The author analyzes the travels of pro-refugee activists to the Balkan Peninsula during the refugee crisis. In 2015 and 2016, new points of intersection emerged between the trajectories of people from the global South and the global North. Using decolonial theory, the author indicates that at these points, forms of solidarity based on mutual benefit emerged. On the one hand, activists satisfied their need to respond to dramatic media reports, while on the other, refugees received the support necessary to continue their journeys. Although sometimes these encounters were marred by unequal power relations or mutual misconceptions, they contributed to undermining the European refugee regime.

Keywords: activism, refugees, Balkans, de-colonialism, self-realization