Nov 12, 2015

Where lithe young women once competed for Olympic gold in rhythmic gymnastics, young men from Afghanistan now kick a tennis ball around in a game of impromptu soccer.

The venue is the driveway of Galatsi Olympic Hall, one of three 2004 Athens Summer Games sites now serving as way stations for some of the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants headed from Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan toward affluent Germany and Sweden.

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 6: Immigrant from Afghanistan looks at Galatsi Olympic Hall on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: Afghani boys wait with their belongings at the Victoria Square in central Athens to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Local residents, protesting against the migrants’ camp at Victoria Square, are kept seperated from pro-migrant groups by police officers, as migrants wait to be transfered from the square in central Athens, to a former Olympic Games hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Local residents (back), protesting against the migrants’ camp at Victoria Square, are kept seperated from pro-migrant (L) groups by police officers, as migrants wait to be transfered from the square in central Athens, to a former Olympic Games hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: A migrant, stands next to her belongings , weeps as hundreds of migrants are forced to leave the Victoria Square to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: A translator talks to migrants, as hundreds of migrants are forced to leave the Victoria Square to be transferred to a former Olympic hall in Athens , on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Migrants stand with their belengings, as hundreds of migrants are forced to leave the Victoria Square to be transferred to a former Olympic hall in Athens, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on Thursday hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Migrants wait for buses at Victoria Square in central Athens to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Immigrants and refugees at Galatsi Olympic Hall wait in line to be served lunch on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Immigrants and refugees at Galatsi Olympic Hall wait in line to be served lunch on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: Migrants join pro-migrant groups as they wait at Victoria Square in central Athens to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Immigrants and refugees at Galatsi Olympic Hall wait in line to be served lunch on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square.(Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Immigrants and refugees at Galatsi Olympic Hall wait in line to be served lunch on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square.(Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Immigrants and refugees at Galatsi Olympic Hall wait in line to be served lunch on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Immigrants and refugees at Galatsi Olympic Hall wait in line to be served lunch on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Immigrants and refugees at Galatsi Olympic Hall wait in line to be served lunch on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Immigrants leave Galatsi Olympic Hall to get on train and reach Greece-Macedonia border on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square.(Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Newly arrived immigrants enter Galatsi Olympic Hall on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: ATHENS, GREECE – OCTOBER 7: Immigrants and refugees at Galatsi Olympic Hall wait in line to be served lunch on October 7, 2015 in Athens, Greece. Greek authorities reopened the Galatsi Olympic Hall in a bid to accommodate some of the immigrants who have arrived in the country recently. About 800 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, were bused to the stadium from Athen’s central Victoria Square. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

: Hundreds of migrants wait to board buses before being transferred to a former Olympic hall from central Athens Victoria square, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Children carry toys and bags leave from their family’s tent at Victoria square, where hundreds migrants and refugees stay temporarily before trying to continue their trip to more prosperous northern European countries, in Athens on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. Authorities in Greece have reopened a disused Galatsi Olympic Hall as police escorted buses carrying about 500 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

: Municipality workers clear Victoria square, where hundreds migrants and refugees stay temporarily before trying to continue their trip to more prosperous northern European countries, in Athens on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. Authorities in Greece have reopened a disused Galatsi Olympic Hall as police escorted buses carrying about 500 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

: A girl sits as other migrants pack their belongings at Victoria square, where hundreds migrants and refugees stay temporarily before trying to continue their trip to more prosperous northern European countries, in Athens on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. Authorities in Greece have reopened a disused Galatsi Olympic Hall as police escorted buses carrying about 500 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

: A boy looks out of a bus window as he leaves with his family from Victoria square, where hundreds migrants and refugees stay temporarily before trying to continue their trip to more prosperous northern European countries, in Athens on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. Authorities in Greece have reopened a disused Galatsi Olympic Hall as police escorted buses carrying about 500 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

: Afghan migrants sit next to laundry at the Galatsi Olympic Hall in Athens, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. The disused facility, used during the Athens Olympics 2004, reopened a month ago for migrants as more than 600,000 people have arrived in Greece so far this year trying to head to more prosperous European Union countries in the north. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

: Young migrant children look for their toys as hundreds of migrants evacuate their camp of Victoria square in central Athens, before being transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Young Afghanis sit next to a slogan reading “Immigrants, you are welcome”, as hundreds of migrants evacuate their camp at Victoria square in central Athens, before being transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: A migrant woman sits, as hundreds of migrants evacuate their camp at Victoria square in central Athens, before being transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Migrants enter buses as they leave from Victoria square, where hundreds stay temporarily before trying to continue their trip to more prosperous northern European countries, in Athens on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. Authorities in Greece have reopened a disused Galatsi Olympic Hall as police escorted buses carrying about 500 people, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

: A police officer guides migrants to buses, before being transferred to a former Olympic hall from central Athens Victoria square, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: A boy yawns in a bus at the Victoria square in central Athens, as hundreds of migrants board buses to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: A boy looks out from a bus at the Victoria square in central Athens, as hundreds of migrants board buses to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: People, part of a pro-migrant group, hold a banner reading “Refugees welcome, Bring your families” at the Victoria square in central Athens, as migrants walk to board buses to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: A child sits next to his family’s belongings at the Victoria square in central Athens, as hundreds of migrants wait to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: A boy looks out from a bus at the Victoria square in central Athens, as hundreds of migrants board buses to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Hundreds of migrants board buses to be transferred to a former Olympic hall from central Athens Victoria square, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities on October 1, 2015 hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

