Tension grew this morning around Victoria Square in central Athens, when local businessmen staged a protest about the situation in their area with hundreds of refugees and migrants to find a stop-over there before moving forward. As no otherwise expected, right-extremists joined the local businessmen and anti-authoritarian groups came in support of the refugees.
Some 100 residents raised banners saying “We lose our jobs. Give an end of our hostageship”
Units of riot police were deployed to avert the worst.
Alternate Minister for Migration Yannis Mouzalas was present too. He went to Victoria Square to calm down the local residents and overlook the transfer of the refugees to the facilities of the Olympic Stadium in Galatsi suburb of Athens.
Victoria Square is a meeting point to make arrangements for the rest of their journey to Europe. On a daily basis, there are 1,000-3,000 refugees and migrants finding a place to rest for a couple of days after arriving to Athens from the islands.
Minister Mouzalas described the situation around the Victoria square as “miserable” and said that the ministry’s targets are to diffuse the situation when it turns into a problem, to find shelters for the refugees now that “the weather conditions are deteriorating” and to “protect them from xenophobic and racist attacks.”
The mayor of Galatsi declared that he had no idea about the refugees’ transfer and that there was no electricity and water in the Olympic Stadium that has not be in operation since 2004.
With or without water and electricity, several buses from the public transport agency took approximately 2,000 refugees to Galatsi stadium, some 6 km away.
Packed with bags, kids in their arms and giving a helping hand ton an elderly here and there, the majority of the refugees of Victoria square were taken to the stadium. The crowd had to provisionally camp outside until the infrastructure works were completed.
The stadium will be available to refugees for the period of a month. The Greek Army will provide them with meals.
Victoria Square was “cleaned” while the police didn’t allow the refugees who did not take the bus to the stadium to stay there. state ERT TV reported, that police units will stay around all night to hinder refugees create a new ‘settlement’. Arriving newcomers get instructions on how to get to the stadium in Galatsi via public transport means.
End of the problem? No. By far, Not. Another ferry with up to 2,500 refugees will arrive tonight to the port of Piraeus. It will come from Lesvos, the island which receives the majority of refugees’ influx.
“A view from the Lesvos port, full of refugees heading to Athens!” via @Eurih70
New refugees will keep arriving daily from the islands to Athens and from neighboring Turkey to the islands.
More than 383,000 people mainly war refugees from Syria and Afghanistan arrived in Greece this year, in September alone it was 73,000.
What to do and where to bring these thousands of people while they stay in Greece? Months after the problem got out of control, especially in the summer months, and Greece has still found no solution to the problem.
The refugees do not want to stay in debt-ridden and economically broke Greece. They want to move northwards to other European countries. But their stay in Greece is inevitable. for a couple of days or weeks, nobody knows. Much depends on the money they have available to continue their journey. And while in Greece, they need a place to sleep. They need food and sanitary facilities. And with the rains of autumn they certainly need a roof over their head as well. They need doctors. And medication.
Last weekend, approximately 1,000 refugees were transferred to another Olympic facility in Tae Kwo Do stadium in Palaio Faliro in the south of Athens strong rainstorms had hit the Greek capital. Volunteers rushed to help, distribute blankets and sleeping bags and food packages mostly donated by charity organizations and a number of individual citizens who generously provide the war victims with whatever they can even though they themselves suffer form the economic crisis.
Without the thousands of volunteers and donors around the country, a really disastrous humanitarian crisis would have erupted. Without medical NGO’s and medicine donated by citizens, some children, some elderly, some pregnant women would not be able to survive.
After two days in Tae Kwo Do, the refugees were transferred by buses to the Hockey stadium in the facilities of the old Athens airport in Hellinikon. I suppose some are still there, some have already hit the road to Europe and made a sleeping place for new arrivals. Like some of the Victoria Square refugees who were transferred in the old airport.
The accommodation and boarding of the thousands of people crossing Greece has turned into a major point of dispute between the government, the municipalities and the locals. Whether in Athens or on the islands, everybody is complaining, there is no money and no facilities and no organization to take care of the Refugees Crisis.
But while the state and local institutions have difficulties to get things working, apparently volunteers’ self-managed organizations can do it very well. Here is an interactive map where one can see the facilities across the country that collect donated items for the refugees.
The Migration Ministry has opened a facility for the refugees in Elaionas suburb of Western Athens, but no many refugees go there. It is too far away from downtown, they probably have difficulties to arrange their continuation of their journey. And hardly a citizen can bring his or her donations there: clothes, blankets, hygiene articles, food. According to latest information, the Ministry plans to open again the Amygdaleza camp that was used by the previous governments for the migrants who were arrested in police operations and stayed there before been deported.
But the people will keep coming. And the European union will most probably will keep holding meetings and taking important decisions about the Refugees Crisis in Greece. Decisions that will most likely be implemented in the usual speed of the famous turtles. In months. Or in years.
So far and much to my knowledge no money has came from the EU to Athens to help with the Refugees Crisis.
PS I wouldn’t be surprised if the EU holds back the funds for the Refugees until the Lenders have successfully concluded the first review.
Updates for Refugees in Greece here in Greek and English
How many Syrian refugees applied for asylum in Greece so far? How many were granted asylum?
don’t know.