Formalization and evolution of Romanian third sector emergency networks in the Ukraine migration crisis

• In Event: Responses to migration crises by local third sector organizations: examples from three continents

Abstract

Within six months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, over 1.1 million migrants entered Romania (UNHCR 2022). This was an unprecedented humanitarian crisis for a country with limited experience with immigration that is much better known for mass emigration (Ernst 2022) and depopulation (Chirileasa 2022, Reuters 2022). Additionally, most migrants entered through small municipalities on the Romanian border where municipal capacity was strained and local nonprofit capacity was limited, even as all parties mobilized as best they could to support their Ukrainian neighbors (Stănică et al. 2023)

In this paper, we present findings from fieldwork conducted in Romania five to six months following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. From July to August 2022, interviews were conducted with twenty-nine individuals from twenty-six distinct organizations or initiatives in Romania, including NGOs, informal citizen groups, individual volunteers, government officials, and key informants involved in advocacy efforts. All but one of these initiatives was conducted by Romanian nationals or Moldovan residents of Romania (i.e., local actors). Interviews/site visits were conducted in person with eighteen service providers, and informal observations were made of day-to-day migrant interactions in communities in Romania.

Based on these data, we describe the evolution and formalization of an ecosystem of local third-sector actors who mobilized to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to migrants from Ukraine alongside- and many perceived, in the absence of- the state in the initial period following the Russian invasion. The majority of third sector actors in the study had no prior experience working in crisis response and emergency management situations or working with migrants. In the Romanian case, research participants described in real-time the creation and formalization of networks, emerging partnerships with government entities, and professionalization and formalization of practices as heightened risks were observed such as dangers of human trafficking, particularly for women and children. Given the massive displacement of people, one participant described the Ukrainian refugee crisis as “a free space” for human trafficking to happen. Indeed, armed conflict and political unrest have been shown to exacerbate individuals’ vulnerabilities to human trafficking (UNODC 2022, McAlpine et al. 2016). Ultimately, senior government emergency management officials, noting the value of civil society partnerships, sought to crystalize and maintain the network of actors for activation in future large-scale disaster scenarios.

Garkisch et al. (2017) note a distorted country focus in research on the third sector and migration, explicitly documenting the lack of research on Romania and nearby countries in the extant literature. This paper contributes to the literature not only empirically, but conceptually, because throughout this case we observe the manifestation of certain nonprofit theory in real time. Research participants describe their complementary and, much more frequently, supplementary roles filling gaps in government skills and services in language reminiscent of Young (2006). Informants describe both supply-side and demand-side motivations for becoming involved in serving migrants from Ukraine (Frumkin 2002), and the challenges of voluntary failure (Salamon 1987) that appear.

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Authors

• Shawn Teresa Flanigan, San Diego State University

• Alexa Bejinariu, University of Nevada Las Vegas

• Tobias Burack, San Diego State University