: Pro-migrant groups chant slogans in the Victoria square in central Athens, where hundreds of migrants are forced to be transferred to a former Olympic hall, on October 1, 2015. Hundreds of mainly Afghan migrants had set up tents on Victoria Square in recent days, prompting protests from the city of Athens and local residents. Greek authorities hastily reopened a derelict sports hall from the Athens 2004 Olympics to house hundreds of migrants who were sleeping on the streets of the capital. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images)

Maria Petrakis, Los Angeles Times

In its heyday, the monumental green-arched stadium in this Athens suburb was packed with spectators watching world-class athletes swirl ribbons and hoops. Now behind a secured fence, it’s a temporary home for asylum seekers, as many as 12,000 of whom have passed through in the last month. The pickup soccer game is the first sporting activity that’s been undertaken there in nearly a decade.

More than half a million people have made the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece’s Aegean archipelago this year, straining the resources of a country that has spent more than half a decade teetering on the edge of financial collapse. Although almost all intend to journey on to Western European nations, Greece has nonetheless scrambled to find temporary shelter for the new arrivals.

Athens’ Olympic venues in ruins ten years after the games

That is where the former Olympic facilities, which have fallen into disrepair, have come in. The taekwondo stadium on the Athens coast, the athletic complex at Hellinikon and Galatsi Hall temporarily house many who would otherwise be camping out in the capital’s parks and squares, where they would be vulnerable to the increasingly chilly weather and exploitation by smugglers.

“They’re athletic venues, so there’s sanitation — toilets, showers — and that’s why they were chosen when we had nowhere to put the people,” said Vassileios Papadopoulos, general secretary for population at the Interior Ministry.

The venues sat neglected as Greece’s ballooning debt left no funds for investment and development after the Olympics, which were a $10-billion enterprise.

Some argue that the cost overruns and delays associated with the Games contributed to Greece’s financial downturn, which eventually sparked the euro debt crisis and led to three bailouts for Athens. Manos Eleftheriou, deputy mayor of Galatsi, watched as weeds overtook the silent Galatsi stadium, nestled amid a sprawl of apartment buildings.

Then on Oct. 1, Eleftheriou was contacted by the Greek Immigration Ministry. Could the municipality get the venue into shape to accommodate hundreds of refugees now sleeping out in the open in central Athens?

“I got the call at 11:30,” said Eleftheriou, a tanned man in his 40s with curly black hair, who rides around the 6,000-seat stadium on a Suzuki motorbike. “By 11:45, we had promises to provide 400 cheese pies, 400 sweets, water. We ran through fixing broken locks, picking up broken glass, doing as much as we could.”

Eleftheriou says he now spends 20 hours a day at the Galatsi complex, which houses 700 people. Most are Afghans, split between families and young men in their late 20s. Freshly washed clothes dry on the fence near where some of the young men play soccer.

“They move on every couple of days,” Eleftheriou said. “Here we give them food, medical care, clothing. We provide theater, music, Spanish food, country music. We’re trying to show them the diversity of the Europe they are going to.”

Now, as during the 2004 Games, volunteers are central to the enterprise. Money is tight, Papadopoulos says. The terms of Greece’s austerity-laden bailouts from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund mean that the government can’t hire the staff needed to run the centers.

At Hellinikon, a tract twice the size of New York’s Central Park that once housed Athens’ airport, a gas station attendant had never heard the name of the sports facility that hosted the Olympic baseball and canoeing competitions. But asked where refugees are being housed, he pointed immediately in the stadium’s direction.

The asylum seekers, mainly families, have recently departed, leaving behind a skeleton crew of volunteers sorting through donated clothes, toys and battered shoes outside the stadium. Inside, blankets are piled high; handwritten signs in Arabic, Greek and English give directions for reaching the city center.

With Greece promising to provide temporary shelter for about 50,000 asylum seekers by the end of the year, Papadopoulos is considering whether to commandeer two more former Olympic venues.

But he knows that the athletic centers are just a stopgap and are often far from transportation hubs or ethnic enclaves favorable to refugees. The migrants want to move on from Greece as soon as possible, and some, like the Afghans at the Galatsi arena, rely on local compatriots for money and support.

Athens, Papadopoulos says, needs designated refugee centers that are more centrally located, such as Eleonas, formerly an empty lot that is close to a subway station, another legacy of the building spurt that accompanied preparations for the 2004 Games.

Eleonas can accommodate about 750 people in container homes that sleep up to eight people and have water, heating and air-conditioning, says Mahmoud Abdelrosoul, who helps run the center for the Interior Ministry. The center also provides translation and interpretation services, asylum advice and healthcare. The navy provides the food.

Since the center opened in mid-August, about 8,000 people have passed through, mostly families with young children. At the center, a volunteer shoos a group of children away from the main office, where they’re clamoring for more cookies. Two girls wearing head scarves play basketball; one picks her way gingerly through a large puddle of water to scoop up the ball.

It is the approach of winter that causes the most concern among officials. The stream of refugees shows no sign of abating as many rush to cross to Greece before the weather makes the sea voyage impossible.

Having people sleep on floors in cavernous stadiums isn’t really a long-term solution, Papadopoulos acknowledged.

“The country’s economic capabilities right now are limited,” he said. “The Olympics lasted for 20, 25, 30 days. This is going to last a little longer.”

Petrakis is a special correspondent.

In Athens, former Olympic venues now play host to refugees

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