After perilous sea voyages from neighboring Turkey, they have been stranded here for days, some for nearly two weeks, running out of money and desperate to get to mainland Greece and continue their route.

The island of some 100,000 residents has been transformed by the sudden new population of some 20,000 refugees and migrants, mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan — and the strain is pushing everyone to the limit.

Fights break out among the migrants as they wait in long lines for hours in the summer heat and humidity, after days without showers. Families, sleeping on the streets, wander the seaside promenade of Mytilene, Lesbos` capital, asking at the swanky cafes and restaurants to use their bathrooms or charge phones. The small police force, overwhelmed by the numbers, charges in at any sign of trouble, beating crowds with batons to break them up.

"We escaped from ruin to be met with more ruin here," said Mohammed Salama, a 45-year-old Syrian. He fled the Damascus suburbs where fighting has raged for years, seeking a refuge so he can bring his four daughters and pregnant wife who remained behind.

"I did not come here to make money. I came here so I can later bring my children and have them live in safety," he said Sunday.

Lesbos is one of several Greek islands hugging the Turkish coast that are the first stop for many of those trying to reach Western Europe. Here, they must register with police and receive an official document. Without that document, they can`t buy a ferry ticket to the mainland to continue on land through the Balkans.

But the registration offices are swamped, slowing everything down. Under the punishing sun in high humidity, hundreds crowd outside the offices for hours. Brawls break out frequently among the hot, exhausted crowds, often met by police swinging batons and shouting, "Pisso!" — Greek for "go away."

The nerves of Lesbos residents as well are fraying.

"I want them out of here, but it`s not because I hate them. It`s because we see so much suffering and we are unable to help them in any meaningful way," said Pandelis, a resident who wanted to be identified only by his first name.

The signs of residents` impatience come in many ways. Drivers blast their horns in fury at migrants walking in the middle of the streets by Mytilene`s port. Some passers-by roll their eyes disapprovingly. Many put on surgical masks when they pass through the area, convinced the new arrivals are bringing disease. On Saturday, two elderly men walked among the overwhelmingly Muslim migrants handing out copies of the Bible in Arabic.

Others complain about the litter — bottles, plastic bags and cardboard thrown into the sea and covering the streets around the port.

"Why, man? Why?" one municipality worker, pointing to bottles in the sea, yelled at some young Iraqis sitting by the water throwing bread to fish.

There are also acts of courtesy and kindness. Sitting outside a hotel having a morning coffee, a Greek woman in her 60s was met by an endless stream of passing Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans asking her questions — Where was a pharmacy? Where do they sell phone cards? She patiently answered every one.

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