It feels strange to release an issue about migration in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic. The irony of writing about the movement of people at a time when movement has been so severely restricted is not lost on us.
Yet the reminders of desperation, risk and loss that often accompany migration are present even now. At the end of March, sixty-four Ethiopian men suffocated in the back of a transport container on their way to South Africa. Fourteen of their countrymen survived the journey, surrounded by bodies. Over the Easter weekend in April, four boats of migrants attempting to reach Europe from Libya sent out distress calls that went unanswered by EU member states. This lack of response has been met with strong criticism amid fears that many migrants may have perished at sea.
With stories like these as examples of commonplace, daily realities, it remains important to acknowledge the interlinkages between migration and development and the changing nature of global population distribution in general. This issue of FUF Magazine will speak to these themes. Happy reading!
