Personal circumstances as drivers of aid rendered by citizen aid actors (CAA) in response to the Ukraine war induced Humanitarian crisis

• In Event: Crisis Impact and Societal Response of Civil Society

Abstract

Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered one of the largest and fastest refugee movements seen in Europe since the end of World War II (Ociepa-Kici´nska & Gorzałczy´nska-Koczkodaj, 2022). With millions of Ukrainian refugees crossing the border to neighbouring countries (Mizrahi & Yallouz, 2022), the large influx of refugees rapidly overwhelmed local services and led to a complex humanitarian emergency (Lee et al., 2023). In the face of this humanitarian emergency, there was a visible rise in the advent of various citizen-led initiatives designed to respond to the needs of the displaced population. Several interventions were implemented by different players ranging from individuals to informal small team of few individuals who relied on individual contributions to get work done. While the collective goal was to provide aid, just like their diversity in operational strategies and forms of aid, the circumstances leading to their founding also differed. Thus, in this paper I delve into the different personal circumstances that inspired the direction of pursuance for CIGS coordinators and volunteers.
Given that humanity is currently experiencing a long period of instability and insecurity resulting from a series of catastrophic events (permacrisis) (Fernandes, 2023), contemporary interventions implemented by different players are important and warrant an exploration for possible future adoption. Whilst new countries emerge as partners and donors, other development agents are increasingly emerging in the North (Haaland & Wallevik, 2017). While it has been observed that there are new emerging players in the broader aid regime, the question as to why they do what they do in the manner they do has not been fully explored and it is what this paper seeks to contribute towards.
The findings are a product of a qualitative research in the context of Poland wherein interviews were conducted with thirteen respondents among them was a journalist who covered the crisis in the first weeks following the invasion and the rest are coordinators of citizen initiatives. The data collection also involved tracking and analysis of websites, social media posts and other relevant digital platforms that are linked to CIGS as well as participant observation. From the data collected, it emerges that personal circumstances relating to one’s networks and the in-kind resources they own had an influence on the kind of aid which they would focus on and the decision to get involved in the first place. In one example, a restaurant owner found it natural to focus on cooking soup for refugees. Another example is how a volunteer became engaged in driving aid to the border because a friend had approached her to provide company during the first trip. While critics doubt the professionalism of these players and fear that they are unable to avoid known pitfalls, supporters are convinced that, their smallness of scale and direct approach, makes an essential difference to the lives of people (Kinsbergen & Schulpen, 2013). In the context of humanitarian emergencies, there are limitations to human safety and wellbeing, thus, different contributions aimed at addressing the gaps could be important for the future.

References

Haaland, H. and Wallevik, H. (2017). Citizens as Actors in the Development Field: The Case of an Accidental Aid-Agent’s Activities in Aid-Land. Forum for Development Studies. 44:2, 203-222, DOI: 10.1080/08039410.2017.1305444

Fernandes, T. M. (2023). Final Synthesis of the 4th Edition of the International Development Summer Course. The Portuguese NGDO Platform.
Kinsbergen, S. and Schulpen, L. (2013). From tourist to development worker. Private development initiatives in the Netherlands.

Lee, A.C.K., Khaw, F., Lindman, A.E.S & Juszczyk, G. (2023). Ukraine refugee crisis: evolving needs and challenges. Public Health, 217, 41-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2023.01.016

Mizrahi, T. & Yallouz, J. (2022). Using Internet Measurements to Map the 2022 Ukrainian Refugee Crisis. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2205.08903.pdf

Ociepa-Kici´nska, E. & Gorzałczy´nska-Koczkodaj, M. (2022) Forms of Aid Provided to Refugees of the 2022 Russia–UkraineWar: The Case of Poland. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19, 7085. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127085

Author

• Tererai Obey Sithole, University of Agder