Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)
Interaction, migration and change
268 Melissa L. Caldwell greets Matthew, a volunteer from Nigeria, with a warm embrace and introduces him to others as “my black child." Alan, a volunteer from Sierra Leone, commented that he identified strongly with particular recipients whom he saw as substitute grandparents; while Daniel, from Sudan, explained that he enjoyed volunteering at the soup kitchen because it was a way to help his Russian friends. He reflected that recipients are “like family, and they know me.” Steven, a student from Liberia, explained that he had not seen his family, whom he missed greatly, in several years; by going to the soup kitchen and visiting with recipients, he felt closer to his own family, particularly his grandmother. Concluding remarks: “Inside” the soup kitchen Through simultaneously economic and social interactions such as those described above, CCM recipients and volunteers have cooperatively cultivated a dynamic social group of mutual support and affection. In so doing, members of this community classify themselves and each other as “nash”, or as the “insiders”, with respect to other Muscovites who are outside the program. It is this sense of belonging that endows members with both a sense of responsibility to each other and a dependence on one another. These inclusionary tactics have emerged most vividly when Russians affiliated with the CCM program have assisted African volunteers in dealing with personal problems. In one case, the local government administrator whose office was responsible for sending potential recipients to the CCM program offered his assistance to several African volunteers who were experiencing legal troubles. The administrator later justified his overture on the grounds that he was simply helping people who, by virtue of their previous acts of assistance to his constituents, had become part of the larger community under his purview. At other times, in actions that potentially carry more public and political resonance, recipients have defended African volunteers against racially charged insults and other acts of harassment made by Muscovites who are not part of
