Aid groups are once again struggling to accommodate a rising number of people arriving on the Greek islands to request asylum. Despite heightened patrols in the Aegean Sea to deter smuggling activity between Turkey and Greece, about 3,700 refugees reached Greek shores in August and about 400 new arrivals have been recorded per week so far this month.

The recent spike in arrivals is mainly credited to seasonal weather patterns and calm seas, but some monitors on both sides of the Aegean have said the liberation of areas controlled by the "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria and Iraq may also be a factor as new refugees arrive in Turkey and head directly to Greece.

"Many new arrivals are coming from Syria and from cities that were previously under siege," said Louise Roland-Gosselin, an advocacy manager for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Greece. "It's difficult for us to know for sure where they are from … but this is what people are telling us as they arrive."

Numbers fell sharply after the EU-Turkey deal, which was implemented in March 2016 to stop informal migration to European nations, and rose again only in October of last year before tapering off again and have remained relatively low ever since.

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A group of asylum-seekers arrives on the Greek island of Lesbos at the height of the refugee crisis

Greek islands face overcrowding

Though the current crossings are not comparable to the 10,000-people-per-day rates seen at the height of the EU refugee crisis back in 2015, recorded arrivals have been high enough in recent weeks to cause concern among aid groups. They report hazardous overcrowding in reception centers on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos and Leros.

Since the end of July, the number of people seeking asylum in Samos has almost doubled, said Bogdan Andrei, project coordinator for the aid group Samos Volunteers. The island's sole reception center is designed for 700 inhabitants, but is currently hosting about 2,200 people, including 600 minors. Due to lack of space, new arrivals are pitching tents around the camp's periphery and about 200 people have sought accommodation from charities and religious groups operating on the island.

Andrei, who has provided aid in Samos since last summer, said such overcrowding creates unhygienic conditions in camps and increases tensions among refugees, putting vulnerable families and individuals at risk.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis The goal: Survival A journey combined with misery as well as dangers for the body and the soul: In their escape from war and suffering, hundreds of thousands of people, mostly from Syria, traveled to Greece from Turkey in 2015 and 2016. There are still around 10,000 people stranded on the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos. More than 6,000 new arrivals were recorded this year from January to May.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis On foot to Europe In 2015 and 2016, more than a million people tried to reach Western Europe from Greece or Turkey over the Balkan route - through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary. The stream of refugees stopped only when the route was officially closed and many countries sealed their borders. Today, most refugees opt for the dangerous Mediterranean route from Libya to Europe.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis Global dismay This picture shook the world. The body of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi from Syria washed up on a beach in Turkey in September 2015. The photograph was widely circulated in social networks and became a symbol of the refugee crisis. Europe could not look away anymore.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis Chaos and despair Last-minute rush: Thousands of refugees tried to get into overcrowded buses and trains in Croatia after it became known that the route through Europe would not remain open for long. In October 2015, Hungary closed its borders and installed container camps, where refugees would be kept for the duration of their asylum process.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis Unscrupulous reporting A Hungarian journalist caused uproar in September 2015 after she tripped a Syrian man who was trying to run from the police at Roszke, near the Hungarian border with Serbia. At the peak of the crisis, the tone against refugees became coarser. In Germany, attacks on refugee homes increased.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis No open borders The official closure of the Balkan route in March 2016 led to tumultuous scenes at border crossings. Thousands of refugees were stranded and there were reports of brutal violence. Many tried to circumvent border crossings, like these refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border shortly after borders were closed.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis Symbol of horror A child covered in blood and dust: the photograph of five-year-old Omran shocked the public when it was released in 2016. It became an allegory of the horror of the Syrian civil war and the suffering of the Syrian people. One year later, new pictures of the boy circulated on the internet, showing him much happier. Assad supporters say the picture last year was planted for propaganda purposes.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis The unknown new home A Syrian man carries his daughter in the rain at the Greek-Macedonian border in Idomeni. He hopes for security for his family in Europe. According to the Dublin regulation, asylum can be applied only in the country where the refugee first entered Europe. Many who travel further on are sent back. Above all, Greece and Italy carry the largest burden.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis Hope for support Germany remains the top destination, although the refugee and asylum policy in Germany has become more restrictive following the massive influx. No country in Europe has taken in as many refugees as Germany, which took in 1.2 million since the influx began in 2015. Chancellor Angela Merkel was an icon for many of the newcomers.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis Emergency situation in the camps In France's north, authorities clean up the infamous "jungle" in Calais. The camp caught fire during the evacuation in October 2016. Around 6,500 residents were distributed among other shelters in France. Half a year later, aid organizations reported many minor refugees living as homeless people around Calais.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis Drowning in the Mediterranean NGO and government rescue ships are constantly on the lookout for migrant boats in distress. Despite extreme danger during their voyage, many refugees, fleeing poverty or conflict in the home countries, expect to find a better future in Europe. The overcrowded boats and rubber dinghies often capsize. In 2017 alone, 1,800 people died in the crossing. In 2016, 5,000 people lost their lives.

