I saw despair with my own eyes... now we are waking up to the truth: MICHELLE DOCKERY recalls her heartbreaking visit to refugee camp

By Michelle Dockery For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 17:44 EST, 5 September 2015 | Updated: 00:28 EST, 6 September 2015

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Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery witnessed first-hand the plight of Syrian refugees made homeless by war when she visited a refugee camp in Jordan in 2013 for Oxfam. Here, in a moving personal account, Ms Dockery reflects on how the tragic story of little Aylan Kurdi last week brought back vivid memories of the families she met at the time - and her fears for their future.

Michelle Dockery during a visit to a refugee camp in 2013

Together with the rest of the world, I was shocked last week by the devastating photograph of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian boy washed up on a beach in Turkey.

It had particular resonance for me: I visited the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan with Oxfam in 2013, where 120,000 refugees had travelled to find safety and respite from the constant conflict and struggle caused by the war in Syria.

In nearby Jawa, where refugees had set up more makeshift camps, children were running all around. A grandmother told me of their desperate situation while I held her one-week-old grandchild.

There was a makeshift school in a small tent that a young Syrian man had set up – he had been a teacher in his country before the war.

The children sang us songs and recited the numbers one to ten in both Arabic and English.

The teacher asked some children what they wanted to be when they grew up. Each one answered clearly and with pride.

‘A pharmacist.’

‘A doctor.’

‘A teacher.’

‘A farmer.’

Looking at that picture of Aylan Kurdi, I am reminded of those children, of their hopes for the future and their families’ desperate desire to find them a safe place to live.

Without our help and that of other countries to give them that safety, I fear these children will never have the chance to become any of those things.

During my trip I also visited refugees living in communities on the outskirts of Jordan’s capital city, Amman. There I met Um Hani, 37, and her eight children.

Um was forced to go there with her offspring, leaving behind her husband to continue working on the land.

She broke down in tears when she talked of the beauty of their home in Syria, which the couple had spent 20 years building.

Her children had a good education and a happy life in Syria, but because of the war she and her family had been forced to leave, giving up a life they loved through no fault of their own.

The actress met a number of mothers and their children during her visit to the camp two years ago

Her youngest son, aged two, was recovering from a severe fever and had a persistent cough due to the poor living conditions they now found themselves in.

She, like all mothers, feared for her children’s health and well-being as they had no access to medical attention.

Abdullah Kurdi was clearly devastated last week by the loss of his wife Rehan, and sons Aylan and Galip during a journey he made in the hope that they would find a safe and better life. The tragedy shows that the plight of Syrian refugees is now getting increasingly desperate – they are in a terrible situation.

It is good news that Britain and other European countries are now understanding that we all need to work to help them.