ATHENS - Over 300 migrants are lying in Victoria Square in central Athens. Most of them are Afghan men, in their early or late 20s. They arrived Tuesday morning at Athens' main port Piraeus and began their journey in Athens, one of their first stops in continental Europe. However, with many European Union (EU) leaders talking about closing their borders, the refugees may get in stuck in Greece longer than they originally thought.

They are waiting for the buses that will transfer them to the refugee camps around Athens. Their hope is to stay there for two or three days and then continue their long journey towards northern and western Europe.

They are not so sure anymore about their destination but most of them reply in broken English: Germany or Sweden. They are aware that EU countries leaders talk about closing the borders but refugees hope they can still make it.

A 16-year-old Afghan explains on condition of anonymity that he has already paid 3,500 U.S. dollars in order to reach Europe and since he arrived in Greece, he has no longer worried about paying any smuggler. So far, the most difficult part of his journey was in the Iranian border where he was beaten up.

He described his life in Afghanistan as "difficult, unbearable. " "They kill us!" So he chose to leave.

MohammadhassibSoltani, 25, has been travelling for more than 40 days. He left Afghanistan and entered Iran where he was beaten by soldiers and had his bags and money stolen. In Turkey, again, border soldiers attacked him and sent him back to Iran.(Xinhua)