LAST week I travelled to Lesbos to see for myself the extent of the humanitarian crisis bringing thousands of refugees to their shores every day.

We have all seen pictures of refugees in camps and making their journeys, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw there.

Having walked hundreds of miles from Syria to the Turkish coast 40-50 refugees are bunged into a flimsy rubber dingy designed to hold about 20, to make an arduous journey across the Aegean Sea to the Greek island of Lesbos.

Each day as many as 5000 refugees arrive with almost no co-ordination with the Greek government or any other governments in Europe.

This is only the start of their journey through Europe.

I was there I saw one of the dingys come in, saw the looks of terror on their faces – children crying, mothers screaming, no doubt just relieved to be alive.

Once arriving onshore they face a gruelling 56 kilometre, three day walk, mostly uphill, to the registration camp.

This is a walk that I would struggle with as a relatively fit young man.

I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for the elderly, the disabled or mothers with children to make such a difficult journey.

I was also taken to visit a refugee camp to meet and speak with refugees, during which time three things struck me.

Firstly, that no-one would ever put themselves or, more importantly, their children’s lives in this kind of danger if they weren’t incredibly desperate.

Secondly, that every single refugee I spoke to had a life back in Syria – I met a teacher, a mechanic, a lawyer and a tailor in that camp.

They all had lives, houses and friends, all of which were left behind to escape mortal danger.

Lastly, I was particularly struck by the fact that all any of these people wanted was a home to live in and to be safe.

No-one was looking for a mansion or to scrounge off the state.

All they wanted was what anyone would want – safety for their families and a roof over their heads.

The images of refugees walking for days on end to escape persecution and conflict have been seen before on the European continent, when the world turned a blind eye to the Bosnian conflict.

Unfortunately, it seems that governments across Europe are doing the same with regards to Greece today.

I am proud that the Scottish Government has given funding to support a number of humanitarian organisations in Greece and we will continue to urge the UK government to take refugees from Europe.

However, much more needs to be done by European Union member states.

There will come a time when future generations will look back on this period in history and, as things stand, they will not judge us kindly.

However, there is still time - we must ensure we do all we can to prevent any further loss of life of the world’s most vulnerable.