Refugee solidarity activism in times of pandemic: reorganizing solidarity practices at the EU border

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores how grassroots refugee solidarity groups adapted their solidarity practices to the unprecedented challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. By taking as a case study the EU border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, which is situated along the Western Balkans migratory route, this piece explores how grassroots solidarity groups continued to provide first aid in the field to people on the move during the pandemic by adapting their practices to the changed circumstances. Combining a spatial and relational perspective to the study of solidarity activism, this article found evidence that solidarity groups managed to continue their activities during the pandemic thanks to two specific conditions: the existence of established networks and strong ties between international and domestic actors; and the spatiality of the border, which provided fertile ground for these relationships and ties to develop and thrive. The study placed social movement literature into dialogue with critical border studies and critical geography and is based on online and offline participant observation as well as in-depth qualitative interviews with solidarians engaged in refugee solidarity activism.