The New Internationalists: Activist Volunteers in the European Refugee Crisis

An account of the mobilization of thousands of volunteers who rescued, supported, and welcomed refugees during the recent European refugee crisis.

In The New Internationalists, Sue Clayton tells the story of the largest civic mobilization since the Second World War, when volunteers—many young and untrained—took on unimaginable responsibilities and saved thousands of lives. During the European refugee crisis of 2015-2019, they witnessed first hand the catastrophic failure of established NGOs, and the indifference—and frequently, the open hostility—of the EU and national governments. Many faced state hostility themselves. Their accounts show how activist volunteers have shaped today's European humanitarian agenda, and provide a powerful critique of failures of current policy.