Social work with refugees: Examining social workers’ role and practice in times of crisis in Greece

Abstract

Since the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ in 2015–2016, the hostile EU migration policies, the restricted access of refugees to welfare and neoliberalism have put social work in a rather difficult position. This self-funded quantitative research was carried out from June to August 2018 in Greece, addressing social workers working with refugees in various organizations, such as NGOs, public institutions and EU-funded projects. This article will present and discuss social work’s day-to-day practice with refugees and the social workers’ role as human rights defenders and claimants of social justice in the context of systematic violation of the human rights of refugees.