Photos Capture Harrowing Arrival Of Refugees On Greek Shores

Every day, hundreds of refugees arrive at the Greek island of Lesbos, seeking a refuge in Europe from their war-stricken homelands.

Most of them hail from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, traveling from Turkey to the Greek islands across dangerous seas and on overcrowded boats, the Associated Press reports . "I want to feel I am human, that I have freedom, like everyone," Syrian refugee Lukman Muhammed Ali told the news agency as he reached Lesbos on Wednesday.

The small Aegean island, also known as Myteline, has seen a sharp rise in the number of refugees this year. The United Nations refugee agency said this week that 737 refugees came ashore at Lesbos this January; in May the number rose almost ten-fold to 7,200. The arrivals are just one part of a spiraling refugee crisis on Europe's borders, which has claimed the lives of 1,800 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea in the past year.

The influx on Lesbos island has left refugees struggling to find shelter and register with authorities once they reach the Greek island. Photographers have captured harrowing scenes of the families arriving at Lesbos, as they confront the next harrowing steps of their journey to find safety.