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Reshaped Roles of Faith-Based Actors Towards Refugees in the Balkan Corridor Phase and its Aftermath

Increased numbers of refugees transiting through the Balkan corridor triggered not only crisis and emergency management measures but also ethical considerations of enabling hospitality and a welcoming culture. While volunteers together with religious actors were part of a regional humanitarian regime providing aid to migrants within the corridor managerial sites (borders, camps, and local communities), local authorities together with international agencies assisted in the organised and securitised hasty transit of people. Some faith-based organisations who were actively engaged during the corridor phase are now re-orienting their scope of activities to facilitate inclusion into society for a relatively small number of refugees who obtained protection statuses. We analyse the roles and activities of religious actors in Croatia during the corridor phase, based on data gathered in 2016 and 2018, through content analysis of transcribed interviews with actors involved in humanitarian assistance. This humanitarian work has reshaped their usual charity role and to some extent has fostered their political stances on advocating human and refugees’ rights, especially in the current situation where many ‘irregularised migrants’ are stranded on the external borders of the Schengen area. Therefore, complex situation in regard to migration and border management within Balkan societies still represents a challenge for different actors in fostering solidarity towards ‘newcomers’.

Refugees, Religious organisations, Humanitarianism, Integration, Balkan corridor

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