No Safe Haven 153 3. Managing irregular migration by sea in Greece The border island of Lesbos was chosen as a case in point to investigate and analyse the procedures and problems occurring with the massive arrival of undocumented boat people in Greece. Clearly, the main common characteristic of these foreigners arriving clandestinely on Lesbos is that they do not meet the Schengen visa requirements and have crossed the Greek-Turkish border without authorization. Next to this common feature, the differences between the boat people in regard to their social profile, their age and nationality are striking. Looking at the statistics available regarding their national origin, they state more that 21 different non-European countries. A further analysis of data shows that the largest group arriving on Lesbos is formed by boat migrants who declare they come from Afghanistan (70 %), followed by persons having departed from Iraq and Iran (10 %) as well as from Palestine (5 %), and then by smaller groups of persons arriving from East Africa, especially from Sudan and Somalia (about 5 % each)19. Striking is the fact that the three largest refuge-seeking groups arriving in Greece are not Turks, but originate from outside the region, from Afghanistan, Iraq/Iran and Sudan/Somalia, from three of the world’s most resilient conflict areas. The number of boat migrants arriving on Lesbos grew constantly in the last years, as the available data clearly illustrates. These data provided by the Lesbos Police Department refer to the number of apprehensions after clandestine entry. Since not all boat people arriving on Lesbos are seized and registered by the police, it must be assumed that besides the following official figures, there is an additional number of unreported cases. Still, the official data show clearly the constant increase of undocumented arrivals and the consequent pressure on the local reception structure. Arrivals of undocumented migrants on Lesbos (2003–2009) figures increase [percent] 2003 1 037 2004 1 453 21 2005 1 696 35 2006 1 766 4 2007 2008 6 147 13 252 366 116 2009 8 896 -33 Between 2003 and 2009, there was a dramatic increase in the number of undocumented arrivals, leading to a ten-fold figure of boat people in need of support and shelter within half a decade. Comparing the year 2003, when 1 037 boat people arrived on Lesbos, with the year 2009, when there were 8 896 arrivals, 19 More detailed figures on the social profile and the ethnic composition of irregular boat migrants arriving on Lesbos (2003–2006) are presented in Lauth Bacas (2006: 224 f.) and Lauth Bacas (2008a).