Kent councillor's case for refugees

Ben Bano's parents fled the Nazis – now he's fighting for today's asylum seekers.

Mary Kenny

Most voters want to see immigration reduced – and think the boats that come across the Channel should be stopped. Deal, just eight miles from Dover, is on the front line for this traffic. Yet there's a local councillor who believes the town should honour its motto to 'Welcome the Stranger', and be supportive to the cause of refugees, stateless persons and immigrants. Ben Bano is a widower aged 75, with the craggy looks of a retired university professor. More than ten years ago, he launched Seeking Sanctuary, an organisation that helps migrants and refugees. Ben's approach to migrants is based on two motivations. One is that his own parents found refuge in Britain in 1938, from Nazi-occupied Europe. The other, unusually, is based on a sense of Christian spirituality.…

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The Oldie (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

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