The number of irregular migrants and asylum seekers detained last year on Greece's Lesvos Island after crossing from Turkey more than doubled from 6,147 in 2007 to 13,252, including thousands of children. A rise in the number of arrests – almost 70,000 nationwide in the first seven months of last year compared to 60,000 in the same period for 2007 and 40,000 in all of 2005 – has also been logged in many other islands in the Aegean Sea. It's a trend that is putting a great strain on infrastructure.
