Volunteering with refugees in Czechia: From traitors to heroes?

This article examines the experiences of volunteers (N=12) engaged with migrants in Czechia. It evaluates their roles during two different refugee crises which affected Czechia in 2015/2016 and in 2022. The starting point for the study was a difference in public attitudes towards migrants and refugees during these two refugee inflows. While negative perceptions were evident during the 2015/2016 refugee crisis, characterized by scepticism and resistance toward volunteerism, the response to the Ukrainian refugee influx showcased a more supportive environment, potentially influenced by institutional aid efforts and a greater sense of solidarity with Ukrainian refugees. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with volunteers engaged in the 2022 refugee crisis, some of whom had a previous volunteering experience from 2015/2016. The article reveals individual experiences of volunteers, their positionality, coping strategies and different perceptions of migration contexts.