From Hierarchy to Anarchy: 'Spontaneous' Helpers in Disaster Situations and the Question of Organisation
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Wolfgang Hochbruck
Centre for Security and Society, ALU Freiburg Germany
wolfgang.hochbruck@anglistik.uni-freiburg.de
Author(s):
When thousands of volunteers showed up spontaneously during the 2013 flood disaster along the Elbe and Danube, and again in the Ruhr area following hurricane Ela the next year, professional responders and voluntary emergency organisations appeared almost as overwhelmed by this willingness to help as by the disasters themselves. Since then, a variety of research projects funded by German and European institutions and organisations have tried to come up with adequate concepts regarding the coordination and distribution of such ‘spontaneous helpers’. From smartphone apps to ‘mediating organisations’ such as local clubs and organisations, a variety of solutions have been suggested, most of which had as a side effect the avoidance of any further involvement, leave alone integration, of rag-tag volunteers and professional responders.
This paper will take a different approach by thinking the situation from the point of view of the spontaneous volunteers, and treating them as assets. The volunteers are interpreted as signaling an increase in civic responsibility, de-hierarchising response patterns and moving them towards an anarchic, self-efficient ability to cope. At the same time, adequate disaster response needs training, often also equipment, and effective leadership. Based on both theoretical considerations, and local experiments, potential futures are charted for an integrated approach to disaster response and recovery.
Community response to crises and disasters: From preparedness to practices