Martina Anderson to travel to Jordan to visit Syrian refugees

Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson will travel to Jordan later this week to see at first hand the experiences of refugees fleeing conflict in Syria.

Ms Anderson (pictured) said the scale of the humanitarian crisis was “unprecedented in modern times” and she would be travelling to Jordan on a fact-finding mission.

She said: "The scale of the refugee crisis across Europe and the Mediterranean as people flee conflict zones has touched people across the world.

"I will be travelling to Jordan later this week on a fact-finding mission to see at first hand the plight and conditions of refugees as they desperately try to escape war zones.

"The harrowing images of suffering and death we have seen have sparked emotion across the world with people asking what they can do to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis.”

"The international community and the EU in particular have a responsibility to address the growing humanitarian crisis but closer to home we can also help.”

Ms Anderson said senior Sinn Fein representative and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and the party’s ministerial team would be joining her tomorrow at an event at Stormont to “underscore our commitment to doing all we can and at all levels to respond to this humanitarian crisis.”

She concluded: "All political leaders should join together to help address what is fast becoming the defining humanitarian issue of our time."