Volume 18 Issue 4

I've spoken to friends and colleagues in the Global North, looking for warmer climates and cheaper price points as they dabble in the digital nomad lifestyle. In the same vein, people in the Global South are headed for mythical greener pastures in the Global North. Each part of this pie holds its own challenges and difficulties, and the people doing all the moving often seem to be running towards a mirage. And as the world continues to shake from the shocks of climate change, conflict and geopolitical unrest, the lines between what makes a migrant and what makes a refugee are starting to blur.

This edition of CRJ covers the on-ground realities of the nexus between migration and trafficking. On page 57, Jeannie Barr provides an excellent discussion on the burnout that people on the frontlines of the trafficking and migration issue face. Dr Christopher Ankersen breaks down key aspects of security when it comes to how migrants are viewed and how said views can change, courtesy of which lens is used. On page 92, Araba Cole's piece on cognitive bias demonstrates the influence cognitive bias can have on crisis management.

There are, of course, external factors outside one's control that force people to migrate. On page 44, James Lodge explores how hazards and disasters can cause social and economic disruptions, forcing people to leave their homes. Meanwhile, Patrícia Nabuco Martuscelli offers an examination of Venezuelans forced to spread into Latin America.

On the other hand, Lina Kolesnikova takes on the situation in the European Union in her dissection of the policies, and CRJ's Junior Editorial Assistant Shefalika Maini explores how the digital world can fuel trafficking. I report on how Afghan refugees (and astounding, some Pakistanis) are being deported to a state they fled from on page 34. 

Working on this edition was a complex experience for me. Just as dealing with these issues on the ground is a complex experience for CRJ's community. I hope to hear more from our readers on these important and ever-growing, ever-present issues.