Max Brugger

the refugee crisis has europe firmly in its grip. between 2015 and 2018, around three million people applied for asylum in european union countries. in 2018, the numbers of new asylum applications have greatly reduced compared to previous years, but hundreds of people were again arriving daily on their way to greece via turkey. 

in recent years 2015 to 2018, hundreds of so-called independent grassroots projects have been established, creating an alternative to institutional refugee assistance. bureaucratic hurdles make it difficult for the large aid organizations to adapt their logistical and financial resources to the rapidly changing situations and to help the refugees. the current perspective of refugees who have been stranded on the greek islands and mainland for a long time leaves little hope of being able to travel on to another european country. independent volunteers from around the world have been active in greece since 2015 to provide an alternative of lived solidarity to the primarily prevailing "eat or die" attitude of governments and large aid organizations. through small coordination teams, the independent volunteers can constantly adapt to changes and react quickly. the closeness to the refugees, the trust built up and the shared experiences form a foundation of friendship and togetherness that transcends the boundaries of institutional refugee aid. their maxim is to give the refugees back their dignity and self-determination and to see them as what they are: human beings.

what emotions do the independent volunteers face? what motivates them to leave their familiar surroundings, sometimes for years, in order to make life more bearable for other people on the run? how do they deal with their sometimes traumatic experiences? what are their fears and worries? and what does it mean to be part of this community yourself?

max brugger became a part of this community himself in 2016, when he traveled with a small group from germany to idomeni, one of europe's largest refugee camps on the greek-macedonian border, to support refugees on site in their precarious situation. 
only after some time, when he had found his position for himself, he began to document the everyday life and the work of the helping. the goal was not to reproduce the dramatically charged images of various media, but to find his own way and access to the crisis. through repeated stays in the projects, he was able to build up a close trust with the helpers and to convey this through an individual and personal visual language. an intimate insight into the lives of the independent volunteers was gained.