Social Protection for Refugee Families in Community Work in Poland

Human made shocks cause people to flee. Due to Russia's second war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, millions of Ukrainians fled to various countries, many of them to Poland, where humanitarian aid initiatives were launched. Humanitarian aid requires rapid, large-scale and diverse assistance. The problems where humanitarian aid is needed arise as a result of, for example, environmental disasters such as an earthquake or a flood or of a war such as Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine. What further characterizes this aid is that the aid structures often have to emerge within a short period of time. Racist practices, selective solidarity and anti-Ukrainian rhetoric occur at the same time as a voluntary commitment to the refugees. The issue of social protection becomes concrete with aid initiatives in the local social environment.

The aim of the paper is to identify the normative conditions that are needed for a certain order of humanitarian assistance. The expression "the order of aid" implies that aid is a political project. It is a product of social negotiations and an expression of brutal relations of dominance. The order of humanitarian aid for refugees in Poland can be circumscribed along three normative presuppositions: the methods of perceiving the needs of refugee parents and their children, the attitude of gratitude, and the “minimalist” school. The interaction of these three normative presuppositions constitutes this order.

The presentation is based on a qualitative study that examined voluntary parental involvement for refugees. Recommendations for action for community work with refugee families beyond Poland are derived from the findings.