Greece Attempts To Stem Flow Of Illegal Immigration Into Europe

MYTILENE, GREECE - MAY 05: (ISRAEL OUT) In a detention centre an Afghan migrant peels skin of her fingers so she will not be recognized by finger prints after arriving in Greece by boat from Turkey the same morning on May 5, 2010 in Mytilene, Greece. Greece has become the main entry point within Europe for the growing influx of illegal immigrants travelling from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with the Greek government claiming that they are struggling to cope with a situation that has reached unmanageable proportions. Internal estimates suggest that 150,000 illegal migrants entered the country in 2009 putting increased pressure on a country already in the grip of an economic crisis. Migrants enter by land or water, many attempting journeys in inadequate means of transportation such as rubber dinghy's, risking and their lives in the process. Even if detected migrants are often held for a period in detention centres before being released by the authorities with instructions to leave the country within thirty days. Accusations that such a policy simply pushes the issue across borders to other European counties is countered by the Greek government who state that the problem of immigration needs to be shared and addressed more widely by the all European Union members. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)