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A Mixed Method Approach on Greek Civil Society Organizations Supporting Migrants During the Refugee Crisis

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Abstract

Between 2015 and the beginning of 2016, Greece became one of the epicenters of the European migrant crisis as it was one of the major entry points by the sea of thousands of refugees entering its territory en route to wealthier countries. The unpreparedness of the Greek state and the European Union leaders to deal with the massive migrant flows significantly contributed to the pivotal role that informal and formal actors, including civil society migrant organizations, played to respond to migrants’ needs. The article using data from the EU-funded TransSOL project and applying a mixed method approach with the rationale of complementarity explores attributes (such as organizational structure, main activities, ultimate aims and means to achieve them, collaborative networks, etc.) as well as unveils the meaning of solidarity initiatives of specific formal and informal migrant organizations operating in the country. The indicative findings provide some preliminary evidence on the distinct features of informal and formal migrant organizations uncovering their diverse roles and tasks in meeting migrants’ needs and rights in Greece. It is recommended that further research on migrant organizations examining their main features and potential challenges in supporting migrants is essential not only for migrants themselves but for the whole society, specifically in times marked by a refugee crisis.

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Notes

  1. The term “refugee,” as per international law, refers to someone who has been forced to flee his/her home country and is unable or unwilling to return to it due to fear of persecution. The term “asylum seeker” refers to an individual seeking protection in the country they are in. In a typical asylum claim process, an asylum seeker makes a claim for protection and waits for the relevant state to recognize him/her as a refugee or not. Not every asylum seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee, but every refugee is required to lodge an asylum application. Since some rejected asylum seekers may be refugees, the term refugee is used in the article to refer to both to asylum seekers and refugees. Moreover, the general term “migrant” is used in the article to denote an individual who changes his or her country of usual residence, irrespective of the reason for migration or legal status.

  2. Almost one out of three first time asylum seekers originates from Syria, whereas top citizenships also include Afghans and Iraqis.

  3. The drastic growth of legal and undocumented migrants in Greece, among others, is due to the overall geopolitical changes in the Balkan region, the country’s geographical position and geophysical structure as well as its economic growth due to its membership to the European Economic Communities in 1981 (Kasimis 2012).

  4. Throughout the article the term “migrant organizations” is used to denote organizations that are run from natives and aim to support the rights of migrants residing in the country.

  5. More information about the project can be found at: http://transsol.eu/

  6. Civil society is an elusive and ambiguous concept that is difficult to define. In the present article, the term is used to denote “the totality of social institutions and associations, formal as well as informal, that are not strictly orientated towards production, and are not governmental or familial in character” (Odmalm 2004, p. 472).

  7. Centre for Civil Society, Report on Activities July 2005–August 2006, London School of Economics and Political Science, http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29398/1/CCSReport05_06.pdf. Accessed 7 March 2019.

  8. The sequential explanatory design is a two-phase design where the quantitative data is collected first followed by the qualitative data collection.

  9. A TSO is defined as “a collective body/unit which organizes solidarity events with visible beneficiaries and claims’ on their economic and social well being – including basic needs, health, and work, as depicted through the TSO website/online sources” (TransSOL 2016, p. 282). More information for the quantitative method applied and the Codebook used can be found in TransSOL’s relevant report (see, TransSOL 2016).

  10. The 300 randomly chosen TSOs to be coded were selected only if they were active at any time at least between 2007 and 2016. Excluded from the sample are (a) state (central)-related organizations as sole organizers of alternative action, (b) EU-related organizations as sole organizers, and (c) corporate-related organizations as sole organizers of alternative action.

  11. More information for the qualitative method applied and the guidelines for the in-depth interviews can be found in TransSOL’s relevant report (see, TransSOL 2016).

  12. See Interview no. 3, no. 4, and no. 5 in Findings section.

  13. See Interview no. 1, no. 2, and no. 6 in Findings section.

  14. Using specific variables from the study’s Codebook, collaborative partners are grouped into six categories including (a) informal collaborators (such as informal citizens/grassroots groups, solidarity/social economy initiatives, indignados/occupy protests/movements, neighborhood assemblies etc), (b) formal collaborators (such as formal social economy enterprises, NGOs/volunteer associations, labor organizations, charities/foundations, associations, etc.), (c) private collaborators (such as companies/private business/enterprises, banks), (d) institutional national collaborators (such as local/regional/state related partners, political parties, church), (e) institutional international collaborators (including EU agencies/organizations/intergovernmental organizations), and (f) other international partners (including international agencies such as UN, WHO, ILO, etc.)

  15. Using specific variables from the study’s Codebook, the beneficiary type of “Children/young people” includes children, youth/teens and students, of “Families/parents” includes families, parents, mothers, fathers, single parents, of “Health vulnerable individuals/groups” includes disabled and health-inflicted and health vulnerable groups (e.g., substance abuse persons), of “Socio-economic vulnerable individuals” includes poor/economically vulnerable/marginalized communities, poor/economically vulnerable/marginalized persons, imprisoned, homeless and uninsured. It should be noted that the above types of beneficiaries are not mutually exclusive.

  16. It should be noted that the majority of Greek legislation about policy issues is predefined by the Memoranda (i.e., the economic adjustment programs implemented in Greece by the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank) whereas policies specifically about migration are mainly decided at EU level.

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Funding

Results presented in this article have been obtained within the project “European paths to transnational solidarity at times of crisis: Conditions, forms, role models and policy responses” (TransSOL). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 649435. The TransSOL consortium is coordinated by the University of Siegen (Christian Lahusen), and is formed, additionally, by the Glasgow Caledonian University (Simone Baglioni), European Alternatives e.V. Berlin (Daphne Büllesbach), the Sciences Po Paris (Manlio Cinalli), the University of Florence (Carlo Fusaro), the University of Geneva (Marco Giugni), the University of Sheffield (Maria Grasso), the University of Crete (Maria Kousis), the University of Siegen (Christian Lahusen), European Alternatives Ltd. LBG UK (Lorenzo Marsili), the University of Warsaw (Maria Theiss), and the University of Copenhagen (Hans-Jörg Trenz).

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  1. Department of Sociology, University of Crete, Gallos Campus, GR-74100, Rethymnon, Crete, Greece

    Stefania Kalogeraki

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Kalogeraki, S. A Mixed Method Approach on Greek Civil Society Organizations Supporting Migrants During the Refugee Crisis. Int. Migration & Integration 21, 781–806 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00689-6

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