Disaster Situation and Humanitarian Emergency – In‐Between Responses to the Refugee Crisis in Germany

Abstract

In 2015, the needs of hundreds of thousands of refugees who arrived in Germany could only be met by deploying all available civil protection units. This article presents procedures and practices of state and non-state formal actors in the field of civil protection and related crisis management structures implemented and established across the board in the municipalities, the Federal Government and mass shelters, in particular in Bavaria. From a disaster research and humanitarian studies perspective we use the concept of "patterns of interpretation" to analyse the application of the "humanitarian emergency" and the "disaster situation" procedures to discuss whether the situation can really be categorized as "either-or" or whether the coexistence of the two served a function in managing such a complex situation. Finally, we discuss some developments that occurred after 2015/16 and consider the extent to which these developments shift or expand the existing patterns of interpretation.

“We assist the health system doing the work that should be done by others” – a qualitative study on experiences of grassroots level organizations providing refugee health care during the 2015 migration event in Germany

“…Humanitarian relief organizations are key actors in defining and organizing the emergency response to humanitarian crises. Their work and contributions, however, are often more noticeable in situations of weak governance and inadequate public infrastructure [ 2 , 18 ]. Little research exists on the contributions of humanitarian actors in the context of politically stable nations facing a domestic humanitarian emergency.…”

“…Both national and international humanitarian relief organizations partnered with governments, donors, private sector actors, and other stakeholders to support countries in their domestic response efforts [ 1 ]. Within the wider European context, international humanitarian support focused largely on transit countries along the Balkan route crossing Southeast Europe [ 2 ]. The destination and host countries across Central Europe received far less international relief support, resulting in emergency response strategies that were far less formal and largely driven by local public and non-governmental actors at the grass-roots level [ 2 ].…”

“…Within the wider European context, international humanitarian support focused largely on transit countries along the Balkan route crossing Southeast Europe [ 2 ]. The destination and host countries across Central Europe received far less international relief support, resulting in emergency response strategies that were far less formal and largely driven by local public and non-governmental actors at the grass-roots level [ 2 ].…”

“…In contrast, many Central European host countries, including Germany, have restrictions on the access to publicly funded healthcare for newly arriving refugees [ 4 ]. In 2015 Germany, civil society, non-governmental organizations, and other non-state actors had to step in to ensure refugees’ access to essential healthcare where this was limited or denied by health system regulations [ 2 ].…”

Frictions of implementing EU humanitarian aid in Greece (2016–2019)—the Emergency Support Instrument and its practical ramifications

“…Independent of the Greek case, the question arises as to what extent the struggles described in the humanitarian arena and the corresponding frictions in humanitarian aid have also occurred in other contexts of the European refugee and migrant crisis of 2015/ 2016. For example, previously unknown frictions and negotiations over the relationship between state provision for refugees, civil protection, and disaster control, as well as humanitarian aid, also became apparent in Germany at that time (Dittmer and Lorenz 2019).…”