The island of Lesvos serves as a symbol of migration in the Mediterranean. From 2015 onwards, a steady stream of volunteer tourists began working on the island. Between 2019 and 2022 various ‘crises’ such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the fire at the Moria camp, and the rise of the far right in Greece significantly altered living conditions for both refugees and volunteer workers on the island. The authors employ a comparative patchwork autoethnography to rethink participant observation to fit the pandemic era. Through a situated, relational, and more-than-representational analysis of autoethnographic material and the confrontation between the authors’ experiences, the aim of this paper is to investigate how migrant support volunteer tourism interacts with various simultaneous ‘crises’ ongoing on Lesvos. This led to a reimagining of the way we understand volunteer tourism over its ‘pro vulnerable’ approach.

Migrant support volunteer tourism facing crises: Patchwork autoethnographies on Lesvos (Greece)

Di Matteo, Giovanna;
2024

Abstract

The island of Lesvos serves as a symbol of migration in the Mediterranean. From 2015 onwards, a steady stream of volunteer tourists began working on the island. Between 2019 and 2022 various ‘crises’ such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the fire at the Moria camp, and the rise of the far right in Greece significantly altered living conditions for both refugees and volunteer workers on the island. The authors employ a comparative patchwork autoethnography to rethink participant observation to fit the pandemic era. Through a situated, relational, and more-than-representational analysis of autoethnographic material and the confrontation between the authors’ experiences, the aim of this paper is to investigate how migrant support volunteer tourism interacts with various simultaneous ‘crises’ ongoing on Lesvos. This led to a reimagining of the way we understand volunteer tourism over its ‘pro vulnerable’ approach.
2024
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
di-matteo-daminelli-2023-migrant-support-volunteer-tourism-facing-crises-patchwork-autoethnographies-on-lesvos-(greece).pdf

Accesso riservato

Tipologia: Published (Publisher's Version of Record)
Licenza: Accesso privato - non pubblico
Dimensione 184.69 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
184.69 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3546602
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 4
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 4
  • OpenAlex ND
social impact