Park refugees moved to center at Elaionas
A new reception center for migrants in Elaionas, near central Athens, was fully operational on Monday after more than 200 refugees left a makeshift settlement at Pedion tou Areos park for the air-conditioned containers of the Elaionas plot.
Following the transfer of the migrants from Pedion tou Areos on Sunday afternoon, a total of 207 people were settled on the new 4-hectare plot on Monday. Another 100 residents of the park camp departed ahead of the move, many apparently fearing that that they would not be allowed to leave the Elaionas facility.
A small police unit has been deployed to guard the center but residents will not be prevented from leaving the site.
The 100 or so containers on the site are designed to accommodate up to 600 people. Each of the containers has its own bathroom and small kitchen as well as bunk beds and air-conditioning units.
Aid workers employed at the facility are to serve three meals a day.
Workers have brightened up the site by adding plants, flowers and a play area for children.
The cleaning of the site is being managed by City Hall’s sanitation department which also organized the cleanup of Pedion tou Areos on Monday. The job took several hours as hundreds of migrants had been living in tents in the park for weeks.
