Irish actor and UNICEF Goodwill ambassador Liam Neeson has visited young Syrian refugees in Jordan during a two day visit with his son Michael.
He visited the Za’atari refugee camp, one of the world's largest, and a community centre in the country's capital, Amman. Jordan currently hosts close to 660,000 displaced Syrians who've escaped the on-going conflict.
The Taken actor heard the stories of two dozen teenagers, most of whom had no idea he was a Hollywood star. Afterwards Neeson said he was overwhelmed by the attitude of the young people, in particular the girls
"I thought they would be more oppressed because of their culture, and of course because of the ordeals they have been going through, coming from Syria, the horrors there," he said.
"These girls I met, yesterday and ... again here today, they are so positive, so eager and keen to learn. They want to be doctors, lawyers, police officers and engineers so that when they can go back to Syria they can rebuild their country".
The Ballymena man also said he had great sympathy for the young people after his own experience growing up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
"I kind of grew up cautious, very, very cautious," he said. "I have kind of seen it in some of the kids here, in their eyes - but once you engage them and talk to them that rapidly disappears."
However the actor took his apparent lack of celebrity status among the local teenagers in his stride.
"I was appalled," he joked. "It is kind of refreshing ... (the kids) saying, OK, thanks for coming to our school, but who are you?"
Neeson recently reunited with Martin Scorcese for his next movie project after the pair previously worked together on 2002's Gangs of New York.
Their collaboration, The Silence, is about two Jesuit missionaries who faced persecution in 17th century Japan and will go on release next month. The Oscar-tipped film is to screen to 400 Jesuits in Rome at the end of this month.
He's also set to star in Felt, about the FBI agent Mark Felt aka "Deep Throat' who helped uncover the Watergate scandal and next year he will also start shooting The Trainer, which is set in Ireland and centres on the relationship between a horse trainer and a troubled refugee from Eastern Europe.
