Syrian conflict - Alarm bells of history are ringing

The Government has pledged another €1m in aid to help support Syrian refugees. This will bring the total Irish aid package to €10.8m.

Some people may question this generosity in the light of our economic and financial problems but surely not when they examine what has been happening in Syria. In reality, our problems pale into insignificance in comparison with the plight of so many unfortunate people in that country.

More than 5,000 people a day are fleeing into neighbouring countries, which amounts to a nine-fold increase in the past 12 months. Over two million people have already fled Syria. Most of the countries into which they have escaped have serious social and economic problems of their own, before the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees.