Humanitarianism as Politics: Civil Support Initiatives for Migrants in Milan’s Hub
Humanitarianism as Politics: Civil Support Initiatives for Migrants in Milan’s Hub
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作为政治的人道主义：米兰中心移民的民事支持倡议
作者：
Giulia Sinatti
人道主义越来越多地用于解决欧洲的移民问题，从海上搜索和救援行动到陆地上的接待。学者们经常将人道主义解释为国家将移民非政治化并优先考虑安全化的一种手段。在这篇文章中，我分析了民间社会志愿者和工作人员对人道主义的看法，他们与机构一起为移民提供人道主义支持。独立志愿者、非政府组织和慈善机构在这一领域的民间倡议激增，从而将传统上由国家负责的任务转移给了非国家行为者。基于该中心（为在意大利米兰市过境的移民提供人道主义援助的中心）及其周围地区的民族志实地调查，我表明，参与此类民事支持举措可以提高普通公民的政治意识和行动主义水平。通过深入了解在中心工作的男性和女性的日常行动，动机和目标，我表明，他们参与人道主义援助标志着一个个人旅程的开始，在这个旅程中，他们逐渐意识到他们所做的远远不是支持非政治化的国家证券化政策，而是政治上的。
Humanitarianism is increasingly used to address migration in Europe, from search and rescue operations at sea to reception on land. Scholars often interpret humanitarianism as a means for states to depoliticize migration and prioritize securitization. In this article, I analyze perspectives on humanitarianism among civil society volunteers and workers who, alongside institutions, deliver humanitarian support to migrants. Civil initiatives in this field by independent volunteers, non-governmental organizations and charities have surged, thus shifting tasks traditionally under the responsibility of the state to non-state actors. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in and around the premises of the Hub (a center providing humanitarian assistance to migrants transiting in the Italian city of Milan), I show that engaging in such civil support initiatives raises the levels of political awareness and activism among ordinary citizens. Through insight into the daily actions, motivations and aims of the men and women operating at the Hub, I show that their involvement in humanitarian assistance marks the beginning of a personal journey in which they gradually conceive what they do as far from being in support of depoliticizing state securitization policies and rather as politically loaded.