We were devastated to hear that 27 people, adults and children, lost their lives in the English Channel on the night of Wednesday 28 November. Each of these people will have taken the terrible decision to leave the familiarity of home to seek refuge in another country. It is appalling to think that in order to claim asylum in the U.K. they were compelled to take a journey that cost them their lives. This inhumanity cannot continue. Shocking as it is that this tragedy has occurred, it was also all too predictable. We call on policymakers to reflect urgently on what a different approach might look like, focussing on providing refuge, creating safe routes and avoiding policies that make the process of asylum so dangerous that people who need help will be forced elsewhere. As academics we know that we must continue to learn from people who have been displaced and will continue to argue for policies and practices that allow those seeking refuge to rebuild their lives. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who died on Wednesday night. And we call on policy makers to realise that this must be a moment for change.