Serbia is a part of the world used to conflict and upheaval, with memories of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and the huge displacement of people in the Balkans during that time still fresh, almost every family has a story of fleeing conflict.
Belgrade, much like any post-communist city, is up and coming, with trendy bars and restaurants, gap year students with their bright clothes and even brighter hair and imposing concrete architecture.
You could easily spend a few days sightseeing in the parks, shopping, eating and drinking in the bars with cheap beer and wine and good food in plentiful supply.
But this is also one of the destinations on the so called Balkan trail, the route taken by hundreds of thousands of refugees, trying to escape current conflict and persecution in places such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Syria.
They are joined by economic migrants, mainly from Pakistan but with a handful of people from places like Palestine.
Over 6,000 refugees are currently in Serbia and I spent most of last week listening to stories of terrible human suffering, of how war and desperation has spawned a network of greedy, ruthless people traffickers, preying on desperation.
But along with that I also witnessed human kindness at its best in the Serbian people, who are among the most compassionate you'll ever meet.
They, along with the doctors, solicitors, teachers and charity workers from all over Europe who are giving up their time to help others in need, are the heroes of this current crisis.
I journeyed to Serbia with Christian Aid - my full report on the charity's work will coincide with Christian Aid week - but in the meantime that short trip was a welcome reminder of all I have to be grateful for.
For those fleeing wars not of their making, such basic human rights as food, shelter and education for their children has been stripped from them.
Behind Belgrade's main train station, there are around 1,000 men and boys, living in sub zero temperatures and in conditions so bad it's hard to understand how any human being could survive.
The 'Barracks' as it has become known is an assault on the senses, an old abandoned warehouse that has become home to people trapped in Serbia after borders across Europe were closed to refugees last year.
The majority don’t want to stay in Serbia, instead they dream of the gold lined streets of Germany or Sweden. Social media driven 'fake news' and stories from the mouths of unscrupulous smugglers, trying sell them an unattainable dream, are driving them forward in dangerous conditions.
The graffiti on the wall of the Barracks reads: 'No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark'.
In December in an attempt to coax the remaining refugees out of the freezing conditions and into official camps the Serbian authorities asked the aid agencies and charities to cease work in the Barracks.
As a result many refugees moved to the border camps where charities such as Christian Aid and their partners, the Serbian charity Philanthropy, look after them in the best conditions possible in the circumstances.
However, with Germany the prize for many of the young men, who have already made perilous journeys, the camps are in the wrong direction and would mean having to register with Serbian authorities.
The youngest child I met in the Barracks was eight-years-old while an 11-year-old told me he had come from Afghanistan alone. His physique is still that of a child, his eyes those of an old man who had already seen and experienced too much in his short life.
The global political shift to the right, with Trump's travel ban and the UK preparing to leave the EU, is only going to make life even more difficult for the innocent mothers, fathers and children currently trapped in refugee camps across Europe.
Families just like mine, families just like yours.
People who are victims of wars caused by foreign politicians who have no experience of the human suffering their greed and pursuit of power has caused.
History will judge us on these darkest of days and how those have so much treated those who have lost everything.
To find out more about Christian Aid Ireland visit christianaid.ie or call 02890648133.
