Some of our friends who where active in the Balkan route and in the Greece last year has wrote a self-reflection about the German activists who travelled there. Mixing the words Volunteering and Turism and also Solidarity and Holiday we come to the terms Voluntourism and Holidarity. You can read their text in English and German in the blog:
https://ReflActionistCollective.noblogs.org
excerpt from the introduction:
1. Introduction: Man spricht Deutsch on the ‘Balkanroute’
Summary: Many activists from Germany started going to the ‚Balkanroute‘ during last summer to support migrants– it seemed like a new trend. After our own trips to the ‚Balkanroute‘, we wanted to reflect more about the connection between this kind of activism and our own privileges. On the one hand, direct signs of political solidarity with migrants1 seemed important. On the other hand, we realized that sometimes our presence and activities stabilized our privileges and the system of white supremacy.
Heading from Belgrade Eastwards to the Croatian border. Stopover in Adaševci, the gas station where most of the migrants are waiting for hours, before continuing their journey by train. While searching for a parking lot for our van, we recognize two other vans: German license plates, full with kitchen equipment, clothing and shoe donations. Some people in their mid-twenties with hoodies and outdoor jackets hang around the cars and smoke. As we approach them, it’s clear very quickly, man spricht Deutsch, the common language is German. The group has just arrived, isn’t quite sure whether they will stay at that border or travel to the Southern Serbian border. Some consider to go to one of the Greek islands as well. Their plans? Cooking food and tea, distributing info material. Pretty much what everyone is doing on the ‘Balkanroute’. Pretty much what we have been doing.
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