Kitching George Tjensvoll, J Haavik Hanne, Tandstad Birgit J, Zaman Muhammad, Darj Elisabeth
Department of Public Health and General Practice, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, USA.
PLoS Curr. 2016 Nov 17;8:ecurrents.dis.bd282cd90ade7d4eb63b6bbdb1904d10. doi: 10.1371/currents.dis.bd282cd90ade7d4eb63b6bbdb1904d10.
Syrian refugees displaced into Turkey have attempted high-risk sea migrations to reach safer destinations in Europe, most often initially arriving on the Greek island of Lesvos. These refugees were often in need of basic humanitarian assistance that has been provided in part by a new category of ad hoc grassroots organizations (AHGOs). The aim of this study was to understand the internal and external operations of these AHGOs and their role on Lesvos.
The experiences of AHGOs were investigated through a qualitative research design utilizing semi-structured interviews with organization leaders and spokespersons. AHGOs identified through media and social media sources as new Lesvos-specific organizations were purposively invited to complete an interview over phone, Skype or email. Data analysis of the transcribed interviews was performed by Systematic Text Condensation.
Forty-one organizations were contacted and 13 interviews were conducted. Most organizations were formed in autumn 2015 responding to the greater influx of refugees and migrants at that time and reported an absence of professional humanitarian agencies providing aid on Lesvos. Three categories emerged from the material. Features of organizations; Features of volunteers and; Evolution of AHGOs. The organizations perceived themselves capable of evaluating needs, mobilizing resources, funding and providing quick response. The volunteers came with limited humanitarian experience and from a wide variety of nationalities and professional backgrounds, and the organizations developed while on Lesvos.
Knowledge from our findings of AHGOs response to this complex disaster on Lesvos could be utilized in future catastrophes. We conclude that AHGOs may prove effective at providing humanitarian aid in a surge response when international non-governmental organizations are unable to respond quickly. In future complex disasters AHGOs should be recognized as new humanitarian actors and conditions should be made favourable for their operations.
流离至土耳其的叙利亚难民试图通过高风险的海上迁徙抵达欧洲更安全的目的地，他们大多最初抵达希腊莱斯博斯岛。这些难民常常需要基本的人道主义援助，部分援助由一类新的临时基层组织（AHGOs）提供。本研究的目的是了解这些AHGOs的内部和外部运作及其在莱斯博斯岛所发挥的作用。
通过定性研究设计，利用对组织领导人及发言人的半结构化访谈来调查AHGOs的经历。通过媒体和社交媒体来源确定的、针对莱斯博斯岛新成立的组织被特意邀请通过电话、Skype或电子邮件完成访谈。对转录访谈进行系统文本浓缩以进行数据分析。
联系了41个组织，进行了13次访谈。大多数组织于2015年秋季成立，以应对当时难民和移民的大量涌入，且报告称莱斯博斯岛缺乏提供援助的专业人道主义机构。材料中出现了三类内容。组织的特点；志愿者的特点；以及AHGOs的演变。这些组织认为自己有能力评估需求、调动资源、筹集资金并做出快速反应。志愿者的人道主义经验有限，来自各种各样的国籍和专业背景，并且这些组织是在莱斯博斯岛发展起来的。
我们关于AHGOs应对莱斯博斯岛这一复杂灾难的研究结果所得出的知识可用于未来的灾难。我们得出结论，当国际非政府组织无法迅速做出反应时，AHGOs在激增反应中提供人道主义援助可能会被证明是有效的。在未来的复杂灾难中，AHGOs应被视为新的人道主义行为体，并且应创造有利于其运作的条件。