World Refugee Day: Iconic images of the refugee crisis No justice in Libya Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Sub Saharan Africa and the Middle East wait in Libyan detention camps to cross the Mediterranean. Human smugglers and traffickers control the business. The conditions in the camps are reportedly catastrophic, human rights organizations say. Eyewitnesses report of slavery and forced prostitution. Still, the inmates never give up the dream of coming to Europe. Author: Charlotte Hauswedell



"Every time the camp is overpopulated, there's an increase in the security risk as well," Andrei told DW. "Last night, for example there was a big fight between Kurds and Arab Syrians."

Increased incidences of self-harm and sexual assault have also been recorded as a result of overcrowding and prolonged stays on the islands, according to Boris Cheshirkov a spokesperson for the UNHCR in Greece.

In total, about 10,000 people are currently staying on Greek islands with 'hotspot' reception centers, Cheshirkov said. Upon arrival, those seeking international protection begin the process of applying for asylum in the reception centers.

When individuals are deemed eligible to continue the asylum process, they are often transferred to camps or apartments on mainland Greece to reduce occupancy in island hotspot centers. Yet last month, the rate of transfers to the mainland was outpaced by new arrivals, leading to the current overcrowding on the islands.

"The procedures are still quite slow, especially the appeals stage… so [there is a] bottleneck despite efforts by the government and the UNHCR," Cheshirkov told DW.

Since March 2016, about 1,300 people denied international protection have been returned from Greece to Turkey under the EU-Turkey agreement, Cheshirkov said.

Read more: Two years since Germany opened its doors to refugees - a chronology

In the first ten days in September, over 1000 people have arrived on the island of Lesbos, leading to overcrowding in the Moria hotspot

Possible push factors

Aside from unconfirmed speculations that new arrivals are fleeing areas once held by IS militants, some believe deteriorating EU-Turkey relations may also be influencing the numbers.

Ali Guray Yalvacli, head of Imece Inisiyatifi Cesme, an aid group helping refugees near Izmir, in Turkey, said anti-smuggling patrol boats from NATO, the Greek and Turkish coast guards continue operations in the Aegean Sea, but some refugees may be encouraged by increasingly hostile rhetoric between EU officials and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"The refugees think that the Turkish side will reduce patrols if tension between Turkey and Germany continues," Yalvacli told DW. "But as someone who lives in and continuously monitors the situation in Cesme, I can easily say there's no such thing as 'reduced patrolling.' Routine patrols continue."

Yalvacli went on to say new arrivals are proportional to the amount of boats being turned back to Turkey. The current rise in numbers, he said, is simply a reflection of more smuggling activity in recent weeks.

Abby Dwommoh, a communications officer with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Turkey, also dismissed assumptions that arrival numbers might be linked to political spats.

"I would not be drawing a conclusion at this point that any political discussions in Europe would have a significant impact on the migratory routes," Dwommoh told DW. "I think [the increase] is much more something that typically happens this time of year."

Read more: Germany limits refugee family reunification for those arriving from Greece

In addition, Dwommoh highlighted heightened smuggling activity through the Black Sea and toward Cyprus, though numbers remain low compared to well-worn migratory routes.

For the time being, volunteers on the Greek Islands, such as Andrei in Samos, said they will continue to work accommodating new arrivals with hopes that camp conditions improve before the arrival of cold winter weather.

"If no accommodation alternatives are found before the weather gets worse, it will be much more miserable [than last year in Samos]," he said.