Crumbling Athens housing complex comes to life during economic crisis

By Karolina Tagaris ATHENS (Reuters) – It has been shelled, threatened with demolition and became such an eyesore that it was covered by a massive sheet during the 2004 Athens Olympics, but a historic 1930s housing complex built for Greeks fleeing Turkey is a hive of activity again. As Greece's six-year economic slump has increased the number of homeless to 20,000 in Athens alone, NGOs estimate, the "Prosfygika" complex has become a haven for squatters and drug addicts as well as immigrants from Iran and elsewhere trying to cross into northern Europe through Greece's porous borders. "Here, people come and go," said 76-year-old pensioner Yannis Chiotakis, one of about 30 remaining descendants of the blocs' original inhabitants, gesturing to a group of drug addicts roaming the streets. The complex is mostly state owned and its crumbling exterior has attracted critics who say the buildings do not belong on one of Athens' busiest streets, between the capital's police headquarters and the top court.