Bringing care in: The meaning of care in refugee solidarity movements

Abstract

Abstract This article investigates the meaning that refugee solidarity activists supporting people on the move across the Western Balkans migratory route and at the Italian–French border attribute to the notion of ‘care’, which they use to define their solidarity practices, particularly in the aftermath of the global pandemic. By means of a content analysis of in-depth interviews with representatives of grassroots solidarity groups, the article demonstrates that ‘care’ is conceived of as having a political character, as it responds to both the crisis of health care and the restrictions on freedom of movement; a non-hierarchical connotation, which informs in- and out-group relationships; and a transformative orientation, as acts of care prefigure a society in which freedom of movement and health rights are granted to all, in contrast to the existing model of migration governance.