Greece has one of the worst records in Europe in terms of treatment of migrants, and has been heavily criticised (UNHCR, EU) for its treatment of unaccompanied migrant children in particular.Fleeing such countries as Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia, the migrants arrive by sea and by land. Not only do they risk hazardous boat journeys, but also one of Europe’s last minefields - the perilous Evros minefields between Greece and Turkey, which claims the lives of migrants each year. The granting of refugee status in Greece is the lowest in Europe. Only 1% of asylum-seekers were granted refugee status in 2006, compared with 45% in Italy, 19% in Spain, 24% in Britain and 50% in Sweden (UNHCR). Many migrants do not even bother seeking political asylum due to the limited chances of success In April 2007, the European Commission sued Greece at the European Court of Justice over its asylum processes. The Greek authorities say they are overwhelmed at the numbers of people flooding in and say that Greece, as one of Europe’s poorest nations, should not be saddled with the EU’s immigration responsibilities. Most are from Afghanistan. They arrive with no papers, often owing thousands of dollars to traffickers and unaware of their rights to seek asylum. Those that are detected are housed, often for months, in detention centres where conditions have been described as “squalid, deplorable and inhumane” (delegation from European Parliament). Children are often housed with adults, a violation of international law, and there have been allegations of a child being subjected to a mock execution and others being thrown in the sea by police officers. They are often released from the detention centres with deportation orders that few expect to be honoured. This makes their status in the country illegal, so they go through a cycle of arrest and release, until they can find a way to reach another neighbouring country. Many live rough on the streets, live in cramped derelict buildings sharing the space with adult migrants, or make their way to a squalid, makeshift shanty town outside Patras, where they try to get passage on smugglers’ boats to Italy.