Every theme covered in Forced Migration Review feels important and none more so than a topic which relates to life and death. FMR 75 started as a shorter feature on the idea of rescue but as we explored the topic, it expanded to become the fuller issue you have in your hands today. The interest we had in the call for articles – the largest number of proposals in our history – more than confirmed that this was a topic which deserved deeper treatment.

FMR is a space for debate, for stimulating discussion and for inspiring solutions to challenging problems. The themes discussed here are more politically contested than some we have covered in our pages and we are aware that debates can become charged and polarised. We have endeavoured to publish articles which explore both the complexity of the issues and the simple humanity of the lives endangered by journeys towards places of hoped-for sanctuary.

Authors come from a wide range of regional and sectoral perspectives, including academics, politicians, lawyers, advocates, psychologists and humanitarians. All are engaged in thinking and acting in order to see fewer lives lost, and dignity and respect shown to those who perish along the way. We are particularly privileged to hear from people who themselves have experienced dangerous journeys and those who are first-hand witnesses to the lived reality of hazardous terrains and high-risk contexts.

You will find articles related to a particular region or route, with several covering different issues and angles in the same regional space. The Mediterranean Sea, the Darién Gap, the Andaman Sea, the Sahara and the Alps are all amongst those featured.

Thematically there is a huge variety too. There are articles relating to sea and to land journeys, articles on rescue and on recovery, articles about on-the-ground support and on higher-level political change. Some describe in detail the challenges faced by those undertaking dangerous journeys, others address the grim realities of recovering the bodies of those lost en route. Whatever your interest in this issue, we hope that the range of articles will broaden your perspective and connect you with others working to bring about positive change.

We are extremely grateful to our major donors on this issue, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, and to ICRC, IFRC, IOM and UNHCR for their financial support alongside the expertise they have offered at every stage of this project. The co-authors of the preface, Mariela Guajardo, Samuel Boutruche, Florian Von Köning and Sanjula Weerasinghe, proposed we cover this theme and it was their passion, commitment and energy which convinced us that this was an FMR issue which could make a real impact on the lives of displaced people. They contributed to the reviewing, alongside Vittorio Bruni, Martha Guerrero Ble and the FMR Editors, in order to make the final selection of articles, an extremely difficult process given the very high quality and breadth of submissions.

There is a growing community of people who contribute to FMR and we would love you to consider bringing your insights to our engaged and expanding audience. Please do join our mailing list and follow us on social media to make sure that you hear about opportunities to write for FMR, as well as to read what others have written.

Finally, we’d love to hear from you if you have a topic you’d like to see featured in FMR or if you’d like to partner with us in some way. We are always looking for new ways to reach our audiences with fresh and insightful content and welcome your suggestions and comments. Please do get in touch!

With best wishes,

Alice Philip and Jo Boyce
FMR 75 Editors

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