Refugees tell horrific inside story of war that has torn Syria apart

fills Mariam with dread as every time she hears them “it says to my family and I, ‘I’m here to kill you all’.”

But in a wonderfully upbeat conclusion to her story Mariam said: “In two months’ time I will be giving birth to my third child. I have a birthing plan already set up.”

Mona shared her horrendous experience of finding out over the phone that her husband had been captured and killed, and how this made her lose “all hope and life”.

Her arrival in Scotland, however, gave her sick eldest daughter a chance to live a more normal life.

Mona explained: “I can’t believe the difference in my daughter over the last few months.

“With the help of the medical teams she is doing so much better now.

“The biggest help to my children and I is my Scottish neighbour. She is a mum to me and a granny to my children.”

For Coatbridge- based Nazira, bringing up sons Yassine and Badr in Syria meant every day was potentially their last.

The terrified trio’s family home was bombed twice and Nazira and Yassine