"2016,
the Mediterranean is a mass grave," Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
This calendar year has already been marked by
serious refugee crisis all over the world. Large scale movement of people from
different countries of Asia and the middle East, the knee-jerk reactions of
most governments, the sympathy of some populations, the Pope's naming the
displaced people "god's children", the linking of terrorism with
migration in popular imagination, and the increasing awareness that one needs
to view all migration as forced migration,
Within this scenario, especially with respect
to the Rohingyas and refugees from Syria, the boat, both as a metaphor for
going from one country to another, and a a material facilitator of
the same. From Aylan Kurdi's death by drowning, to the refusal to let
the Rohingya boats dock, and the reported death of 400 Somali
refugees trying to reach Europe by boat, this special issue of refugee watch
online seeks to look at historical instances of large scale displacement via
boat as well as the current crises.
This issue also includes two field work based
reports on urbanisation in Nepal and the Indian city, Guwahati, as well as a
report on women uprooted by river erosion in Bengal.
Samata Biswas (bsamata@gmail.com).
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