Athens Olympic Venue Housing Refugees

(ATR)Authorities in Greece have reopened an unused Olympic venue from the 2004 Games to house migrants and refugees camped out in Athens.

On Thursday, police escorted buses carrying some 500 people from Victoria Square to theGalatsi Olympic Hall.

The Associated Press says that it is "the second major Olympic venue to reopen to accommodate refugees in recent weeks."

People now seeking shelter in the Galatsi Olympic Hall are mainly from Afghanistan and Syria.

Since Syria's civil war in 2011, over four million Syrians have sought shelter in neighboring countries.

A report in Time Magazine says that increased numbers have been encouraged by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's pledge to Syrians that if they could manage to reach Germany, they could apply for asylum there.

This effectively suspends a law of the European Union that requires the "first country an asylum-seeker arrives in to be responsible for documenting and processing his or her application, and resettling them," TIME reporter Naina Bajekal says.

"The rule has placed a disproportionate burden on the southern countries of Italy, Greece and Malta, who see the most arrivals from the Mediterranean."

Yiannis Mouzalas, a migration affairs minister, told the AP that Greek authorities have promised to improve management of the crisis to avoid "local residents becoming susceptible to extremist, racist, xenophobic views."

Residents in Athens and an anti-racism group held protests at Victoria Square this week, imploring the government to do more to cope with the effects of the crisis.

In the years following the Athens Olympic Games, many Olympic venues were abandoned. A total of 35 sports venues hosted Olympic events in 2004.

The Galatsi Olympic Hall hosted table tennis and rhythmic gymnastics during the Athens Games.

Written byNicole Bennett

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