Exploring the Role of Ad Hoc Grassroots Organizations Providing Humanitarian Aid on Lesvos, Greece

Abstract

Introduction: Syrian refugees displaced into Turkey have attempted high-risk sea migrations to reach safer destinations in Europe, most often initially arriving on the Greek island of Lesvos. These refugees were often in need of basic humanitarian assistance that has been provided in part by a new category of ad hoc grassroots organizations (AHGOs). The aim of this study was to understand the internal and external operations of these AHGOs and their role on Lesvos.Methods: The experiences of AHGOs were investigated through a qualitative research design utilizing semi-structured interviews with organization leaders and spokespersons. AHGOs identified through media and social media sources as new Lesvos-specific organizations were purposively invited to complete an interview over phone, Skype or email. Data analysis of the transcribed interviews was performed by Systematic Text Condensation.Results: Forty-one organizations were contacted and 13 interviews were conducted. Most organizations were formed in autumn 2015 responding to the greater influx of refugees and migrants at that time and reported an absence of professional humanitarian agencies providing aid on Lesvos. Three categories emerged from the material. Features of organizations; Features of volunteers and; Evolution of AHGOs. The organizations perceived themselves capable of evaluating needs, mobilizing resources, funding and providing quick response. The volunteers came with limited humanitarian experience and from a wide variety of nationalities and professional backgrounds, and the organizations developed while on Lesvos.Discussion: Knowledge from our findings of AHGOs response to this complex disaster on Lesvos could be utilized in future catastrophes. We conclude that AHGOs may prove effective at providing humanitarian aid in a surge response when international non-governmental organizations are unable to respond quickly. In future complex disasters AHGOs should be recognized as new humanitarian actors and conditions should be made favourable for their operations.

Beyond Humanitarian Logics: Volunteer-Refugee Encounters in Chios and Paris

“…While there were long-standing organizations with clear leadership structures that shifted into the volunteer space, many teams were set up as ad-hoc, small-scale operations with "minimalist decision-making hierarchies" and a shifting pool of volunteers, to respond to the sharp rise in refugee arrivals in 2015. 36 The volunteers we met exist across a spectrum, from seasoned anarchists who espouse a borderless world to first-time volunteers who were motivated by seemingly apolitical, humanitarian concerns after watching the "crisis" unfold in the media. While there is no "typical" socio-economic profile of the volunteers -ranging from university students, teachers, social workers to corporate lawyers -many are white, young, and middle-class and differ from the populations they come to assist by European (and/or North American) citizenship status.…”

Volunteer tourism and lived space: representations and experiences from Lesvos

“…After the first phase of spontaneous reaction, organisations began to structure their work, consequently also structuring the recruitment of volunteers through conventional and social media campaigns and other forms of publicity. No official public record exists of all NGOs and other groups that have worked in Lesvos since 2015, partly because many were created ad hoc (Kitching et al, 2016) and did not register with local authorities. In May 2018, we were able to count 54 organisations operating on the island.…”

“…Some were located in the northern part of Lesvos, mainly in the village of Skala Sikamineas (Figure 2). Kitching et al (2016) have estimated that between 2,060 and 4,240 volunteers worked on Lesvos from November 2014 to February 2016. However, in May 2018, the Coordination Committee for the Registration, Coordination and Evaluation of NGOs of the Secretariat General for the Aegean and Island Policy stated that there may have been 114 NGOs operating out of Reception and Identification Centres as well as 7,356 volunteers from 2016 onwards, although they also state that this number has not been verified (Refugee Observatory, 2018).…”

“…If the existing literature on volunteer tourism is broad, reflections concerning migration and the refugee crisis in Europe and its borderized spaces (such as Lesvos, Lampedusa, Calais and Ventimiglia) are even more expansive. In contrast, research focused on volunteering at the places where migrants arrive or through which they transit is less well-developed (Chtouris & Miller, 2017;Guribye & Stalsberg Mydland, 2018;Kitching et al, 2016;Rozakou, 2012Rozakou, , 2016Sandri, 2018;Skleparis & Armakolas, 2016). Attention to this phenomenon from the perspective of volunteer tourism has, furthermore, been generally lacking (Knott, 2018), especially as the phenomenon is spatially conceived.…”

Impact of the Refugee Crisis on the Greek Healthcare System: A Long Road to Ithaca

“…This includes various NGOs, other social groups, and many individuals [ 116 ]. International organizations include the United High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Organization of Migration (IOM), and large international NGOs such as MSF, Médecins du Monde (MDM), and Save the Children, as well as many local ad hoc grassroots organizations, which quickly deployed staff and services to meet the needs of the refugees [ 117 ].…”