My brother, Alexander “Sandy” Buchan, who has died aged 71, was for 17 years chief executive of Refugee Action. Working for most of his life with refugees, he was dedicated to achieving the best possible outcomes for them. He understood their needs, listened and gave them a voice.
Sandy and his twin sister, Jenny, were born in Guildford, Surrey, to Edward, a Scottish farmer who was working for the Ministry of Agriculture in Surrey and Sussex during the second world war, and Annie (nee Calder), a typist. After the war, our family moved back to Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, where our father managed several farms.
In 1956, we moved to Hertfordshire, where Sandy went to Hertford grammar school and acquired the nickname “the Prof”. He went on to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, to study history. His first job was at the English Speaking Union, in 1967, then as an unqualified social worker in Hackney, east London. He travelled in mainland Europe, and in 1978 to India, which he loved and found inspiring.
Back in London the following year, he worked for the Save the Children Fund – his interest in the plight of refugees probably began then with the Vietnamese children fleeing the war. In the early 1980s, under the Refugee Council, he ran a reception centre in Osterley, west London, to enable resettlement of the thousands of Vietnamese boat people who came to the UK. He also set up the first general reception centre for refugees in Brixton. These people included Bosnians, Kosovans, medical evacuees and those fleeing the volcanic eruption in Montserrat.
In 1989 he began running the government-funded Refugee Arrivals Project (RAP) at Heathrow airport. Four years later he became chief executive of Refugee Action in 1993, where he remained until his retirement in 2010. Always guided by what was best for refugees and asylum seekers, he encouraged collaborative work in the voluntary sector to address their needs. He strongly supported the role of established refugee communities in the resettlement of new arrivals.
Sandy understood the importance of responding to specific groups, such as female refugees. In all this he was self-effacing. In 2011 he was appointed OBE.
He had a small group of lifelong friends, whom he loved deeply, and some of whom shared his deep passion for and knowledge of classical music.
Sandy is survived by Jenny and me.
