Introduction

Abstract

Introduction Terri Gordon-Zolov (bio) and Amy Sodaro (bio) At no time since the age of piracy in the mid-seventeenth to early eighteenth century has the open sea been a more tumultuous place. The high seas are the locus of dangerous migrant crossings, of maritime violence and lawlessness, and of massive environmental destruction. A slew of accidents, from the March 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Indian Ocean to the ferry accident in Bangladesh in February 2015, have led to international concern over safety standards. The ocean itself, with its rising sea levels and massive deposits of debris, embodies the hazards of environmental change. The state of the seas reveals the shortcomings of the project of modernity itself. As historian Maya Jasanoff writes in a 2015 New York Times piece, "The ocean … shows the failure of progress. It is where thousands of refugees drown trying to reach prosperity. It is where slavery and piracy flourish in the face of modern law. It is where industrial chemicals and plastics pollute and destroy ecosystems." This issue of WSQ mobilizes the motif of "at sea" to consider the many ways in which the sea as a locus and metaphor reflects and shapes our contemporary experience. As the articles, poetry, and prose in this issue demonstrate, the sea embodies dystopian despair, violence, and degradation, but also hope, coexistence, and possibility. The Current Crisis at Sea In its current form, the contemporary global migrant/refugee crisis is without precedent. Escaping violence, poverty, civil war, and religious persecution, thousands of families and individuals (often children) from Africa, [End Page 12] Asia, and the Middle East are making perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea in fishing boats or overcrowded ships. The statistics are startling. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over one million migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean in 2015, and over 3,500 perished or disappeared in the crossing (Holland 2015). The situation is only becoming direr. While fewer migrants have attempted the crossing to Europe this year, the death toll is greater. As of November 2016, there have been an estimated 4,233 deaths at sea in the Mediterranean alone (IOM 2016). Rising tides of xenophobia, and Islamophobia in particular, only make the issues of refugee status and asylum more acute. The physical vulnerability of a boat on the open seas renders it a striking symbol of the vulnerability of individuals seeking refuge or asylum. As the editors of the spring 2015 "Border Crossings" issue of Dissent write, "That migrant vessel embodies just what it means to be caught between borders" (Asoka and Chan 2015, 2). Artist Rob Bein's fiber artwork, "Boat Travelers," which is the cover image for this issue, encapsulates the "feeling of vulnerability, of precariousness, uncertainty [and] fear" that accompanies migration by boat (2016). Maritime violence is also on the rise. Our economic dependency on the sea has increased exponentially while our ability to control it remains unchanged. Within a global geopolitics structured around nation-states, the sea remains a space beyond national borders and outside of the reach of national laws and protections. The majority of goods in the global economy are transported across international waters in merchant ships and cargo boats. Because of inconsistencies in maritime law and the difficulty in enforcing national and international maritime codes, crimes, ranging from racketeering to summary executions, often go unreported or unprosecuted. Human cargo, in the form of stowaways and indentured servants, is the cost of this exploding and unregulated economy. Some of the worst abuses occur in the illegal fisheries sector, which feeds our bottomless appetite for fish, but also pet food and livestock feed. Fishers and migrant workers who find themselves "caught at sea" are subject to a range of abuses, including excessive work hours and hazardous work conditions, a lack of fresh food and water, low wages, exposure injuries, physical injuries, sexual assault, and even murder (ILO 2013, 29–30). Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable and may find themselves in a state of forced labor or debt bondage (16–18). In a special New York Times series entitled "The Outlaw Ocean" (2015), investigative reporter Ian Urbina outlines a range [End Page 13...