Part I of this volume considers migrations and diasporas as the two faces of the constant need for humans to move across borders and time to find new spaces to survive, thrive and transform individually and collectively. Migrations reflect movement across borders, gateways and time with high uncertainty. Migrants leave behind what was once ‘home’ towards unknown destinies where their presence might be welcomed or, as is the case today in many places, they will meet walls, closed doors and multiple forms of exclusion. Once they arrive at their destination, migrants must negotiate their way in or find pathways through gates that will swiftly turn them into criminals or threats to the state, regardless of their intentions to find a better life. For those who become immigrants and, in many cases, become members of new and old diasporas, their struggles to be accepted by their host communities do not stop.

Diasporas find themselves in a constant conflict to adapt to new geographies and social spaces while resisting assimilation. They struggle to keep their collective identities, including anchoring the collective will to a deep past not always understood or accepted by the host communities. Migrations and diasporas are engaged in a dialectical relationship with the host communities and the spaces they occupy. The dynamics of this relationship are based on the interaction between opposing poles: One is of inclusion and shared social transformation creating new identities and the other is of outright rejection.

Part I of this volume is divided into three distinct yet interconnected sections (Practices of Inclusion, Practices of Exclusion and Geographies and Spaces of Inclusion and Exclusion) comprised of eight chapters. The first section focuses on the practices of state and non-state actors that involve different forms of inclusion to ensure the dignity, well-being and welcoming of those pushed to leave home. It is a section that offers concrete examples of practices of compassion towards those who cannot otherwise be included and programs, experiences and policies to ensure the emotional wellness and health of migrants and the integration processes to support the collective identity of diasporas.

The second section reflects on the research around practices of exclusion expressing xenophobia and nativist policies that can jeopardise the safety, dignity and well-being of those fleeing violence. It also presents the case of a state enforcing obligations on its citizens beyond its borders, impeding their liberty to embrace their citizenship without the burdens of the state where they no longer live or never have lived.

The third section focuses on the geographies and spaces that can include and bring back what was once lost histories, as well as helping migrants negotiate spaces and boundaries for their safety. It also presents cases where ‘place’ is critical in explaining the intersectionality of race, gender and class among migrants and transnational communities. Finally, it gives us a well-researched example of how geographies under natural and human-made disasters can endanger the food security of its inhabitants, obliging them to look for new, unfamiliar places to survive.