In an attempt to escape the ongoing war in Afghanistan, thousands of people have fled to Europe in the hope of finding a better life, only to find themselves persecuted and in poverty.
Driven from their homes after losing families and loved ones at the hands of the Taliban, and with the situation in their home country showing no clear signs of stabilising, many Afghans have looked to Europe.
The overwhelming majority of these immigrants are young men under 26 years of age. 
They travel from Afghanistan into Iran, then to Turkey and cross the Aegean Sea before arriving in Greece. Here they head towards the port of Patras in the hopes of arriving in Italy, France, or other parts of mainland Europe.
These young men pay up to €11,000 to illicit border patrols in order to cross into Europe.
However, once they arrive in the EU there are neither efficient formal structures nor sufficient resources to accommodate them.
One of the countries least equipped to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants is Greece.
The Greek government refuses to acknowledge the presence of these people upon their arrival in the country, perhaps dissuaded by legislation such as the Dublin Convention.
This states that the country where each asylum seeker is officially recognised - ie: has his/her details entered into the international asylum database - is responsible for providing that person with aid and legal status.
In 2008, despite the thousands of Afghan refugees flooding into the country, Greece recognised almost no official asylum seekers.
With no formal system in place, the immigrants are forced to sleep rough or squat in disused buildings in Athens. 
The port of Patras in northern Greece becomes a magnet for those trying to escape, with thousands seeking to stowaway on vans in the hopes of reaching Italy via ferry.
With limited refuge centres in Patras, the immigrants have created their own provisional housing - each group clearly separated by nationality.
Immigrants from Northern Africa can be found camping out on the beach, whilst the Afghans, who make up the majority of the immigrants, have constructed their own makeshift refugee camp near the port with huts made from cardboard, discarded plastic and tarpaulin.
This slum village is overflowing and the remaining immigrants seek shelter in abandoned buildings nearby.
There are up to 4,000 Afghan immigrants currently living rough in Patras, with no sign of aid from the Greek government.
The French non-governmental organisation, Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), has described the situation as 'a continuing humanitarian crisis'.
The young immigrants attempt to stowaway on lorries boarding ferries destined for the Italian coastal ports of Bari, Brindisi or Venice.
One man, hired by the illicit border bandits, opens the back door of the lorry with a small metal crowbar as it drives towards the dock.
Once the door is open, a large crowd of immigrants chase the lorry in an attempt to jump onto the moving vehicle and conceal themselves amidst its cargo.
The young men are often injured in their efforts or get involved in violent confrontations with exasperated truck drivers.
One such driver told French national newspaper Le Monde: 'Anyone who comes near my truck, I'll kill. last week I was stopped and fined €1,200 by border police because one of these men was hidden in my cargo'. 
Everyday, despite the dangers involved, the immigrants continue to scale fences and creep aboard lorries in an effort to travel to Italy.
When apprehended, they are treated brutally by both the Greek police and coastguards. Reprimanded immigrants are often handcuffed together and tied to trees or left in groups outside the overflowing police station in Patras.
Those immigrants who succeed in leaving Patras and cross into Italy generally continue onto France and then England.
Since the closure of the Sangatte refugee centre in northern France, large numbers of immigrants flock to Paris to seek asylum or to plan their routes to England.
The French government is currently working in collaboration with UNICEF and the UN commissioner for human rights to increase aid towards children and adolescents arriving in France with no family.
Many of the immigrants are under 18 and some are as young as nine years of age.
In 2008, the French government provided 638 Afghan minors with housing. A further 58 were given long-term social aid and entered into the French education system. 
Clandestine immigrants in Paris squat in Square Villemin, a park in Paris' 10th district, near Gare de L'Est train station.
French NGOs have donated sleeping bags to the young men. Food is available at soup kitchens and meal points run by non-profit organisations around the city.
Each evening a bus pulls up alongside the park to transport immigrants to an overnight shelter.
During the winter months, with temperatures dropping to -10C, the competition to board the bus and stay the night in the shelter is fierce.
Underage immigrants are given precedence by shelters and provided with a shower, a sandwich and a bed for the night.
For the most part, these immigrants are helped by measures realised by small non-governmental voluntary organisations.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on the international community to improve its procedures for claiming asylum and upgrade immigrant reception centres to improve conditions for people uprooted from their homes.
Photos courtesy Sipa Press/Rex Features
