PARIS (AP) — In the human tide of Arabs, Asians and Africans seeking refuge from war and poverty in Europe — it's often the children that suffer the most.

As French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agree on a plan for spreading the migrant load across the continent, many thousands of children have already arrived on the European mainland, often suffering from lack of water, food, and unpredictable weather conditions.

Associated Press photographers captured 24 hours of a crisis that shows no sign of ending — such as a Syrian boy, lying semi-naked on a concrete floor suffering from the effects of a heat wave on the Greek island of Lesbos. The boy was at a protest by migrants and refugees demanding faster processing by authorities and the issuing of travel documents.

Another young Syrian boy was pictured wrapped with a thermal blanket after arriving on Lesbos with others aboard a dinghy from Turkey. Volunteers helped the dozens of dripping and shivering children from the dinghy to the safety of the European shore.

Greece's caretaker government says at least two-thirds of the estimated 15,000 to 18,000 refugees and economic migrants are stranded in "miserable" conditions on the Aegean island and will be ferried to the mainland in the next five days.

In Germany, one photo painted quite a different picture — one of optimism. Two young boys arrive at Munich's train station, smiling and clutching cuddly toys in brightly-colored clothes. They're perhaps at the end of their journey — poised to get first registration as asylum seekers in Germany.