SHAKESPEARE came up with the phrase in his most dark and powerful tragedy Macbeth – ‘the milk of human kindness.’ But what does it mean? Quite simply it means care and compassion for others.

The migration crisis facing Europe is reaching biblical proportions with many thousands of desperate people trying to reach other parts of the EU from Greece, Italy and Hungary.

Up to the beginning of this month it is thought around 350,000 refugees had packed onto overcrowded boats or boarded flimsy rubber dinghies to make the dangerous Mediterranean crossing from war-ravaged countries such as Libya, Iraq and Syria.

Many didn’t make it, with over 2,500 dying in their vainattempt.

Migrants are now looking to road and rail transport to get into the EU with thousands trying to board trains to Germany from Hungary or being packed into the back of trucks by people-traffickers.

The deaths of 71 migrants who suffocated on board a lorry abandoned in Austria was another example of the tragic consequences of desperation.

What we must remember though is this crisis did not happen overnight – nor can it be solved quickly.

In the past few days the tragic photograph of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s body washed up on a Turkish beach has sparked a wave of concern and offers of help, from appeals for donations on social media to Monday’s statement from the Prime Minister in Parliament.

It is absolutely right that we do something, and do something that will make a real difference to the lives of people displaced by war, terrorism and that fundamental driving force of humanity – the desire for a better life.

And this is where the milk of human kindness comes in.

In Inverclyde we have already welcomed families from Afghanistan – giving them the chance of a new life away from the terror of the Taliban and the opportunities we all take for granted.

The UK Government has pledged to help people escaping the conflict in Syria and will accept up to 20,000 refugees over the next five years.

Inverclyde Council is actively looking to see how we can help resettle some of these, learning the lessons from our Afghan successes in providing housing, education, support and a home.

It is all too easy to label people as refugees or migrants. What we need to do is look beyond the labels and see the human beings.