At this year’s IMISCOE Conference in Paris (1-4th July, 2025) – the largest gathering of migration scholars in Europe – Elżbieta Mirga-Wójtowicz and Tetiana Storozhko presented their joint paper “Mobilising resources and building bridges across the (multiple) divides: Roma transnational activities and mobilisation in the context of full-scale war in Ukraine.”
Building on years of collaboration within a Roma–non-Roma research team studying migration, their presentation highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic and, most dramatically, the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine reshaped both Roma transnational lives and the research itself. They showed how the arrival of Ukrainian Roma refugees in Poland has profoundly changed the landscape of solidarity, activism, and citizenship practices.
Their contribution emphasized that Roma have been at the forefront of supporting displaced Ukrainian Roma—mobilising resources, forging alliances, and asserting rights where formal systems often failed. This mobilisation challenges persistent stereotypes of Roma passivity, instead foregrounding Roma agency, resilience, and transnational solidarity. By enacting citizenship through claiming rights, building alliances, and “talking back” to structures of exclusion, Roma actors are not only providing essential support but also reshaping the broader conversation on belonging, justice, and equality in Europe.