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"It's clear to me that Greece is taking a heavier burden than it can bear and I do not think that's fair. I hope that we will find a way to effective cooperation," said the American actress Susan Sarandon on her way out of the Olympic compound where 450 refugees are temporarily accommodated.

"I'm not here to solve the problem," she pointed out, and added: "For me the most important thing is for people to understand that Greek organisations and the people who have come here to help – both from Greece and from other countries – have managed to save these people with great effort. The problem is huge and I believe they have done their best."

The actress is flying back to the US today. She emphasised that as an American citizen she would try to show that this is a humanitarian crisis rather than a political issue. "US citizens should understand that the issue is very complex and that these are human beings, too," added Sarandon. She said she would visit Turkey in February to see close up the refugee camps there.

Susan Sarandon, who had visited Lesbos as well to see the conditions, in which refugees are living in Greece, came to the Olympic complex along with the deputy minister of immigration policy, Yannis Mouzalas. The actress spent about an hour there talking with some refugees, and was shown around the kitchen, the dining room and the infirmary. "We talked in a serious and friendly manner as long as this can be done within an hour. Yet it was a follow up on our conversations in Mytilene," said Mouzalas.

Meanwhile, around 4,000 refugees arrived this morning at the port of Piraeus. The Eleftherios Venizelos brought 2474 refugees from Mytilene, while the Nisos Rhodes had 1301 people from Mytilene, Chios and Samos on board.