls at national borders in an attempt to curb the influx of refugees into the country. On Saturday, Chief of Staff Josef Becvar said the Czech army was ready to deploy up to 2,500 servicemen to guard the border against illegal crossings.
Over 6,200 undocumented migrants have arrived in the Czech Republic in the first nine months of 2015, which is twice as many as during the same period last year, according to the Czech Statistical Office.
