Paper short abstract:

hrough observation and participation in informal solidarity platforms of different scales I look at the intersubjective reciprocity schemes created between informal helpers, asylum seekers and host communities that support asylum seekers and refugees in Europe; and I propose an analysis of the ethical positionings that they claim.

Paper long abstract:

The so-called refugee crisis in Europe has been generating political narratives where mobilities from the Global South are reduced to stereotypical images of “asylum seekers”, “refugees” and "illegal migrants", distinguished from the cosmopolitan “expatriates” or “global citizens”. Some of the people on the move are perceived first and foremost for their "transgression", and therefore regulations and policies that are created to condition their mobility become acceptable. At the same time, European countries attempt to preserve an image of strong moral values, protection of human rights and generosity towards those who find themselves in situations of “forced migration”.

To respond to the ambiguities in policies and discourse, "classic" humanitarian and philanthropic practices have been reinvented by new "independent" initiatives of informal solidarity. Engaged citizens have been creating new solidarity practices that address the hostility towards asylum seekers by countering it with care and civil resistance. The motivations for this activism can vary and change with time and experience. Activists identify selfish personal interests (such as experience, visibility and political status) but also altruistic and naïve motives. In my ethnographic work I observe how expectations interweave with the complex human relationships that are established, resulting in a nuanced intersubjective process of reciprocity driven by complex moral and ethical negotiations. Human relationships are invested of strong emotional, moral and political meanings that are produced under the guise of solidarity. These spaces of meaning can help us understand the underlying political communities, where governance is contested, and mobility is imagined beyond the restrictions imposed by the States.