Hertfordshire councillor backs refugee sanctuary proposals sharing father's immigration story

Cllr Zukowskyj said (Lib Dem, Hatfield South): “I want to speak in support of Hertfordshire becoming a Council of Sanctuary. I do so not just as a politician, but also as the son of a refugee.

“My father was born in a small village called Rabe, in what is now south-eastern Poland. As a young man he experienced war, occupation, slave labour and the horrors of the Holocaust – horrors beyond comprehension.

“Like millions of others caught up in the catastrophe that engulfed Europe, he lost the security of his home, his family and his country. He was of ‘fighting age’. He left home when he was 19. He arrived in the UK when he was 24; a sole young man seeking sanctuary, one moreover with military experience.

“But he didn’t arrive in Britain as an invader. He didn’t arrive to exploit anybody. He arrived because he had nowhere else to go. Britain gave him sanctuary.

“Had Britain not done so, his fate would almost certainly have been very different. Like many displaced Europeans at the end of the Second World War, if he had been forcibly returned to the Soviet Union he would likely have faced a Siberian gulag or summary execution without trial. A bullet in the back of his head was his most likely fate.

“Instead, Britain gave him a chance to live. He worked for 40 years in a paper mill. He paid his taxes. He raised a family. He asked for little and he contributed much.

“The opportunities this country gave him were then passed on to the next generation. His four children became a university lecturer and scientist, a director-level manager in the NHS, an airline pilot and a self-made businessman.

“That is what sanctuary achieved for my father and for my family. It transformed a displaced refugee with no certainty about his future into the founder of a British family that has spent over seven decades contributing to this country’s economy, public services, education and community life.

“That’s why I know those who portray the very idea of sanctuary as somehow dangerous, naive or contrary to British interests are utterly wrong. My father’s story reminds us that refugees are not an abstract category.

“They’re human beings. They’re fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They’re people whose lives have been disrupted by events beyond their control.

“When my father came to Britain, there would undoubtedly have been people who feared newcomers, who worried about costs, who questioned whether displaced foreigners could ever belong here.

“History has answered that question.

“My father belonged. Tens of thousands like him belonged. They helped build the modern Britain we are so proud of today. When we discuss refugees, it’s easy to talk about statistics and headlines. But my father was once one of those statistics.

“Had the arguments against sanctuary prevailed when he arrived, he might have been sent back to persecution and almost certain death. Instead, Britain chose decency.

“Because Britain chose decency, he lived, worked, paid taxes, raised a family and contributed to the country that had protected him. Because Britain chose decency, four children were able to build successful lives and contribute in their own ways to British society.

“And because Britain chose decency, I stand here in this room today. That’s why I support Hertfordshire becoming a County of Sanctuary.

“Not because of ideology. Not because of party politics. But because my family’s story is direct proof that offering sanctuary is not an act of weakness.

“It is an act of confidence, humanity and faith in the future. Britain showed decency to my father. I believe Hertfordshire should show decency and humanity to others.

“I will be voting to make Hertfordshire a Council of Sanctuary. And I trust all my colleagues on cabinet will do too. It’s the right thing, the human thing to do.”