And welcome to our new Deputy Chair, John Borton

We were so pleased to talk to John Borton, our new Deputy Chair, about his role:

You have been involved with Herts Welcomes Refugees, formerly Herts Welcomes Syrian families, for a long time now. How did you hear about us and what have your different roles involved?

In June 2016 I was at a conference on the European Refugee Crisis at University College London. Maurice Wren, then head of the Refugee Council, was a keynote speaker and in passing he referred to “the Refugee Council’s Hertfordshire project”.  As a Hertfordshire resident, I looked it up and discovered that there was a group of volunteers called Herts Welcomes Syrian Families who were supporting the work of the Refugee Council in the county. So, I arranged to meet two of the founders, Katie Seaton and Catherine Henderson and we met in Katie’s kitchen. I was then invited to join HWSF’s management meetings. These were chaired by Irene Austin and usually held in her dining room in St Albans.

My initial role was to establish a group of volunteers in Dacorum to support the first two Syrian families due to arrive in Hemel Hempstead in September 2016. Our first meeting was held in our dining room. I served as Dacorum Area Convener till the middle of 2018 when I moved to the role of Area Convener for Watford and Three Rivers. It was in the autumn of that year that I became a trustee. 

In early 2020 I took on a very demanding evaluation consultancy role for UNHCR and had to step back from HWR till the end of that (Covid-dominated) year. When I returned, it was as a member of the Dacorum Area Team whilst continuing as a trustee. In August 2021 a hotel just a mile from our home, became one of the three hotels in Hertfordshire to accommodate Afghan evacuee families and, along with Kate Scott and other HWR volunteers, I became very involved in supporting the evacuees.  Three months later we learnt that a bed and breakfast guest house had been opened as contingency accommodation for asylum seekers. I then ‘moved over’ to lead on our support there, whilst Kate continued as the lead at the hotel.

As trustees we are called to cover many different aspects of the charity’s work. In my case I took on the role of being the Trustee lead within the Safeguarding team and, in 2023, I led the setting up of the Advisory Group. I also often seem to end up leading on IT-related issues. I’m not at all strong on IT matters, but maybe I have slightly more knowledge that others and so have tended to lead on those areas of the charity’s work – MailChimp, email systems and now more recently SharePoint.
 
Can you tell us a little bit about your previous background and your experience and interests?  What motivates you to work with refugees and asylum seekers?

Catastrophic international events such as the Biafran Civil War (1967-70) and the 1971 Bangladesh Cyclone had a big influence on me at school. In the post-colonial context of the UK at that time, I felt (perhaps in retrospect with some naivety and arrogance) that I should orient my career towards ‘helping in Africa’. I was accepted to study Geography at Oxford – in part my decision to apply was influenced by the opportunity it gave to take a gap year. During that gap year I managed to get work as a Geologist’s field assistant in South-West Africa (now Namibia) which was then, in effect, part of South Africa. Seeing the dreadful Apartheid policies up close was also influential for me. Towards the end of my Geography degree, I realised that that degree alone wasn’t going to be sufficient to get a job in the ‘Development Sector’ in Africa so, with the help of Kate (my then girlfriend, now my wife of  45 years) and a van driving job, I did an MSc in Agricultural Economics. After another period of van driving and some farm work, I managed to then get on to an ODI (Overseas Development Institute) Fellowship Scheme that put me in a Planning Officer position in the Ministry for Local Government and Lands in Botswana. A year later the rains failed and for two years I served as the Planning Officer for the nationwide Drought Relief Programme. That was a formative experience and set me on my career path for the next 40 years working on international disaster relief and humanitarian issues.

During my career I have worked principally in research, evaluation and capacity building in the humanitarian sector. I guess ‘learning so as to improve practice’ has been a constant theme. For 11 years I was a Research Fellow at the ODI in London and, whilst I was there had the enormous privilege of: developing a publishing network for humanitarian practitioners (the Humanitarian Practice Network); setting up a research team (the Humanitarian Policy Group) and developing an international learning network for governments, UN agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross (ALNAP). I am proud of the fact that, 30 years later, these three entities are all still very much part of the fabric of the international humanitarian sector. I also had the privilege/challenge of leading a large international team evaluating the international humanitarian response to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Alongside, but also perhaps as part of, my professional role, I have also served as an independent member of the UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and as a Trustee of Oxfam.
       
How long have you been a Trustee with Herts Welcomes Refugees?  What does your role as a Trustee involve? 

I became a trustee of Herts Welcomes Syrian Families in September 2018 a year before we changed the name to Herts Welcomes Refugees. My period as a trustee has seen dramatic changes in the context in which the charity operates, the scope of its activities and a dramatic increase in both the number of people it provides support to, and in the number of volunteers giving their time to the charity.

Trustees need to take responsibility for, or be the Trustee-lead for, certain areas of the charity’s activity. The three main areas that I have taken on have been as the Trustee responsible for Safeguarding; establishing and supporting the Advisory Group and IT-related matters – the most recent task being helping to roll out the SharePoint sites for data sharing and storage.
     
I know you support the Advisory Group made up of refugees and asylum seekers.  What are the benefits and challenges of having this group?

The Advisory Group is a panel of refugees and asylum seekers who meet regularly with the Trustees to ensure that the voice of ‘users’ of HWR services are included in decisions about the planning and delivery of support and the development of the charity.

The Advisory Group’s meetings allow discussion with trustees on a range of issues – our priorities for the year ahead, how changes in government policy are affecting them, the charity’s support for employability, and reflecting on its media and advocacy messaging. We understand that funders are impressed by the very fact that we have a functioning Advisory Group contributing to the planning of the support we provide and to the direction of the charity’s development.

Probably the main challenge is having to continually refresh the membership so that asylum seekers are adequately represented and able to contribute their perspective to the discussions. The status of asylum seekers is temporary as many gain Leave to Remain. Also, at any point asylum seekers may be relocated to hotels or dispersed accommodation outside Hertfordshire.

You are taking up the role of Deputy Chair of the charity.  How do you see this role?

I see my role very much as supporting Kate Scott in her role as Chair. The role of the chair is potentially huge (how Irene managed to juggle so many balls at the same time I will never understand!), so part of my role will be to ‘cover/lead on’ certain areas of the charity’s activities and confer regularly with Kate. Though we had very different professional careers, our views on the charity’s needs and how it should develop, are very similar.
   
This is a challenging time for refugees and asylum seekers. How do you think Herts Welcomes Refugees can make a difference?

I see HWR making a difference in at least three different levels:

At the interpersonal level we constantly hear appreciative feedback from those we have helped and those we continue to support. We should never underestimate the positive effect a friendly, sympathetic and supportive volunteer can have on someone who is feeling at their wits end after having had to flee their homes and endure, often horrendous, journeys.

At a group level we can (and do) help to reduce or ameliorate some of cruder, insensitive and sometimes inhumane ways in which the asylum system affects those seeking safety and sanctuary here.  

Finally, at a time of increasing hostility towards asylum seekers and refugees by politicians and sections of the population, we can (and do) demonstrate the British values of respect and tolerance on a daily basis. Through our continued media and advocacy work we can amplify these positive messages, and we can give greater voice to those we support, helping them to be seen as people with individual humanity, stories, and agency, rather than being defined solely by their legal status or being viewed as a "burden".
 
What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming involved with Herts Welcomes Refugees?

Do it! As well as being able to help those seeking safety and sanctuary in our country, being an HWR volunteer will be immensely rewarding for you. Being able to see your country and culture through the eyes of others will increase your appreciation of the UK’s positive qualities and strengths as well as the negative aspects of some of the current policies, attitudes and underfunding.