Civil Society Role(s) in the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis – Responses in Poland and Romania

Abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to the largest refugee movement in Europe since World War II (Bathke, 2023). It is estimated that around a third of Ukraine’s population has either fled the country or was displaced internally (UNHCR). However, contrary to the other significant humanitarian crisis in Europe, the refugee crisis in 2015, the literature for the current one is still under development (Näre, Abdelhady, Irastorza, 2022). Its implications are massive and yet to fully grasp. Directions of research also differ: whilst for the 2015 crisis, many papers underlined its racialized treatment, the underdoing crisis is particularly explored in relation to the role of the civic society in its management. Taking this into account, we aim to draw a comparison between the reception of the Ukrainian refugees in Poland and Romania, with a particular focus on the role(s) undertook by NGOs to support the activities taken by the state. This is especially important for illustrating the significant – and crucial role of NGOs in providing aid to the victims of this armed conflict.

Keywords

• civil society
• non-governmental organizations
• war in ukraine
• refugee crisis
• humanitarian aid
• poland
• romania